The news was first revealed by Noovo and then confirmed by Radio-Canada.
Davie’s entry into Naval Strategy confirms that the shipyard has the engineering credentials to build the ships of the Canadian fleet.
This gives the Lévis company access to billions of dollars worth of contracts.
We are talking about twenty years of work, about a modernization that will begin in the months following the announcement, confirms the leader of the workers’ union, Jean Blanchette.
Jean Blanchette is President of the Davie Shipyard Labor Union.
Photo: Radio Canada
Discussions between the shipyard and Ottawa have been going on for several years. In 2019, it was prequalified as the third partner shipyard after the Irving and Seaspan shipyards.
The union stood at the entrance to the shipyard on Thursday to answer workers’ questions. He can’t confirm the news at this time, but looks forward to the announcement.
It’s huge because we’ve been waiting for this announcement for a dozen years. We were deferred in 2011 for various reasons, launched President Jean Blanchette. The announcement was supposed to come in January, so we’re eagerly awaiting that announcement.
Jean Blanchette isn’t the only one brimming with impatience. The mayor of Lévis, Gilles Lehouillier, shares this enthusiasm.
Already at the level of shipbuilding, we feel an effervescence that we have never seen before. Companies that contact us to establish themselves in Lévis! The mayor believes that the effects will be enormous.
I haven’t officially received the announcement yet, he continues. But the mayor is confident in the continuation of these acts. It will be like aerospace in Montreal, says Mr. Lehouillier. It’s as simple as that. People aren’t seeing the impact yet, but I’m telling you, it’s a new area of innovation that’s about to see the light of day and it’s going to be an amazing economic boom.
Announcement Tuesday
The details of the agreement will be announced at a press conference in Lévis next Tuesday. A government source has also confirmed to Radio-Canada the presence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister Jean-Yves Duclos for the formalization of icebreaker contracts at the Davie shipyard.
Secretary Duclos estimates the economic benefits at tens of billions of dollars.
It has indeed taken many years of hard work on the part of many people in Quebec, whose work we can’t wait to highlight in the days to come, he said.
François Legault’s cabinet and Davie’s management refused to confirm the information.
With information from Pierre-Alexandre Bolduc