DELTA — Ottawa has designated a multi-billion-dollar “mega project” in Metro Vancouver as a project of national interest. The federal government has said the Port of Vancouver’s planned Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion will bring thousands of jobs and help strengthen our country’s trade sovereignty. Minister of Transport, Steve MacKinnon, said the announcement provides greater regulatory certainty to help advance a critical infrastructure project while maintaining rigorous environmental safeguards. He also said the port is approaching the current port is approaching the limit of its container handling capacity. “We can not afford to let bottlenecks hold back Canadian trade. We need the capacity to move more goods, reach more markets and seize new opportunities, and RBT2 is an important part of that solution,” he said during a news conference. The proposed 3-berth container terminal would add 2.4 million units of annual container capacity, increasing capacity at the Port of Vancouver by nearly 50 per cent. “The project represents an estimated capital investment of $5.9 billion, and where I come from, that’s a mega project,” the minister said. B.C. premier-elect, Lorne Doerkson, also welcomed the news. “The project is expected to generate thousands of jobs, of course, during construction, and support thousands more long-term positions across transportation, logistics, retail and manufacturing sectors,” he said. “These are jobs that will support families, strengthen our communities and contribute billions of dollars to our economic activity over the life of the project,” Doerkson said. Tsawwassen First Nation had fought for assurances around environmental protections, and said Canada has committed to upholding those. Tsawwassen First Nation Chief Laura Cassidy also said that, “Looking ahead, one of TFN’s highest priorities is to advance a breach in Roberts Bank causeway to improve access to habitat for young salmon.” Ottawa has said it is investing nearly two billion dollars in environmental protection, including to protect Pacific salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whales. But the Wilderness Committee said that’s not enough, saying the project puts the survival of the whales at risk. “Those adverse effects will still be there, those adverse effects are science-based, and nothing can mitigate the endangerment of the southern resident orcas because of this project,” said Wilderness Committee spokesperson Lucero Gonzalez. “We feel heartbroken, but we don’t feel defeated. We will continue to find avenues to fight this project.” Friday’s announcement is expected to accelerate the project by up to four years, meaning it could be up and running by 2035.
