Northerners Working on Northern Project
Sunday, October 27, 2013 @ 4:14 AM
(Members of PCL crew from Burns Lake. Back row: Jay Higginson, Robert Morgan, Michael Brand and Chris
Morris. Kneeling: Eugene Brown. Photo courtesy Northern Health)
Burns Lake, B.C. – While much is made of the claim that resource-related jobs in the north are going to non-residents of the region, province or even country, Northern Health is touting the fact that workers from Burns Lake and across northern B.C. are well represented on the construction site for the new Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre.
N.H. administration says of the 40 crew members hired by PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc., 33 are from northern B.C. including:
Burns Lake – 22
Fraser Lake – 2
Prince George – 8
108 Mile – 1
First Nations workers are also well represented on the project. To date 16 First Nations workers have been employed on site.
Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad says “It is encouraging to see residents of Burns Lake and northern B.C. benefiting from construction of the Hospital. “It is helping families now by providing work in the region, and will help families in the future thanks to the state-of-the-art facility that will serve the area.”
“We’re very excited to see the project moving forward on-time and on-budget,” said Michael McMillan, Northern Health Chief Operating Officer for the Northern Interior. “Staff and physicians are excited about the progress being made on the new facility, and the improved working environment it will offer.
The replacement hospital is scheduled to be completed and open for patients by the fall of 2015. It will have 16 beds and the new centre will provide acute care and emergency services, diagnostic imaging, a laboratory and pharmacy. Space also is planned for a medical clinic along with the delivery of mental health and addictions services, public health, and home and community care. The 55-million-dollar project is expected to generate approximately 200 direct jobs during the construction period.
Comments
A good news story, indeed! A new hospital plus NH and PCL being mindful about taking advantage of locally available workers.
I wonder if they had to bring some specialists in to assemble the frame of the WIDC.
Nicely done Northern Health. Maybe there should be a guaranteed level of locals employed at resource extraction projects in the north as well (mines, LNG, etc).
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