Site C employment numbers drop again in November

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Site C employment numbers dropped again in November due to the seasonal nature of construction and the completion of key components.

The Site C project had 4,302 people working for the site in November, compared to 4,903 in October.

According to Site C community relations manager Bob Gammer, the reason for the continued decrease is partially due to the seasonal nature of construction work but also what is expected as a result of components of the project being completed.

Some of the work that is nearly finished or completed includes reservoir clearing, transmission line and earthfill dam construction, Highway 29 realignments and bridges and fish habitat enhancements.

“Workers of the prime contractors may be laid off or assigned to other work by their employers as it is up to those employers to set staffing levels to take on their Site C project tasks,” Gammer said.

“For many workers, it means their work at Site C is over, and they move on to other construction sites where their employer is active.”

According to BC Hydro, 828 Site C workers were Peace region residents, accounting for 24 per cent of the project’s construction and non-construction contractors workforce.

There were 2,987 B.C. primary residents working on the project, accounting for 69 per cent of the workforce.

The number of apprentices decreased from 280 in October to 246 the following month.

The report also provides the number of Indigenous people who worked on Site C, adding that workers voluntarily self-declared their Indigenous status to the employer. There were 327 Indigenous workers in November.

As anticipated by BC Hydro, the reservoir filling will begin on schedule in the fall of 2024.

The reservoir filling process will take four months at a varying rate of 0.3 to two metres per day. Once completed, the reservoir will be approximately three times wider than the Peace River.

The depth of the reservoir near the dam will be approximately 52 metres, with shallower areas around Hudson’s Hope being 18 metres.