BC Authorities Knew Over A Year Ago That Site C Dam On Peace River Was In Serious Trouble

[hatrack]

Two top B.C. civil servants, including the senior bureaucrat who prepares Site C dam documents for cabinet, knew in May 2019 that the project faced serious geotechnical problems due to its “weak foundation,” according to documents obtained by The Narwhal.

Energy ministry assistant deputy minister Les MacLaren and deputy finance minister Lori Wanamaker also knew the following month that the over-budget project had almost exhausted its $858 million contingency fund, a likely sign of another cost overrun, according to the documents, which were released under B.C.’s freedom of information act.

Yet British Columbians — the owners of the publicly funded dam on the Peace River — didn’t learn about the project’s escalating troubles for more than a year, until Energy Minister Bruce Ralston held a brief press conference on July 31, the same day BC Hydro released overdue Site C dam reports.

The belated BC Hydro reports said the Site C dam faces unknown cost overruns, schedule delays and such profound geotechnical troubles that its overall health is now classified as “red” — meaning it is in serious trouble.

EDIT

https://thenarwhal.ca/site-c-dam-geotechnical-problems-bc-government-foi-docs/

[OnlinePoker]

1. Speculation is Horgan called the election because he's going to have to cancel the project

He could have cancelled it in 2017 when BC was only into it for $4 Billion but gave the go-ahead. Now, with billions more added, it wouldn't be good optics with a mandatory election next fall. He wouldn't have wanted a boondoggle hanging over him going into the election. Calling it early when he's riding high in the polls because of the province's Covid response was good politics.