National

BC Hydro says pandemic delays Site C project

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 31 Jul, 2020 08:13 PM

British Columbia's massive Site C hydroelectric dam project has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and now faces construction delays and rising costs.

BC Hydro president Chris O'Riley says in a quarterly update submitted to the B.C. Utilities Commission that the pandemic has had a material impact on safety, cost and schedule for the project in northeast B.C.

Site C's budget in April 2018 was estimated at $10.7 billion, including reserve and contingency funds amounting to about $1.5 billion for unexpected costs.

O'Riley's update to the utilities commission does not estimate the extent of increased costs but says reserve funds are being accessed.

Energy Minister Bruce Ralston says in a statement that he's concerned about the news and has appointed former deputy finance minister Peter Milburn as a special advisor to the project.

Site C will be the third dam and hydroelectric generating station on the Peace River and will provide enough energy to power the equivalent of about 450,000 homes per year in B.C.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring

Canada's national police force wants a digital tool to harvest data from a sweeping variety of online sources, including the darkest reaches of the internet, to provide early information on threats such as disease outbreaks and mass shootings. The software would allow an RCMP officer to quickly mine data about a person's internet activities, from an emoji posting on Facebook to an illicit firearm purchase on the so-called darknet.

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring

Canadian MPs meet online in first virtual session of House of Commons

Canada's first-ever virtual House of Commons kicked off this afternoon with almost 90 per cent of MPs dialed in to start. The House of Commons special committee on COVID-19 is meeting via videoconference this afternoon. Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said in his opening statement that he could see that 297 of the 338 MPs were online at that moment.

Canadian MPs meet online in first virtual session of House of Commons

Justin Trudeau says mom Margaret Trudeau recovering after apartment fire

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his mother was doing fine Tuesday after a fire at her downtown Montreal apartment sent her to hospital. Margaret Trudeau, 71, was transported to hospital after the fire that broke out on the patio of the building just before midnight Monday.

Justin Trudeau says mom Margaret Trudeau recovering after apartment fire

Hundreds more COVID deaths expected but Trudeau says Canada is making progress

Thousands more people are expected to contract COVID-19 and hundreds will likely die in the coming week, according to government projections, despite the progress the country has made in fighting the pandemic. Canada's case rate is now doubling every 16 days rather than three to five days seen about three weeks ago, Dr. Theresa Tam, the country's top public health officer, said on Thursday.

Hundreds more COVID deaths expected but Trudeau says Canada is making progress

HSBC Bank Canada reports Q1 profit down as it expects downturn to hurt loans

HSBC Bank Canada reported a drop in its first-quarter profit compared with a year ago as it took a charge related to bad loans it expects due to the downturn in the economy. The bank says it earned a profit attributable to common shareholders of $54 million or 11 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31. That's compared with a profit of $158 million or 32 cents per share in the first three months of 2019.

HSBC Bank Canada reports Q1 profit down as it expects downturn to hurt loans

Local restaurants feel squeezed by delivery apps' commission fees

Restaurants struggling to survive during the COVID-19 crisis have turned to take-out and delivery, but the fees charged by food-delivery companies are eating away their bottom line, some operators say. Physical distancing measures have decimated dine-in service, which accounts for most industry revenue, said Mark von Schellwitz, a vice-president of the non-profit Restaurants Canada.