BC Government gives Site C green light to continue: reaction from BC Hydro, ICBA & CTF
— Photo courtesy Peace River Hydro Partners
BC Hydro supports government's decision to proceed with the Site C project, and we are committed to completing the project in the most prudent and efficient way possible.
We acknowledge Site C is a large and complex project that has faced many challenges, impacting the budget and the schedule.
As we move forward, we have a responsibility to the province to deliver this project on time and within the revised budget, and we are confident we will be able to do so. We have identified a number of areas where improvements must be made, including adding independent oversight of project performance, ensuring the appropriate resources are in place to manage new and existing contractors, and enhancing openness and transparency through increased project communications.
We recognize the importance of continued engagement as the project goes forward and are committed to continuing to work closely with the people living and working in the Peace Region, including Indigenous groups, property owners, local governments and our other important stakeholders.
Delivering affordable, clean electricity to our customers remains our priority. With government's support, we can deliver this project on time and within the revised budget, and meet the growing demand for power.
The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) welcomed the announcement that work on the Site C clean energy project will continue.
“With so much at stake for our province, better late than never for John Horgan and the NDP Government to support Site C,” said Chris Gardner, ICBA president. “This entire process and all of the uncertainty it caused was completely unnecessary. In the past four months, we have seen a rushed review and needless NDP-Green politicking create uncertainty and confusion that put this clean energy project, and the thousands of jobs it supports, at risk for no reason.”
“We were proud to stand up for the workers at Site C, for BC Hydro ratepayers, and for all British Columbians who will benefit for generations from this clean, affordable, reliable energy supply of electricity,” said Gardner. Long before this latest review, Site C was one of the most scrutinized projects in B.C. history, and made sense both economically and environmentally. “Our message from the start of this process was clear: the review was unnecessary – finish Site C and keep building B.C.”
ICBA does have some concerns with Horgan’s plan. Arbitrarily setting apprentice and other workforce ratios will limit contractor flexibility and inevitably drive up costs and slow the construction schedule.
“By tilting the playing field in favour of the 20 per cent of the construction industry represented by the traditional Building Trades unions, the NDP is driving up costs to finish the dam,” said Gardner, noting that ICBA is the single-largest sponsor of construction apprentices in B.C. “Not only is this unfair to the 80 per cent of construction workers in B.C. not affiliated with an NDP-aligned union, any time you distort the market, erode competition, create more bureaucracy, and remove flexibility, it costs more. Unfortunately, the taxpayers of B.C. will be stuck with the bill.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) greeted the news of the green light given to the Site C hydroelectric dam mega project with cautious optimism.
An aerial view of the Site C Project. — Photo courtesy SiteCproject.com
"Taking a four billion-dollar bath with nothing to show for it would have been fiscally irresponsible," said Kris Sims, BC Director of the CTF. "BC taxpayers have already invested a staggering amount of money into this project, and we need to have something to show for it."
The taxpayer advocacy group stresses the need for strict money management as the construction continues.
"This big build needs to be completed as quickly and as frugally as possible, it cannot become an unending 'make work' project for union bosses, special interest groups and lobbyists," Sims said. "If this is about providing sustainable and affordable electricity for British Columbians in the decades to come, then, we need to stick to that plan and complete this thing on time and on budget."
The CTF supports the BC government's choice to stay with the steady and sustainable supply of affordable electricity in BC.
"It's a wise move to stay with affordable hydro power in BC and not to enter into experiments with 'green energy' at exponentially inflated costs, as has happened in Ontario," Sims added. "Ratepayers in Ontario are being overcharged billions of dollars for electricity because of shockingly expensive agreements for solar and wind power. Many families are using food banks because they cannot afford their electricity bills and businesses are fleeing that once prosperous province."
