In April the federal government granted conditional approval of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 port expansion. In order to proceed, the controversial proposal must be approved by the British Columbia provincial government.
The provincial Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) is accepting public comments until June 8, 2023.
Despite potentially significant and detrimental impacts on biodiversity, the Canadian federal government has given the green light to the 3-berth container terminal expansion project proposed by Port Metro Vancouver. This decision is a threat to various endangered species, including the Southern Resident Killer Whales, Chinook salmon, and numerous bird species.
The BC NDP Government holds the power to approve or halt the project, and their decision is still pending. The EAO is seeking your valuable feedback on their draft materials before submitting the project to the Ministers for their final decision. This is a critical opportunity for you to influence the outcome.
British Columbia is currently developing a Coastal Marine Strategy. The strategy aims to ensure the health of coastal-marine ecosystems and the well-being of communities. It emphasizes the significance of areas close to the shore, which serve as habitats for diverse marine life and cherished spaces for people to live, work, gather food, and connect with nature.
The BC NDP completed the public engagement strategy earlier this Spring and now we will see their commitment to protecting the marine environment as they have a key decision in front of them with the federal government’s approval the Roberts Bank Terminal expansion, which puts the very marine environment they seek to protect at risk.
The BC provincial government has a responsibility to take substantial action to safeguard the interests of residents and preserve the biodiversity of the Salish Sea.
The federal environmental assessment overlooked the Southern Gulf Islands entirely, close neighbours of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2, and they will be directly impacted by the expansion. For decades, the provincial government has recognized the ecological sensitivity of the Southern Gulf Islands and has made efforts to “preserve and protect” the archipelago through the Islands Trust Act.
The expansion of Roberts Bank Terminal 2 poses a direct threat to these conservation efforts. Now is the opportunity for the British Columbia provincial government to demonstrate leadership and make a meaningful difference for the the Southern Gulf Islands demonstrate leadership by rejecting the application to expand the terminal.
Please submit your comment regarding the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project to the BC Government before June 8. You can provide your feedback through the British Columbia EPIC website here.
Your input is crucial in influencing the decision-making process and protecting our environment.
Are there any politicians that actually care more about the environment and biodiversity than monetary gain and potential votes. It appears that there are very few politicians willing to stand up for life. The Roberts Bank expansion, logging our last old growth forests, the destruction to wildlife habitat caused by the gas link pipeline in northern BC…..and on and on it goes. It appears that there is only one political party willing to look seriously at these issues….the party colour is not orange, or blue or red….it is GREEN. It is beyond time for our local, provincial and federal politicians to begin to act in a responsible way and consider what is the most important for all life.
Thanks Adam for posting this and the link to the provincial comment area.!
We cannot allow this project to go forward. There are always other solutions that won’t impact this rare and sensitive marine environment. It will reduce tourism in the area and gives more devastation to our beautiful B.C. Please don’t bring the ‘log and flog’ mentality to the futures table.
I believe the RBT2 has a very high potential to become a White Elephant. It is likely to become the west coast marine equivalent of Mirabel airport.
I believe this because the whole premise and justification for big time expansion is based on historical growth and demand for exchange of goods between continents. BUT, we know that unmitigated growth is not sustainable. The projections of growth advanced by the Port are devoid of long term social, political and environmental inputs. I believe the short term growth demand could be met by building a fourth berth at the Global Container Terminal site at Roberts Bank. And no, I have no connection or financial interest in proposing that solution for a current unmet demand.
Stop this project before it gets started. It would be a disaster for our oceans