The province's awarding of a $40-million contract to a ship building company in Chile isn't sitting well with Chatham-Kent-Essex MPP Rick Nicholls.
He feels the ship building company in Wheatley, Hike Metal Products, would have been a better option.
"They're only like ten minutes down the road from Leamington; customer service and everything else," says Nicholls. "Now I don't know what [Hike Metal's] bid was on this, but I was very disappointed."
The Ontario government is having a new ferry built to replace the 55-year-old M.V. Pelee Islander. It was announced Thursday the contract would go to ASENAV based in Valdivia, Chile.
Nicholls feels the money would have been better spent at home. He expects the contract being awarded to the Wheatley company would have meant 75 direct labour jobs and about another 50 indirect positions over the next two years.
"That's money that could have been supporting families locally in an area that has been somewhat depressed over the last few years in Chatham-Kent," says Nicholls.
BlackburnNews.com has reached out to both Hike Metal and the Ministry of Transportation for comment.
