Community group shows that proposed Port of Vancouver expansion is unnecessary and will do irreparable damage to critical ecosystem

Roger Emsley of the group  APE (Against Port Expansion in the Fraser Estuary BC) emailed us last week with links to a couple of amazing articles that you should read.

APE (Against Port Expansion in the Fraser Estuary BC) is a group of concerned citizens who recognize that plans for container terminal expansion on Roberts Bank (T2) will see the degradation of the quality of life for thousands of Lower Mainland residents; the industrialization of prime agricultural land; and the loss of globally significant habitat for salmon, migrating birds and orca whales.

The group reports that plans to build a man-made island and container terminal at Roberts Bank, British Columbia are unnecessary and “will do irreparable damage to the unique Roberts Bank ecosystem which supports Canada’s highest concentration of migratory birds, the world’s most famous salmon river, as well as endangered species such as southern resident killer whales, white sturgeon and eulachon.”

Here is Roger’s note, with a bit of formatting for this blog post:

Launched in April 2015, Hakai Magazine explores science, society and the environment from a coastal perspective. The magazine has now published a two part article on the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s (VFPA) plan to industrialize the remaining natural habitat of Roberts Bank by building a second container port on a huge man-made island right slap in the middle of one of the richest ecosystems in the whole of North America.

This is a powerful commentary on the whole Terminal 2 development. It brings into question the whole approach that Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has taken in its efforts to justify and get approval for this project. It lays bare many of the flaws, errors, and omissions in the Environmental Impact Statement. This is an important in-depth piece of research and reporting.

The two articles are linked below:

Slime, Shorebirds, and a Scientific Mystery

The Questionable Science of Vancouver’s Port Expansion

Please give this a wide circulation. Please also write to your MP and MLA. It is time that our elected officials took a firm position on the industrialization of Roberts Bank and the Fraser River Estuary. Thankfully Delta MLA Vicki Huntington has been vocal in her opposition to T2. We need to get her some support from MPs and especially from the MP for Delta Carla Qualtrough, who thus far – since her election a year ago – has been silent. Therefore I encourage you to write to your MP and MLA. Ask them where they stand on T2.

To learn more, check out the Against Port Expansion web page, or subscribe to the APE mailing list by sending an email message to info@againstportexpansion.org with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.