BC Ferries deal raised with Transport Canada weeks before Freeland’s criticism, e

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BC Ferries announced in June it was buying four massive ferries from a Chinese state-owned shipyard.

Transport Canada had weeks of warning before BC Ferries made a controversial announcement in June that it was buying four new ships from China, according to an e-mail from the ferry organization’s head.

The purchase was swiftly condemned at the time by Chrystia Freeland, who was transport minister until she stepped down from the position on Tuesday to become Ottawa’s special representative to Ukraine.

The e-mail, sent by BC Ferries president and CEO Nicolas Jimenez to deputy transport minister Arun Thangaraj, is part of an exchange between the two men obtained by The Globe and Mail. In it, Mr. Jimenez sharply criticized Ms. Freeland for her public position against the purchase