‘First of its kind’: Non-profit speaks on aspiration for wellness centre at Site C camp

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A Peace River region non-profit organization is on a mission to convince multiple levels of government and BC Hydro that a local workers camp has more life to live as a mental health and addictions centre. 

The $470 million Site C workers camp has been in use for the duration of the construction of BC Hydro’s Site C hydroelectric dam on the Peace River near Fort St. John, and the utility first approached the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) about possibly demolishing it in March.

Since then, the utility says it has received a “high” level of interest from third parties in acquiring parts of the camp.

The North Wind Wellness Centre (NWWC), a non-profit organization based in the Peace River region, has been in communication with the PRRD regarding the camp for several months. 

In June, the society sent a letter to the regional district requesting its support in advocating to BC Hydro about acquiring the facility, and appeared as a delegation before the PRRD’s board of directors in July to outline its plans for a mental health centre. 

Following the appearance before the board, the society sent another letter requesting the PRRD’s support for communications with the BC Hydro board, which is the first step in a long process to convince the utility and the provincial government to approve the acquisition of the camp. 

In an interview with Energeticcity.ca, Mukhtar Latif, a strategic development consultant with Pomegranate Housing Consultancy, and Isaac Hernandez, the society’s executive director, explained the challenging process and the dream fueling the society’s plans. 

According to Latif, the road to approving the acquisition involves several levels of government and different ministries and the support of BC Hydro, but the need for mental health and addiction in the northeast is enough of a motivator for the society. 

“We see these huge challenges across the province in terms of addressing this need, and that gap of service is everywhere, it’s not just in the north,” Latif said. 

“[The camp is] well maintained, and it’s an opportunity to [become] an economic driver [in] the region as well, because it means jobs for the local population,” Latif said. 

Latif explained the “centre for excellence,” as the society calls it, would result in an increase to local employment due to its size and extensive needs outside of healthcare professions. 

The society also hopes to take advantage of the size of the camp, dividing the 1,700-person living accommodations into patient and employee spaces, to create a centre that combines mental health and addictions support, post-recovery occupational training, worker accommodations and healthcare training facilities. 

“Looking around, this will be the first centre of its kind in Canada, and potentially it will generate a different way of how we deal with mental health and addictions, because at the moment we’re tinkering with the system, trying our best, but it’s not really making that big [of a] difference,” Latif said. 

“Until we understand what works, what doesn’t work and share that information, we’re not really going to improve the way we help people when they [are] going through this journey of theirs.” 

Latif explained the society feels it “makes sense” logistically to leave the facility where it is, rather than dismantling it to transport it elsewhere, due to cost. 

“It does need everyone to collaborate…It’s a first of its kind, so we want to work with the community, we want to work with partners to see how we can develop the concept so it’s a success,” Latif said. 

“The idea is both a call-out to BC Hydro and the province to help support the initiative, but also other partners who are in the mental health and addiction field to see how we could work together to find the best way to actually make this facility a success and really be a world-recognized opportunity.” 

In a statement to Energeticcity.ca, BC Hydro’s manager of public affairs and community relations for Site C, Greg Alexis, said BC Hydro is continuing to look for “interested parties” to acquire parts of the camp “by the end of the project.” 

The dam is still undergoing minor construction, with the sixth and final generating unit becoming operational on August 9th. 

“We have received a high level of interest in the camp from a number of organizations in recent months and we’re optimistic the facility can be repurposed,” Alexis said. 

Alexis also confirmed the utility’s discussions with NWWC, and had conducted a tour of the facility with the society in June. 

“Our discussions with the North Wind Wellness Centre remain ongoing,” Alexis said. 

Energeticcity.ca reached out to Northern Health, the Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions and the Ministry of Health, but all declined to comment.