OTTAWA — The federal government has announced the approval of a contentious container port expansion project at Roberts Bank, south of Vancouver.
The government said Thursday the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project, proposed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, can proceed, subject to 370 legally-binding conditions to protect the environment and prevent harm to local species.
The Canada Pacific Gateway area is the country's most important trade corridor, with more than $275 billion in trade passing through the port authority each year, it said in a statement.
"In the coming years, the government believes Canada’s major West Coast ports will reach maximum capacity, meaning congestion will become a chronic issue," the statement said.
"This project would increase the port’s capacity by 50 per cent," said the government statement. "Without this port expansion, $3 billion in added GDP would be jeopardized by capacity shortages."
The project is also expected to create hundreds of jobs during construction, and several hundred more both on-site and off-site during operations, it said.
The Wilderness Committee said in a statement the approval comes despite an independent environmental review that concluded the project is likely to have significant adverse effects, including on at-risk species such as killer whales and chinook salmon.
One of the port's approval conditions involves monitoring noise levels and implementing procedures to delay departure of container vessels to protect the area's southern resident killer whales.
The government said the decision comes after extensive consultations with local communities and Indigenous groups.
"The approval of this project was not taken lightly," said Steven Guilbeault, the federal minister of environment and climate change, in the statement.
"With strong measures, we will protect our ecosystem, while increasing Canada’s supply chain capacity to ensure Canadians receive affordable goods on time while growing our economy and creating well-paying, middle-class jobs."
The project is a three-berth marine container terminal located at Roberts Bank in Delta, B.C., about 35 kilometres south of Vancouver.
