And the federal government (Harper) said that a temporary foreign worker can be paid 15 % less than a Canadian workers

"companies have tried to fill the spots with locals but there aren't enough with proper training and skills." So hire people on as apprentices and train them.

Interesting comments so far. It may seem hard to understand why we would need to look elsewhere for workers. But I have a feeling that many of these jobs are not your typical 'bang a hammer on a nail' construction jobs. Plus I've seen many ads posted for these 'Northern' jobs, but people from the 'south' are unwilling to go up there. So what else can these employers do? Also, apprenticeship is all well and fine. But on massive projects like these it may not be the best place to 'experiement' with inexperienced workers. As to the cost of living in B.C. it all depends, Vancouvers city yes is expensive. But various small towns in the other parts or B.C. are significantly cheaper to live, particularly when it comes to cost of housing.