Muskrat Falls workers sent home amid threat of protests
Workers from the Upper Lake Melville area employed at the Muskrat Falls project were sent home early Thursday amid threats of a protest near the site.
An official with Astaldi Canada, the primary contractor for the massive hydroelectric project in Central Labrador, said about 80 workers were sent home.
"Earlier this morning we received information, credible information, that there was a high likelihood of a highway blockade by some demonstrators so we wanted to ensure that our local employees would not be affected as they are bused to and from the Muskrat Falls site every day from their homes," said Matthew Pike, the company's manager of external relations.
Later in the day, the company said that its night shift would resume normal operations at 7 p.m. local time.
The precautionary measure follows a protest Wednesday by about 20 Pakua Shipi Innu from the Quebec Lower North Shore.
Blockade targeted Nalcor vehicles
The group established a selective blockade 140 kilometres south of Happy Valley-Goose Bay on the Trans-Labrador Highway, preventing Nalcor Energy vehicles from passing.
The Quebec Innu say a portion of a transmission line that is under construction will pass through their land, and they feel they were not adequately consulted by Nalcor.
They are demanding compensation in the form of jobs and training related to the project.
A CBC reporter travelled from Happy Valley-Goose Bay to the construction site on Thursday morning, but did not see any signs of a protest.
There was a police presence in the area, however.
A spokesperson for Nalcor said information provided by the RCMP indicated the Innu were preparing to establish a protest at the Black Rock Bridge in an attempt to halt access to the site.
"We didn't want our local workers to be potentially delayed getting home to their families," Pike explained.
Workers bused to site
The workers get picked up at stops throughout Happy Valley-Goose Bay and bused to the site in Astaldi vehicles.
"For that reason, we took precautions as they were stopping company vehicles," Pike added.
Pike acknowledged that the early departure of the workers resulted in a slowdown at the site, but that work continued.
Pike said the workers will not be paid for the missed time.
"If the blockade starts and it continues into night shift and day shift tomorrow and so on, then we'll make those decisions several hours before their shifts actually start."
The company is able to accommodate the workers at the site, but decided to send them home so they could spend time with their families.