Former Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland will again appear before a parliamentary committee following a unanimous vote by its members, after new emails appear to reveal her department was aware weeks in advance that BC Ferries intended to use a $1 billion loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to help purchase four vessels from a Chinese state-owned shipyard.

Emails reportedly exchanged in late April between BC Ferries president Nicolas Jimenez and Transport Canada deputy minister Arun Thangaraj detailed BC Ferries’ plans to contract a Chinese shipyard to build four new ferries, according to internal documents obtained by The Globe and Mail.

Freeland, who was transport minister at the time, had said she was “dismayed” and taken by surprise when BC Ferries announced its procurement plan in June. The emails suggest her department had known about the plan since at least April.

The emails reportedly include a June 22 email from Jimenez to Thangaraj which expresses frustration about Freeland claiming she didn’t know about the deal in her public comments despite having been warned a month-and-a-half earlier.

Jimenez’s email also questioned Freeland’s claim that federal funding could not support BC Ferries, noting that Ottawa funds ferries in the Maritimes, which were also built at the same Chinese shipyard.

B.C. Premier David Eby voiced similar concerns to reporters on Sept. 18, criticizing the gap in federal support between Eastern and Western Canada and calling it “bizarre” that BC Ferries’ low-interest loan faced so much scrutiny while Eastern Canadian ferries received full federal funding.

The motion to have Freeland appear once again before the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities was introduced by Bloc Québécois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval on Sept. 18, who said that “everyone was taken for idiots” by being led to believe the government lacked prior knowledge of a contract with a Chinese shipyard.

The committee had previously met on Aug. 1 to hear testimony from Freeland, Jimenez, CIB chief executive Ehren Cory, and Housing Minister Gregor Robertson.

Barsalou-Duval’s motion requires the public disclosure of all documents gathered by the committee related to the ferry procurement, which will include three additional hearings featuring shipyards, industry experts, and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.

During debate on the motion, Liberal MPs initially argued that it was unnecessary for Freeland to reappear because she had already testified before the committee for an hour during the Aug. 1 hearing. Liberal MP Will Greaves said Conservatives are trying to unfairly and inaccurately politicize the CIB loan to BC Ferries.

“What other questions would be asked of the minister if they were recalled before this committee, given the time and interrogation that’s already been spent on the matter,” Greaves said. “What value or what additional information does this committee anticipate getting?”

Conservative MP Dan Albas replied that the emails appearing to show prior knowledge of the procurement details merit another hearing. He said Transport Canada should have taken action due to its prior knowledge that the ships were set to be contracted for construction by a Chinese shipyard.

“It’s a damning indictment, because Transport Canada was made aware six weeks before that announcement, and they did nothing to protect Canadian jobs. They just sat on their hands and let it proceed,” Albas said.

“This raises a number of questions about former minister Chrystia Freeland’s abrupt resignation and ... blows a hole in her narrative that she wanted BC Ferries to buy Canadian and was dismayed and upset about it.”

The Conservatives are calling for the deal to be cancelled, given China’s escalated tariffs on Canada, as well as for the work to be done in Canada rather than in China.

Liberal members of the committee later agreed to support the motion after debating the matter.

Freeland resigned as transport and internal trade minister on Sept. 16, moving to a role as Canada’s special representative for Ukrainian reconstruction. She still retains her seat as an MP.

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