40 BCBusiness JUNE 2014
the fastest-rising property values in the
province: up almost 26 per cent over last
year, from $180,000 to $228,000 for the
average single-family home. The biggest
challenge these days is affordable rental
housing for the influx of workers. Apart-
ment buildings that fell into disrepair
over the previous four decades are now
being bought up by outside interests
and renovated, with rents doubling or
tripling.
G
aby Poirier, 36, is the general
manager for Rio Tinto Alcan's
B.C. operations. A chemical
engineer from Princeville,
Quebec, he moved to Kitimat
last June with his wife and two young
daughters ("I'm coming from a small
town. The skiing, fishing—I love it
here," he says). Poirier, a 12-year vet-
eran of the company who has managed
Alcan operations in Alma, Quebec, and
Sebree, Kentucky, explains that the
Kitimat smelter remains an important
strategic asset. That's
why, in 2011, Alcan
made the pivotal
decision for a multi-
billion-dollar mod-
ernization, which
ensures a future for
the company in Kiti-
mat but leaves it with
just 1,000 permanent
employees, half the
number from the
1970s and 500 fewer
than in 2008.
"Location is very important. We've
got a wharf with an open window
on the Asian market. We've got the
Kemano Hydro power station. And
the technology in this new smelter
will allow us to produce one of the
greenest aluminums on earth," says
Poirier. "The people in Kitimat have
been in the aluminum industry for
60 years. We have people on site who
are second-, third- and fourth-gener-
ation employees. We have
people who know the busi-
ness, who know how to run
a smelter, and I think this is
a big asset for us."
A n e c onom ic b o om
brings its own challenges,
however, a nd Poi r ier's
c onc e r ne d a b out K it i-
mat's ability to cope with
growth—not just in Alcan's
c o n s t r u c t i o n p h a s e ,
which is expected to wrap up in 2015,
but in years to come as
LNG and other
new industries arrive in town. In the
immediate term, Alcan has tried to
address the housing crunch in novel
ways, including bringing in a former
Baltic cruise ship this March, dubbed
the Delta Spirit Lodge, to house 450
temporary workers (Alcan's tempo-
rary workforce is expected to peak
at 3,000 this summer, up from 2,000
in early 2014). The company is also in
discussions with Joanne Monaghan
building boom
Alcan smelter upgrade
nears completion;
Steven Forrest rarely
sleeps; apartment
building renovation;
floating dorm; Kitimat
LNG headquarters.
p36-49-Kitimat_june.indd 40 2014-05-01 1:30 PM
