In October 2014, BC energy minister Bill Bennett assured us the $7.9 billion Site C dam budget was final, fully reviewed by specialists and reliable because it included a contingency well above prudent amounts. Nothing left to chance, uncertainty or politics because the budget numbers were developed by the world’s top experts.

Days later, Liberals bumped the budget to $8.5 billion. Two months later, the budget was $8.775 billion.

But BC Hydro assured us:

The contingency and the project reserve amount to more than $1.5 billion dollars to address potential risks to project costs.

The contingency and the project reserve were insufficient because, in December 2017, BC NDP increased the budget to $10.7 billion. John Horgan promised “enhanced oversight.”

The enhanced oversight was insufficient because, in February 2021, BC NDP increased the budget to $16 billion.

Remember when the decision makers told us that less-destructive renewables were not an appropriate alternative to Site C? Check this: