A union representing 1,000 workers employed at the Site C dam project are lobbying NDP Leader John Horgan and Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver to finish the Site C dam project, once they form government.
The Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) has penned letters to both party leaders, who plan to refer the $8.8 billion project immediately to the BC Utilities Commission for review.
The question being asked appears rigged to ensure the project is halted, since it asks the BCUC to assess the project on “Current” supply and demand, not future supply and demand, which is what the dam is being built to meet.
“The economic impact of any delays or cancellation on each individual worker and their families is immense,” CLAC spokesman Ryan Bruce said in a press release.
The CLAC represents workers employed by the Peace River Hydro Partners (PRHP), a consortium that has the main civil works contract for the dam project. Many of those workers were expecting to be employed until 2024. Their jobs are now in question.
In letters to both Horgan and Weaver, the CLAC writes: “Your party’s recommendations concerning this project will have a deep and profound impact upon their lives, their families, and all of those in Fort St. John, the Peace Country, and the province of British Columbia whose livelihoods depend on the continuation of construction at Site C. We write you today on their behalf, contending that they will be indelibly harmed by the delay or cancellation of the project.”
The CLAC has asked both Horgan and Weaver to meet with the CLAC.
The appeal comes a few days on the heels of a public relations event staged June 8 by the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA).
The ICBA strung pink slips up at BC Hydro’s head office. A total of 2,245 jobs are on the line, should the Site C dam be cancelled, says the ICBA.
The ICBA has launched a campaign called Get2Yes that urges British Columbians to sing online petitions supporting the Site C dam project, as well as other projects, including the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and George Massey Tunnel project.
