objection letter to Roberts Bank Terminal 2

Here is info about the project from Adam Olsen, MLA Gulf Islands.

Here is the link to the provincial government's public comment page.

Feel free to use any or all of my letter to object to Roberts Bank Terminal 2.

June 3, 2023

Letter of objection to Roberts Bank Terminal Two

This project is set to promote trade by the Vancouver Port Authority. This project must not proceed because of the following reasons:

1. The province is planning a Coastal Marine Strategy with First Nations that will lay out a plan for addressing priorities for coastal-marine ecosystem health and community well-being. If this project is approved, it threatens the transparency, trust and open collaboration of the Province of BC with the communities involved.

1. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency highlighted significant and damaging impacts on biodiversity from this proposed project. This includes threats to several endangered species, like the Southern Resident Killer Whales, Chinook salmon, and various bird species. Moreover, a community of scientists who call this region home have voiced their concerns and appealed to the government to reconsider the proposal.

1. Further, the EAO

• effects on wetlands and wetland functions;
• effects on juvenile chum and Chinook salmon;
• effect on human health due to chronic exposure of annual-average NO2…; and
• contribution to additional greenhouse gas emissions in the Metro Vancouver area;

This “effects” are primary to human health, and the health of the environment on which every single British Columbian depends.

1. There will be major impacts to the Fraser River Estuary where the project will be adjacent to, the biofilm that is food for migrating birds and many other marine species, and the primary river and estuary that provides key ecosystem services to ¾ of the province of BC.

1. The building of the project will be at the expense of the environment, both marine, fresh water and air, as it is a heavy industrial activity that will harm wildlife and surrounding communities.

1. This project would add additional cumulative effects from shipping traffic to the new port, on top of shipping to the existing Delta Port Terminal, the Twassassen Ferry Terminal, and Burrard Inlet Terminal, the site of the soon-to-be-expanded terminal for the 30 B $ tax-subsidized pipeline bringing more climate change to our communities.

1. The Environmental assessment fails to address coastal marine health and community well-being from the impacts of the increasingly busy transportation corridor and ensuring the coast of the mainland, and particularly the Fraser River, the Southern Gulf Islands and Southern Vancouver Island are adequately protected.

1. The cumulative impacts of climate change resulting from this project are not acceptable because scientists say the impact of greenhouse gases that are emitted now will be felt far into the future, in the form of rising seas, more devastating storms, extreme drought, wildfires and displacement of coastal populations.

1. The increased capacity for Shipping containers will increase not only ships, that already threaten the Species at Risk impacted by this project, but also the containers themselves will increase unsustainable consumption of material “stuff” that needs to be reduced, not increased, in order to save our environment, climate and all species including humans.

1. This project will increase climate change with its shipping and fuel impacts, building and fuel impacts, effects on freshwater (Fraser River Delta) and increased products and their consumption and eventual disposal.