Canadian Sailors standing guard

(Left to right) Lodge 191 Business Manager Gordon White, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Machinist Local 3 Business Manager Ron Wicket on board of the HMCS Regina

HMCS Regina's troops board the frigate

Some of the 191 members employed on the frigates

FMF Cape Breton - employs 90 plus members of 191

After 3.4 million man hours modernising and extending Canada's Frigates, Lodge 191 and her trade partners at Seaspan Victoria Shipyard have successfully completed upgrading five frigates for the Canadian Navy on time and on budget. The HMCS Calgary was the first, followed by the HMCS Winnipeg, Calgary, Ottawa, with the HMCS Regina being the last one.

When the project was announced in 2008 it was welcomed as the largest in Victoria Shipyards history. The refit project created work for over 2,300 people.

On May 29, 2016, a ceremony marked the turnover of the last frigate HMCS Regina back to the Navy. Canadian Defence Minister, Harjit Sajjan, noted during his speech that the work done by the tradespeople on the frigates was at the highest standard.

Rear-Admiral, Gilles Courturier, remarked on the importance of the work the shipyard did to improve the frigates for the navy in upgrading the combat system integration and support.

Due to the excellent reputation Seaspan Victoria Shipyard and her employees have created, two New Zealand frigates are expected to arrive under a modernization deal starting next year.

Besides the frigates, Boilermakers have been working on Canada's submarine fleet, creating jobs during the last six years. The submarine contract is anticipated to conclude in 2023.

Another line of business Seaspan has been working on are cruise ships. A 10-15 day docking of a cruise ship creates a minimum of 350-400 jobs when the ships are in the dry dock. Cruise ship contracts normally run in the millions of dollars in revenue in the local economy of Southern Vancouver Island.

There are 24 cruise ships maintained in North America each year and Victoria Shipyard is the only one in Canada that does this type of work. Lodge 191 is the sole bargaining agent at Seaspan Victoria Shipyard and works closely with other trades to supply the people the employer and clients need to get their ship on time.

Vice-president of Seaspan Victoria Shipyard, Joe O'Rourke, said "The whole crew, from management to the tradespeople were focused to get the frigates back to the client to their satisfaction on time."

Besides Victoria Shipyard, 191 members work across the bay at Fleet Maintenance Facility (FMF) Cape Breton in the employment of the Department of National Defense, preparing, maintaining and repairing Canada's pacific fleet. This creates full time employment for over 90 Lodge 191 members. On the east coast, FMF Cape Scott at Halifax, NS, employs around 130 members of Lodge 580, working on the Atlantic Fleet.