OP/ED: Why Site C Matters to Kamloops - ICBA

OP/ED: Why Site C Matters to Kamloops

ICBA Communications Director Jordan Bateman cut a 90-second guest editorial for NL Radio in Kamloops Jan. 3 – and dug into why Site C matters for Kamloops residents.

Listen here: 

Full script:

It’s easy to think that big decisions like the Site C Dam project won’t have a major effect on you, your friends or your neighbours in Kamloops.

After all, Site C is nearly a thousand kilometres away from Riverside Park. How could a Fort St. John construction site possibly contribute to the prosperity of your community?

But for 89 families living in and around Kamloops, Site C is everything. 89 men and women from your city are part of the thousands working to build the dam. And the NDP’s decision to keep the project going was a huge relief to them.

That’s 89 families who can now count on up to 7 more years of high-paying, steady work at the dam. And more construction workers will be needed as the project progresses. A generation of apprentices will cut their teeth building Site C – becoming the backbone of the industry for decades to come.

Those 89 families aren’t the only beneficiaries in Kamloops. Keeping the project going saved us all from a 10 per cent Hydro rate hike. That’s a big chunk of change for the average family.

And the electricity that Site C will generate will be used by every business, every government office, every home for the next century.

Want a thriving tech economy in this province? We’ll need Site C’s clean power.

Want to make life more affordable? We’ll need Site C’s inexpensive power.

Want a good quality of life? We’ll need Site C’s reliable power.

Kamloops may be a thousand kilometers away from Site C, but the city is a big winner.

For NL Radio and the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association, I’m Jordan Bateman.