Many voices —scientists, environmentalists, taxpayers and community— oppose the Port of Vancouver’s proposed mega-project, Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2). One voice, the Port of Vancouver itself, has been spreading misinformation about how "urgent” the need for terminal expansion is.
This Future Ecologies podcast attempts to break through the noise and calls on everyone to step back and LISTEN to all the voices to find the right solution for public interest and the Fraser Estuary when it comes to container expansion. It also provides a reminder to the public that there is still time to submit comments on RBT2 to the Government by March 15.
“At the heart of the Salish Sea lies the Fraser River Estuary: home to over half of the population of the Province of British Columbia, thousands of endemic species, and one world-famous pod of orcas. But as the human population of the region has grown, wildlife populations — including salmonids, orcas, and over 100 species at risk — have been plummeting.
As economic imperatives press up against ecological thresholds, a mega-project that has been in development for over a decade is poised to further alter the character of the estuary, with massive implications for the health of Salish Sea and its many residents.
In this episode, we ask: can we find ways to hear each other through all the noise?"
Stephanie Wood (a journalist with The Narwhal) has been covering the controversy at Deltaport for the past few years. She sketches out the voices for and against RBT2. "I saw one mining company... a Surrey-based mining company—was, "Yeah, we're for it." And that's all I found. Even the municipalities in the surrounding area are all against."
GCT Global Container Terminals is one voice among those against. GCT's opposition comes with a solution: Deltaport Fourth Berth Expansion (DP4) project. It is a sustainable, incremental, and privately-funded expansion of the existing footprint to add a fourth berth, delivering required capacity while minimizing impact on the neighbours, environment, Indigenous fishing grounds, and workforce. DP4 will add up to 2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of market-driven and privately-funded capacity, which will help keep Canadian port rates competitive and is no risk to taxpayers, unlike the very expensive and flawed RBT2 plan.
It is time for the public and the Government to #RejectRBT2 before it's too late and permanent environmental damage is done and billions in taxpayer money are needlessly spent.
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