the circuit overseer is still begging for free labour on this project.
It's odd that it's taking this long because in the USA and UK, when they put out appeals for labour and such for Bethel construction, they're usually able to get 'volunteers' quite easily.
I had heard that numbers and interest were declining in Canada (in common with most other developed lands) - perhaps the drop-off is greater than we thought?
Or perhaps, as said, it's the post-COVID effect. The building of the new US and UK Bethels were completed before the pandemic (in the case of Chelmsford, only just!) It's been noticeable that meeting attendance and ministry enthusiasm since 2020 are dramatically down, so perhaps volunteering is too? (Of course the GB would never admit to that.)
Another thought: JW numbers in the USA are much greater so they would get labour more easily, but the UK and Canada are comparable (about 120,000-140,000 peak pubs) - but of course the distance to travel is much greater across Canada, so maybe that's putting off volunteers who don't want to cross the country and stay away from home, or can't afford to do it - or both?