Will Horgan, Weaver really fire 2,200 Site C workers?

John Horgan is talking tough about the $8.8-billion Site C dam, but I wonder if he’s tough enough to actually shut the thing down and throw 2,200 people out of work.

That’s how many construction workers are currently building the dam on the Peace River near Fort St. John. The construction site is so massive the remote work camp is more like a small town, complete with a movie theatre, hair salon, gym, multi-faith spiritual centre and, of course, a pub.

But Horgan said he might slam the brakes on the biggest public project in B.C. history, arguing it’s too expensive, tramples on the rights of local landowners and First Nations, and we don’t need the power anyway. But I stress the word “might.” Horgan appears poised to seize power away from Christy Clark’s Liberals. Is he really that jazzed about handing out 2,200 pinks slips during his first 100 days in office?

That would depend on the outcome of a review of the project by the B.C. Utilities Commission, Horgan told me.

“We’re going to ask them questions and they’re going to get us answers,” he said.

“We’re going to be asking the utilities commission: What’s the viability of the project? What are the consequences for people? How much is it going to cost to proceed with it? And how long will it take to pay it off?”

Significantly, though, Horgan said he would not order a halt to construction of the dam during the review.

If the dam is really that bad, why would he not order the workers to lay down their tools until the review is done? He said it’s because the review will be completed quickly.

“We want to get an answer as quickly as possible on the economic viability of the project and the consequences for ratepayers,” he said.

He said the full BCUC review would take three months, but he would seek an “interim report” from the commission within six weeks.

Green party Leader Andrew Weaver said the promised six-week turnaround was enough to convince him to prop up a Horgan-led minority government, and the NDPGreen alliance is expected to topple Clark’s Liberals when the legislature resumes sitting this month.

But you have to wonder why Weaver went along with the review at all. He is a fierce opponent of Site C, campaigned to stop it immediately and earlier said a BCUC review would be “a waste of time and money.”

Weaver could have insisted the dam be stopped immediately as his price for supporting the NDP. Instead, he is now rehearsing his excuses for the dam getting built.

“If Site C goes ahead, the NDP will wear it,” Weaver said.

It all makes me wonder whether these two new political pals are really that serious about killing a project that would likely trigger hundreds of millions of dollars in site-restoration costs and contract-cancellation penalties, in addition to those 2,200 pink slips.

One possible alternative outcome: Weaver blames Horgan. Horgan blames Clark. And Site C gets built after all.