Premier John Horgan gave the green light on completing the Site C Hydroelectric Dam.
He says British Columbians would have gained nothing if they didn’t complete the project, because if they had decided to cancel Site C, it would have taken on the project’s $3.9 billion in debt, made up of $2.1 billion already spent and another $1.8 billion in remediation costs.
Horgan says this wasn’t an easy decision.
“I can’t think in the 30 years I’ve been involved with public policy of a choice that was more difficult then this one, but it is absolutely in the interest of British Columbians to take advantage of an opportunity to go forward and make better a bad situation.”
.@jjhorgan says this project was not in his favour but they are already this far | #northernBC #bcpoli
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) December 11, 2017
Horgan added the NDP government had no choice because the BC liberal’s recklessly pushed Site C to the point of no return, committing billions to the project without proper planning.
This is a massive capital project, the biggest BC hydro has ever done, and a new project team will be put in place to provide enhanced oversight to make sure Site C is is built on time and on budget.
The project is estimated to cost $10.7 billion when all is said and done.
.@jjhorgan says if they didn't go ahead with the project British Columbians would take on $4 billion debt with nothing to gain | #northernBC #bcpoli #SiteC
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) December 11, 2017
When asked if this will hurt his relationship with First Nations Horgan says he’s fairly confident they can work through this.
“There has been over 150 years of disappointment in British Columbia and I’m not the first person to stand before you and disappoint Indigenous people. But I am, I think, the first to stand before you and say I’m going to do my level best to make amens for a whole host of issues.”
In response to the provincial governments decision to push ahead with dam, the West Moberly First Nations and Prophet River First Nations have announced their intention to obtain a court injunction to stop the project from being constructed and to start a civil action for Treaty infringement.