BC Hydro reports declining employee numbers at Site C in June

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Site C’s workforce has resumed a decline in numbers as the project nears completion.

BC Hydro’s latest employment statistics report shows that 1,349 individuals worked on the Peace region hydroelectric dam in June, down from 1,472 in May.

Of those, 1,094 people — 81 per cent of the workforce — were primary B.C. residents, and 253 of them — about 19 per cent of the workforce — were primary Peace region residents.

That’s a sharp increase in primary B.C. residents compared to the 75 per cent figure reported for May, but a similarly steep decline from the 28 per cent primary Peace region residents.

The workforce for June was also reportedly made up of 46 Indigenous people (3.4 per cent) and 160 women (about 12 per cent). That’s a decline in numbers from the 53 Indigenous workers and 176 women reported for May, but an increase on the percentage of Indigenous and women workers in May, which stood at 2.4 per cent and 11.9 per cent respectively last month.

The number of apprentices working at Site C also went down, from 43 in May to 30 — 2.2 per cent – in June.

The Site C hydroelectric dam is expected to be completed by the fall of 2025. Earlier in July, the fifth of six generating units became operational at the facility.