Canadian shipyards could have received further work after the Halifax-class programme. Icebreakers for the coast guard and ferries serving the islands are proposed as ways to keep the yards operating. The political explanation offered is the optimism of the 1990s and early 2000s, when governments treated major wars and economic instability as problems they had overcome. That assumption weakened the case for maintaining industrial capacity against future need. Continued civilian and coast-guard orders could have sustained activity between naval programmes.
Notable Point · 2:45:00-2:49:56
The industrial cost of letting Canadian shipyards close
Steady coast-guard and ferry work could have preserved skills and facilities after the Halifax-class programme instead of requiring later reconstruction.