Site C employment numbers drop again

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

The Site C project had 2,518 people working for the site in January, compared to 3,153 in December.

According to BC Hydro, 436 Site C workers were Peace region residents, accounting for 25 per cent of the project’s construction and non-construction contractors workforce.

There were 1,967 B.C. primary residents working on the project, accounting for 78 per cent of the workforce.

The number of apprentices decreased from 162 in December to 118 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 102 Indigenous workers in January.

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.