In his February 3, 2018 article “Canada Can't Refuel its Own Ships”, Senator Kenny unfortunately and incorrectly paints a gloomy picture of the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).A picture that does not in any way reflect the positive impact that the long-term strategy is already having on Canada's West Coast after only a few years.It was as a direct result of the NSS' promise of long-term, sustainable work – with Seaspan building Canada's future non-combat vessels over 1000 gross tonnes – that our company invested $170 million of its own money to upgrade the facilities, equipment, and processes at Vancouver Shipyards making it the most modern shipyard of its kind in North America.As Senator Kenny well knows, the NSS is designed to recapitalize the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy with long overdue capability to meet an expanding and complex array of domestic and international missions in the decades to come. And, to do so in a way that avoids the costly boom and bust cycles that have defined previous federal shipbuilding programs.The NSS also set out to rebuild a domestic industry and ecosystem essential to support Canada's sovereign maritime interests and to provide Canadians who are young, already in the workforce, new to our country, or from non-traditional backgrounds with exciting, challenging, well-paid and stable career choices.I am happy to report that is exactly what is happening on Canada's West Coast because of the National Shipbuilding Strategy.On December 8, 2017, Seaspan took great pride in launching the first vessel over 1,000 gross tonnes to have been designed and built under NSS for the Canadian Coast Guard.As a result of NSS, Seaspan is creating an average of 2,300 jobs per year and we have already committed more than $540 million on contracts with a growing marine supply chain of more than 400 Canadian companies.The fact that the Canadian Coast Guard, for instance, is operating an aged fleet today is not the fault of the NSS. It is the consequence of decades of under-funding and inattention to the critical mission played by the Coast Guard as an iconic figure in Canadian maritime history.  The NSS responds appropriately to these shortcomings with a long-term predictable build program.As decision-makers in Ottawa consider their options to address short-term capability gaps for the Coast Guard or Navy, they should be mindful not to put at risk the integrity of the NSS or the considerable investments NSS shipyards, their current and future workforces, and an expanding Canadian supply chain have made and continue to make.If short-term band aid remedies are identified, they should be clearly defined as such and openly competed accordingly to Federal Government procurement rules and regulations - the same rules under which Seaspan Shipyards operates as the competitively selected, long-term West Coast shipbuilding partner to the Government of Canada.Let's start talking about how to set up our maritime forces for long term success through the NSS and stop undermining its very principles by advocating for the failed piecemeal shipbuilding practices of the past.Timothy I. Page is Vice President of Government Relations for Seaspan Shipyards in North Vancouver.