David Eby announces buy-Canadian procurement plan in Maple Ridge

BC NDP leader David Eby visited Maple Ridge on Thursday morning, Sept. 24, to announce a proposed legislative requirement for government agencies to buy Canadian products where possible for public infrastructure projects.

Eby made the announcement at the IUOE 115 Training Centre, which provides hands-on technical training, apprenticeships and safety certifications for British Columbia’s heavy construction, road-building and resource industries.

He said the proposal would strengthen an existing guideline that asks Crown corporations to choose Canadian suppliers where possible. Under the proposed requirement, a Crown corporation would have to select a Canadian supplier when its bid falls within the competitive range of an American bid.

The measure is part of Eby’s proposed “Built in B.C. and Canada” procurement rules. He said the plan would apply to ministries, Crown agencies and health authorities, requiring them to use B.C.- and Canadian-made goods and materials on public projects where viable. Municipal governments would be encouraged to follow the same approach.

Eby said the approach has been used for BC Hydro’s North Coast Transmission Line between Prince George and Terrace. He said the line would reduce operating costs for major projects, improve British Columbia’s global competitiveness, create jobs and opportunities, support community economic development, reduce carbon pollution and lower costs associated with expensive diesel and gasoline.

He said BC Hydro would be directed to ensure Canadian steel accounts for 70 per cent of the steel used in the project’s first phase. In the second phase, he said, every transmission tower would use Canadian steel from Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.