Is there political interference with Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project Review Panel?

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Editor:

Once again democracy is being twisted by those we elected federally to protect our health and environment of our land and waterways.

Some become ministers of Health Canada, Fisheries & Oceans and Environment and Climate Change. They in turn hire scientists and other professionals in the field of health and our environment to review and report the environmental assessments of all proposed developments under their jurisdiction as to whether they are harmful to the people, our land, waterways, and habitat that supports both fisheries and wildlife.

You would think that such findings should be made part of any public review panel. Not so.

It would appear that there is still political interference into what should be allowed as evidence at the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project Review Panel.

Scientific reports provided by federal government scientists that are concerned about the adverse effects of Terminal 2 on the Fraser River Estuary have been “vetted” by the ministers that we elected to protect it.

Such political interference was declared improper by a federal ethics commissioner when there was political interference by the Prime Minister and some colleagues when they tried to influence the Minster of Justice. 

Government scientists were not permitted to submit closing comments to the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project Review Panel process in spite of the fact that closing comments by the proponent the Port of Vancouver, claimed reports by government scientists were misleading.

Government scientists had prepared evidence to rebut the Port of Vancouver but were not allowed to submit their evidence.

Scientific reports by the Port of Vancouver should not have been considered reliable as they were not peer reviewed.

The muzzling, vetting, and alteration of scientific evidence by government scientists regarding the review panel should be condemned by all political parties.

The public should also demand that the environmental assessments of the Terminal 2 proposal made by the public paid scientists of the federal government be made part of the evidence opposing the project.

Douglas George Massey

This article by Douglas George Massey originally appeared in the Delta Optimist on September 26, 2019.


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