Nobody wants to sail in a boat built in some autocratic country with a poor human rights record that cheats and lies, started a trade war with us and has plans to take over the world.

So it’s good there were no U.S. bids to renew the B.C. ferry fleet.

But the corporation opted to do a deal with China, which doesn’t exactly ease people’s minds.

The immediate fallout from that controversy so far is that former federal transport minister Chrystia Freeland quit cabinet and became an envoy to Ukraine, after it became clear she completely missed the boat when she started objecting to the deal.

She raised heated objections to the deal on grounds like those above. Then it was pointed out that her own government has loaned B.C. Ferries $1 billion to do the deal.

It also paid the entire cost for a new ferry to Newfoundland. It was built in China, too.

Premier David Eby is going to fixate on the feds’ ludicrously different treatment of the Pacific and Atlantic in a bid to boost the federal contribution to B.C.’s ferry system.

The China Syndrome drama........

© Times Colonist