A local shipbuilder was not appeased by a hastily arranged teleconference Tuesday with government officials to discuss a process that awarded a $40-million ferry contract to a Chilean company.
Andy Stanton, the president of Hike Metal Products in Wheatley, was hoping to learn from the Ministry of Transportation why his company was disqualified so early from the bid process to build a new Pelee Island ferry.
“Unsatisfactory and nothing accomplished,” Stanton wrote tersely in an email about the conference call.
Stanton and MPP Rick Nicholls (PC-Chatham-Kent-Essex) are slated to meet MTO officials for a full debriefing Tuesday, June 23 in London.
Local opposition has been mounting since last Thursday’s announcement that the government contract was awarded to ASENAV in Chile.
MPP Taras Natyshak (NDP- Essex) sent an open letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne Tuesday asking why the government chose to support the shipbuilding industry in Chile over the one in Southwestern Ontario.
“Come on, come on,” Natyshak said in a telephone interview. “Hike Metal has been building vessels of this nature for over 50 years. We could have definitely done it. It just stinks. It feels like a slap in the face.”
Leamington resident Rick Chisholm started an online petition in partnership with the group Leamington Stands Strong, asking the MTO to reconsider the contract in hopes the work could go to a Canadian company.
As of Tuesday evening, the petition has over 1,900 signatures.
more
Ministry of Transportation stands by decision to build new ferry in Chile | Windsor Star
Andy Stanton, the president of Hike Metal Products in Wheatley, was hoping to learn from the Ministry of Transportation why his company was disqualified so early from the bid process to build a new Pelee Island ferry.
“Unsatisfactory and nothing accomplished,” Stanton wrote tersely in an email about the conference call.
Stanton and MPP Rick Nicholls (PC-Chatham-Kent-Essex) are slated to meet MTO officials for a full debriefing Tuesday, June 23 in London.
Local opposition has been mounting since last Thursday’s announcement that the government contract was awarded to ASENAV in Chile.
MPP Taras Natyshak (NDP- Essex) sent an open letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne Tuesday asking why the government chose to support the shipbuilding industry in Chile over the one in Southwestern Ontario.
“Come on, come on,” Natyshak said in a telephone interview. “Hike Metal has been building vessels of this nature for over 50 years. We could have definitely done it. It just stinks. It feels like a slap in the face.”
Leamington resident Rick Chisholm started an online petition in partnership with the group Leamington Stands Strong, asking the MTO to reconsider the contract in hopes the work could go to a Canadian company.
As of Tuesday evening, the petition has over 1,900 signatures.
more
Ministry of Transportation stands by decision to build new ferry in Chile | Windsor Star
