Le Lézard
Classified in: Oil industry, Transportation
Subject: LEG

Chantier Davie - The federal government's inaction will have disastrous repercussions on the 219 suppliers of the Montreal area


MONTRÉAL, Dec. 14, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Federal Fleet Services Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Spencer Fraser, accompanied by multiple Montreal area suppliers, unveiled this morning the insightful results of a survey conducted among the company's Montreal Urban Community suppliers. If Chantier Davie Canada Inc. is not promptly awarded new contracts, the revenues of numerous Montreal area suppliers will see a substantial drop.

A first sample of 205 companies that participated in the survey brings into light alarming data regarding the Montreal supply chain of Chantier Davie. While 55.4% of the companies that responded to the survey confirm that the decline in orders from the Lévis shipyard will affect them, several of them will be forced to lay workers off. 

"More precisely, according to the first results of this survey, in addition to 800 professionals at Chantier Davie who will be laid off before the end of the year, at least 158 jobs will be lost in the Greater Montreal area due to the inaction of the Canadian government. These figures add to 350 jobs which will be lost among our suppliers from the Quebec City area. Cela s'additionne aux 350 emplois qui seront perdus parmi nos fournisseurs de la grande région de Québec", stated Spencer Fraser right off the bat. "These are mostly high-skilled and high value-added employments. Our suppliers will need to make difficult decisions if the federal government does not grant new contracts to Chantier Davie", added Mr. Fraser on behalf of Chantier Davie.

"The health of the Quebec economy must be seen as a whole and must inevitably involve the vitality of all regions as well as the dynamism of their various niches of excellence",    asserted Yves-Thomas Dorval, Chief Executive Officer of the Quebec Employers' Council. "Whether it be in the Metropolis, in the Capital or elsewhere in the province, the loss of these contracts, based on inadequate decisions, will have heavy consequences on an entire supply chain and on a wide business ecosystem that gravitates around Chantier Davie, therefore weakening the competitiveness of various companies as well as the work conditions of their employees," affirmed Mr. Dorval.

"The province of Quebec must obtain its fair share of the Canadian shipbuilding budget. Canada needs now, more than ever before, three major shipyards at least until 2030. The country also needs smaller, but equally efficient shipyards, to realize its various projects", added, Stéphane Forget, Chief Executive Officer of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec.

The suppliers attending the press conference alongside Chantier Davie included: 

The federal government must act now

Chantier Davie has intensified political meetings over the last few weeks in order to obtain a contract for a second replenishment vessel, the Obelix, from the federal government.  This is the only contract that could secure the jobs at the Lévis shipyard and maintain the entire Quebec and Canada supply chain of the company intact. The consequences of the federal government's inaction in this matter will have a substantial negative impact on the Montreal area, where Chantier Davie spends a major part of its expenses. 

It is to be noted that the economic impact of Chantier Davie on the Canadian economy over the past 5 years has amounted to 2.7 billion dollars. The Lévis company's supply chain counts 916 suppliers, 814 of which are located in the province of Quebec and 219 are based in the Montreal Urban Community. The Montreal suppliers represent almost 30% (47 million dollars) of Chantier Davie's purchases in Quebec.

"Despite all our attempts, the federal government remains unwavering and the officials refuse to admit that their current naval delivery schedule is completely unrealistic. However, we are well aware that Canada will face an important operational deficit over the next decade," said Mr. Fraser.

Even if part of the federal government's representatives promise contracts totalizing 2 G$, a chantier Davie analysis demonstrates that the Quebec company would only be eligible for a very small portion of these, with a combined value of 25 M$.

A multidirectional coalition

The support towards Chantier Davie is exponentially increasing, and it comes from all horizons of the civil Quebec society. Over the past weeks, a multidirectional coalition has been created, i.e. the Coalition pour la sauvegarde de Chantier Davie Canada Inc. Every provincial political party (Parti libéral du Québec, Parti québécois, Coalition avenir Québec and Québec solidaire) have spoken out in favour of Chantier Davie, and their position was confirmed by a unanimous motion at the National Assembly. Furthermore, economic stakeholders such as the Quebec Employers' Council, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux and the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec all raised their voices in favour of the contract for the largest Canadian shipyard.

Over the next weeks, the Coalition will continue its efforts in order to raise awareness among the members of the federal government and the community regarding the importance of Chantier Davie in the regional, provincial and Canadian economy.

About Davie

Davie and Federal Fleet Services are part of the Inocea group. While Davie focuses on shipbuilding, Federal Fleet concentrates on obtaining contracts and on vessel rental. Davie is Canada's largest and most experienced shipyard. It is also the highest capacity shipyard in Canada, with 50% of the country's total capacity. Over the last five years, Davie generated more than 2 G$ in economic impact in Canada and employed, up until recently, directly and indirectly, over 3 000 Canadians, including 1 400 at the Lévis shipyard, in the province of Quebec. For over a century, Davie has been in charge of the construction and the repair of each major vessel class. Today, Davie is a leader in the icebreaking, LNG and dynamic positioning technologies fields, as well as in naval and other crucial shipbuilding domains. Davie is an ISO 9001:2015 (quality assurance) and ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management) certified company. The first replenishment ship built by Davie, the Asterix, was the first naval vessel to join the ranks of Green Marine, the most important environmental certification voluntary program for North America's marine industry. 

 

SOURCE Davie Shipbuilding


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