By Cheryl Jahn

New PHO results in work stoppages

Jan 14, 2021 | 4:19 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Two days ago, the Provincial Health Office issued a new Order impacting five major projects across Northern BC, Coastal GasLink being one of them.

“As of now, to comply with the Order, we have not re-mobilized our construction workforce after the holiday break,” explains Kyle Giddens with Coastal GasLink. “Of course, safety is at the forefront of everything we do.”

Specifically, the order severely restricts the number of people working on five major projects. They are Coastal GasLink, LNG Canada, Site C, the Trans Mountain expansion and the Rio Tinto Kitimat project.

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Prior to the holiday break, Coast GasLink alone had more than four thousand workers on the project, while BC Hydro had nearly five thousand people working on Site C in November.

In the case of Coastal GasLink, Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad questions restricting a project that is 670 kilometres in length to four hundred workers.

“But when you think about 4,500 people working along a pipeline, that’s a lot of impact to a lot of communities. First Nations communities and non First Nations communities alike,” says Rustad. “And suddenly they’re going to be out [of work] for who knows how long. Will they be able to come back in March, in April, in September? Who knows how long this order will be in place.”

And he says projects like these ones are very carefully planned. Often there are short windows to complete certain aspects of the work. Crossing a fish-bearing river needs the approval of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and can only be done at certain times. Rustad says those windows could close for another year.

In the meantime, Giddens says the contractors and sub-contractors have been forced to lay off workers.

“Our focus really is that re-start plan so we can bring back workers as soon as possible. And we have committed to hiring indigenous and local workers first on this project.”