For several months now, Pacific Atlantic Pipeline Construction (PAPC) has been donating bottles from the camps at 7 Mile Lodge in Burns Lake and the Huckleberry Lodge in Houston. A total of $13,549.39 has been raised from the start of the program in April, 2021 to Aug. 1, 2021 with all the proceeds going to charitable organizations in the Village of Burns Lake and the surrounding area. The total money raised to date includes funds from TC Energy’s Empower Program, which is matching all funds raised from the donated bottles.

The matching program was initiated by Coastal GasLink’s (CGL) representative for the TC Energy Empower program.

PAPC was contracted in 2018 by CGL to build sections six and seven of the pipeline, which starts around Burns Lake and stretches 166km west to near Houston. The entire pipeline is 670km.

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Lakes District News spoke to a representative from CGL, who said in an email that the success of the PAPC matching program has inspired other sections to follow suit. “The matching program started in April, 2021 at 7 Mile Lodge and expanded to other lodges across the route throughout sections three to eight over the next couple of months, including Huckleberry Lodge, however individual lodges had bottle donation programs in place since they opened.”

The charities and non-profit organizations that have been beneficiaries were selected through a collaboration between Coastal GasLink, its prime contractors and the lodge providers to optimize each of the programs.

Some of the charities that have received donations include the Francois Lake Elementary School, the Grassy Plains School, and the Lakes Animal Friendship Society to name a few. The most recent beneficiary for the month of July was the Collymount Recreation Commission.

The bottles donated by PAPC are all sorted by the recycling depot located in Burns Lake.

According to the CGL rep, the program will continue until project completion. Section six of the pipeline has only 56 per cent of grading complete, and 20 per cent of the pipeline has been installed according to the latest construction report from CGL on Aug. 20. In section seven, the clearing portion is yet to be finished, and grading and pipeline installation haven’t even begun yet. In other words, there’s a long way to go for construction in the sections PAPC has been contracted to build, meaning an opportunity to raise quite a bit of money for the local community.

“We’re proud that we were able to branch out and support many organizations that are the hearts of our local communities across the project route,” the CGL rep told Lakes District News. “Coastal GasLink has and will always encourage donations to go to organizations in communities in which we operate. The program was started as a part of Coastal GasLink’s commitment to being a good neighbour in our communities and leaving a lasting legacy through the project. Coastal GasLink and TC Energy have spent over $8.5 million in Community Investments & Sponsorships in Northern B.C. supporting local and Indigenous communities along the route.”

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