Site C employment drops again in December

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Site C employment numbers dropped again in December due to the seasonal nature of construction.

The Site C project had 3,153 people working for the site in December, compared to 4,302 in November.

“As with any construction project, the number of workers — and the proportion from any particular location — will vary month-to-month and also reflects the seasonal nature of construction work,” said Bob Gammer, Site C community relations manager.

According to BC Hydro, 638 Site C workers were Peace region residents, accounting for 27 per cent of the project’s construction and non-construction contractors workforce.

There were 1,640 B.C. primary residents working on the project, accounting for 69 per cent of the workforce.

The number of apprentices decreased from 246 in November to 162 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 197 Indigenous workers in December.

As anticipated by BC Hydro, the reservoir filling will begin on schedule in the fall of 2024 instead of an early start this past fall.

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.