Digging for The Truth on Site C Dam Job Numbers

Nov. 16, 2017 - Site C jobs are often cited as a main reason to proceed with the $9 billion dam on B.C.’s Peace River. But how many jobs would Site C actually create? Are there really 2,375 people currently employed on the project, as widely reported this month?

DeSmog Canada dove into Site C jobs numbers. We found dubious claims, political spin, and far too much secrecy.

• Number of direct construction jobs BC Hydro said Site C would create in March 1991: 2,182  [1]
   
• Number of Site C direct construction jobs promised by Premier Gordon Campbell in April 2010: 7,650  [2]
   
• Number of Site C direct construction jobs promised by Premier Christy Clark in December 2014: 10,000  [3]
   
• Workforce at peak employment at the W.A.C. Bennett dam, B.C.’s largest dam, in the 1960s:  3,500  [4]
   
• Workforce at peak employment at the Peace Canyon Dam in the 1970s: 1,100  [5]
   
• Number of pages redacted from the B.C. Liberal government’s response to a 2016 Freedom of Information request asking for documents related to Site C’s job creation figures: 880  [6]
   
• Time it took to receive the request: 11.5 months
   
• Number of pages with redactions in BC Hydro’s 692-page response to a 2017 Freedom of Information request asking for daily worker headcounts at Site C: 692[7]
   
• Date BC Hydro said it did not have daily and weekly headcounts for Site C workers on the project site or staying at the workers’ lodge: October 12, 2017  [8]
   
• Number of people BC Hydro’s Site C main website page says were employed on the project in September 2017: 2,375  [9]
   
• Number of Full Time Employees (FTEs) among them: unknown
   
• Minimum number of days a contract worker must be employed to be included in BC Hydro’s monthly Site C jobs tally: unknown
   
• Approximate number of direct construction contract workers included in the September 2017 Site C workers tally: 1,164  [10]
   
• Approximate number of other contract workers included in the September 2017 Site C workers tally: 750  [11]
   
• Number of engineers and project team staff, including at BC Hydro’s head office in Vancouver, included in the September 2017 Site C workers tally: 461  [12]
   
• Number of workers laid off at the Site C construction site in August 2017: 120  [13]
   
• Number of workers laid off at the Site C construction site in September 2017: approximately 200  [14]
   
• Number of workers laid off over Thanksgiving weekend, 2017: approximately 60[  15]
   
• Number of workers laid off in early November 2017: approximately 30  [16]
   
• Mentions of the layoffs on BC Hydro’s website: 0 
   
• Current number of Site C workers according to Liberal MLA Mike Bernier: 2,400  [17]
   
• Cost of Site C in 2010: $6.6 billion
   
• Cost of Site C in 2012: $7.9 billion
   
• Cost of Site C in December 2014: $8.8 billion
   
• Cost of Site C in November 2017: potentially more than $10 billion  [18]
   
• Date BC Hydro filed a quarterly report with the B.C. Utilities Commission saying Site C was on budget and on track to meet its 2024 completion date: September 29, 2017  [19]
   
• Date the BCUC released a report saying it is not persuaded Site C will be finished on time and that the project is over-budget with completion costs that could exceed $10 billion: November 1, 2017
   
• Date the B.C. government will make a final decision about Site C: before December 31, 2017