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He’s talking about a Project Labour Agreement, giving preferential hiring to union workers, though non-union companies could still bid on contracts, too.

B.C. Hydro has already approved some massive non-union Site C construction contracts — but several major contracts are still outstanding, Sigurdson points out.

“The powerhouse and spillway contracts are still to be let,” he said. “That’s at least $1.5 billion — likely closer to $2 billion when the bids come in.”

This kind of build-it-anyway talk angers opponents of the Site C dam, who say the project is too expensive, too harmful to the environment and we don’t need all the additional power anyway.

But other major labour unions argue the project has passed the point of no return economically.

Watch for the Allied Hydro Council to release a report this week saying B.C. Hydro has already spent around $3 billion on the dam and it would cost close to $2 billion more in work-site remediation if the project is scrapped.

That would be $5 billion for nothing — the biggest public-sector boondoggle in B.C. history.

The council — an alliance of trade unions — will also argue that Hydro would have to spend billions more on alternative, new energy sources if Site C is scrapped.

It’s therefore “in the public interest and ratepayers’ interest to proceed with Site C,” the council urged in an earlier report to the B.C. Utilities Commission.

Keep in mind these unions are closely allied with the governing NDP and helped get Horgan elected. Their arguments could be critical in pushing the Site C dam to completion.

msmyth@postmedia.com

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