Action in Time

June 14, 2023 press conference highlights government’s weak reasoning to sacrifice wildlife and ecosystems in the name of jobs and economy, based on false justifications and incomplete facts

VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh AND səlilwətaɬ TERRITORIES —
Labour, community, and environmental groups have come together in a united front against the
controversial Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2) expansion project, holding a press conference
this morning at Crab Park. With the federal government’s recent approval and the decision now
resting with the B.C. government, these groups are determined to halt the project, citing its
detrimental impacts on wildlife, the environment and job security.

Today’s press conference was organized and endorsed by 13 organizations including the BC
General Employees’ Union, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Georgia Strait
Alliance and the Wilderness Committee.

One major concern workers and unions raise is the threat of widespread automation in the
sector. Representatives of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union say that RBT2 will
reduce family-supporting jobs as existing terminals will be forced to automate to compete with
the fully automated RBT2. They emphasize the need for jobs that do not come at the expense
of the ecosystems that sustain us.

Speakers from environmental organizations at the press conference highlighted the project’s
impacts on migratory birds, southern resident killer whales (SRKW), and chinook salmon. These
species, already facing significant challenges, will be further endangered by the expansion. The
project’s environmental consequences exist despite the inclusion of 377 lacklustre mitigation
measures and are deemed unacceptable by the opposition groups. Moreover, concerns have
been raised about the consultation process.

A letter from Susan Jones of the Boundary Bay Conservation Committee to Prime Minister Trudeau, Premier Horgan, Minister of Enviroment George Heyman, and 24 other government and tribal officials and organizations. You can read it here (PDF).

Excerpts: “The Port of Vancouver has had eight years to present credible, substantive scientific information and mitigation measures and these have not materialized. It is disconcerting that the Port is being permitted to present yet another set of information and mitigation measures when submissions have clearly proven that the residual significant adverse environmental effects of RBT2 cannot be mitigated.

“Submissions from experts on the Roberts Bank Container Terminal Project (RBT2) confirm that dredging and filling 186 hectares (460 acres) of the estuary for a widened causeway and man-made island the size of 250 football fields will alter the Fraser River estuarine processes. Subsequent changes in water flows, temperature, salinity, and turbidity will lead to the loss of nutrients and primary food sources. There will be a domino effect on the highly complex food web at Roberts Bank that links fish, shellfish, birds, and marine animals to the interactive, interdependent habitats of the river; the estuary; the adjacent agricultural lands; the Burns Bog Ecological Conservancy Area; the Strait of Georgia; the Salish Sea; and the Pacific Ocean.”

Earlier version of the same letter here.

Report from Fraser Voices (PDF):

Political interference in the environmental assessment of Roberts Bank Container Terminal 2 spells disaster for the Fraser River Estuary, BC

The proposed Roberts Bank/Deltaport Terminal 2 will be Trudeau’s new Trans Mountain Pipeline oil port.

Click here to view the PDF.