VANCOUVER - The approval of the expansion at the Fraser Vancouver Port known as Roberts Bank Terminal 2 is a likely death sentence for several species, according to the Green Party of Canada.
"Honestly, I am shocked. The scientific information is clear. The Western sandpiper, the Fraser Chinook salmon and the Southern Resident Killer Whales are close to extinction and this is likely to push them over the edge. It brings new meaning to the word 'terminal.' ," said Green leader, Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands.
The federal impact assessment of the project was very negative about its environmental impacts:
‘The Panel concluded that two populations of Fraser Chinook salmon, the Lower Fraser and South Thompson River populations, are particularly vulnerable to Project effects due to their life history and extensive utilization of Roberts Bank habitat’. ‘The Panel concludes that the Project would result in a residual adverse effect and an adverse cumulative effect on ocean-type juvenile Chinook salmon populations from the Lower Fraser and South Thompson rivers. The effects would be significant’ (Impact Assessment Agency, 2020).
"Last year, in an open letter (February 2022) many prominent scientists urged federal environment minister, the Hon. Steven Guilbeault, to reject the expansion," it is unbelievable that this strong warning could have been ignored," said Deputy Leader Jonathan Pedneault. (see letter here: https://fraserestuary.scienceletter.ca/letter/)
"We deal on a daily basis with the contempt for environmental impacts as the Fraser Vancouver Port Authority uses the waters of the Salish Sea for free parking for its idling freighters," added Ms May. "It is time to review the whole structure of the unaccountable port authority system."
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