Two unions representing roughly half the workforce on the Site C dam want meetings with the BC NDP and Green parties to discuss the future of the $8.8-billion project.

Both the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) and the Construction Maintenance and Allied Workers Canada (CMAW) have sent letters to NDP Leader John Horgan to talk about his position on the project, which includes sending the dam for a BC Utilities Commission review if he forms a minority government in the coming weeks.

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CLAC, which represents workers employed by civil works contractor Peace River Hydro Partners, says it’s circulating a petition amongst its workers at the dam to support its continued construction. Any delay resulting from the review would be “undue and unwarranted,” the union said in a release, and its outright cancellation would have an “immense” impact on workers.

“Many of our members have made significant household decisions and commitments based upon the expectation of long-term work,” CLAC BC Provincial Director David Prentice wrote in June 12 letters to both Horgan and BC Green Leader Andrew Weaver.

“Your party’s recommendations concerning this project will have a deep and profound impact upon their lives, their families, and all of those in Fort St. John, the Peace Country, and the province of British Columbia whose livelihoods depend on the continuation of construction at Site C.”

Peace River Hydro Partners holds the $1.75-billion civil works contract to build the earth-filled dam, work that is expected to continue to 2024, Prentice noted. CLAC currently represents more than 1,000 workers on the project, he added.

“As the representatives of the largest group of unionized workers on the project, we believe we are uniquely positioned to deliver a message of concern on behalf of the workers of Site C.

Horgan has said work would continue on the dam during an expedited commission review.

However, he has urged BC Hydro to delay the eviction of some valley landowners and hold off signing contracts without penalty-free cancellation clauses as his party looks to transition into a minority government with the support of the BC Greens. That includes a pending contract for Highway 29 realignment work at Bear Flat expected to be awarded by June 15.

Both Premier Christy Clark and BC Hydro CEO Jessica McDonald say that delaying the contract’s award and the moving of landowners would push the project a year off schedule at a cost of up to $630 million.

Jan Noster, president of the Construction Maintenance and Allied Workers Canada, told Horgan her union represents 140 carpenters employed by PRHP. An estimated $4.5- to $5.5-billion contract for generating station and spillways work is expected to be awarded by July 30, Noster told Horgan in a June 6 letter. Noster also wants a meeting with the NDP leader.

“As I’m sure you are aware, there is a lot of anxiety being felt by our membership due to recent media coverage around the project,” Noster wrote.

BC Hydro reported 2,212 workers were working on the dam as of April 2017, with 80 per cent of the workers from B.C. There were 648 Peace Region residents working on the dam, or 29 per cent of the total workforce.

“We’re on pins and needles right now,” said Leah Reid, a CLAC member working on the dam, in a statement.

“If there are any delays at Site C, we will have very hard decisions to make. It is very expensive to live here, but we love the Fort St. John community. We moved here to work and to make the city our home.”

Danielle Musil, another worker, said the project has allowed her to stay in the community. “Before Site C, I was certain that I would need to leave Fort St. John, the community where I grew up, in order to find work,” Musil said.

“The project gave me stability and peace of mind. It’s upsetting to think that I may need to go through the process of uprooting myself, leaving my family and friends, again.”

The appeal comes a few days on the heels of a public relations event staged June 8 by the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA). The ICBA strung pink slips up at BC Hydro’s head office, saying thousands of jobs are on the line should the Site C dam be cancelled.

The ICBA has launched a campaign called Get2Yes that urges British Columbians to sign online petitions supporting the Site C dam project, as well as other projects, including the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and George Massey Tunnel project.

—with files from Business in Vancouver

editor@ahnfsj.ca