Federal Government Approves Port Expansion in Vancouver

On April 20, 2023, the Government of Canada announced that it had approved the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project proposed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. The government notes that the expansion will increase the port’s capacity by 50 per cent, and is “key to supporting Canada’s economic growth over the coming years.” $3 billion in added GDP would be at risk without the expansion.

The expansion, however, will be subject to 370 legally binding conditions to protect the environment, local wildlife and land-use activities of Indigenous Peoples. These include:

· Over 100 measures protective of local wildlife such as developing habitat creation programs to support western sandpiper populations and other shorebirds;

· Development and implementation of an adaptive management approach to prevent negative effects to biofilm, which includes a minimum of three years of monitoring key parameters reviewed by an independent scientific body;

· Limiting in-water construction to the window of least risk for several marine species;

· Requirement for zero-emission cargo handling equipment on-site and to offer electrical power to vessels while berthed;

· Installation of infrastructure to permit the safe passage of fish;

· Requirement to avoid, mitigate and offset effects to fish and fish habitat and develop a follow-up program to monitor any impacts to the region’s salmon as a result of the project;

· Creation of a marine mammals’ detection and response plan to protect marine mammals during construction; and

· To further protect Southern Resident killer whales, the proponent must monitor noise levels to remain at or below a certain baseline level, implement procedures to delay departures of container vessels and reduce underwater noise during berthing activities when whales are present in the project area.