Trans Mountain is voluntarily shutting down construction on its expansion project – including in the Kamloops area – for just over two weeks from Dec. 18 to Jan. 4 because for safety reasons.
The announcement comes two days after a pipeline worker in Burnaby was seriously injured, and about two months after another worker was killed in Edmonton.
President and CEO Ian Anderson did not give specifics but he says there have been a series of safety concerns over the last two months, which is ‘unacceptable’ and ‘inconsistent with Trans Mountain’s proud safety culture.’
“Our top priorities remain the safety of our workers and maintaining a safe work environment as we continue to work towards the successful completion of this critical Canadian project,” he said, in a statement.
Anderson says the shutdown will allow employees and contractors to ‘review, reset, and refocus’ on safety efforts.
“We are committed to a strong culture of safety above all else and insist that our Project contractors and subcontractors are equally committed. The critical success of any organization is its ability to self-reflect – to honestly and courageously ask the question, ‘where can we improve?'” he added.
“This is non-negotiable, we must improve the safety culture and performance on our project.”
During the down time, he says the company will engage with staff and other contractors to ensure that all safety systems are in place – including COVID-19 protocols – so that people can return to work safely in the new year.
About 20 per cent of the expansion project from Edmonton to Burnaby has been completed, according to Trans Mountain, with peak construction set to happen in 2021 across Alberta and British Columbia.
As of October 31, 2020, there were approximately 7,300 people working on the project, though the company and its contractors say they’ve hired about 8,470 people with about 3,645 people who are residents of British Columbia.
And the company says it remains committed to ensuring that the expansion project is completed on time, with the pipeline expected to be in service by Dec. 2022.
