As Carney advances Vancouver port expansion, environmentalists raise concern for at

As Carney advances Vancouver port expansion, environmentalists raise concern for at-risk species

Aug. 29 notice part of larger push by federal government to fast-track projects amid trade war with U.S.

The federal government is advancing the process to potentially designate the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 port expansion in Vancouver as a project of national interest.

A notice published in the Canada Gazette on Aug. 29 marks the start of a 30-day consultation period on whether to list the port expansion as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act.

The law allows projects deemed to be in the national interest to have their approval process, including environmental assessments, expedited.

In announcing the potential listing of both the terminal and the Mackenzie Valley Highway project in the Northwest Territories, the Liberal government said the projects "have the potential to strengthen Canada's transportation and trade networks ... and support Canada's long-term economic sovereignty."

However, environmental groups are concerned that potentially fast-tracking the port expansion could allow the government to bypass environmental protections.

The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2) port expansion project, led by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, is a proposed three-berth container terminal that would increase the port's capacity by nearly 50 per cent and generate approximately $100 billion in annual trade capacity, according to the port authority.

The federal government approved the project in 2023, imposing 370 legally binding conditions intended to address environmental concerns. That same year, B.C. issued the project an environmental assessment certificate that included 16 additional conditions.

In their decisions, both levels of government acknowledged that the project would likely cause significant adverse environmental effects, but were "justified in the circumstances."

The RBT2 project is still in the process of securing final environmental permits, including legal approval from Fisheries and Oceans Canada related to compliance with the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

However, if the project is granted national-interest status, Carney's cabinet could obtain the discretionary power to grant it exemption from SARA.

In July, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced $10 billion in federal support for the expansion project as part of a broader agreement with British Columbia.

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The expansion would be built in the Fraser River estuary, a location that environmentalists say is integral to the survival of hundreds of species, many of them endangered.

'Mega port' in an 'incredibly important breeding ground'

"This is an incredibly important breeding ground ecosystem for over a hundred at-risk species," said Julia Levin, associate director of national climate with Environmental Defence, a Canadian environmental advocacy group. "It's putting a mega port in the middle of that, destroying nearly 200 hectares of this really biodiverse estuary."

Last year, a Federal Court judge dismissed a lawsuit launched by multiple environmental groups who said the project would destroy vital chinook salmon habitat and threaten the survival of southern resident killer whales.

Southern resident killer whales — also known as orcas — are among more than 600 wildlife species listed under the Species at Risk Act. Only 75 southern residents remain.

Chinook salmon, currently under consideration for listing under SARA, are one of the southern resident's main food sources. But the area has lost approximately 85 per cent of its salmon habitat due to development and infrastructure, according to a 2021 study.

In response to environmental concerns, the port authority said in an emailed statement to CBC News that it plans to restore 102 hectares of habitat in collaboration with First Nations to "support key species like juvenile Chinook salmon and Dungeness crab."

The port authority said it is also advancing protections for southern resident killer whales, including requiring ships to participate in slowdown programs designed to reduce underwater noise.

B.C.'s Environmental Assessment office pointed to the legally binding conditions, saying in an emailed statement to CBC News that when construction begins, officers would "monitor the project for compliance with all provincial requirements over the life of the project."

Last spring, the federal government also proposed $258 million over five years to protect whales and their habitats, including $95 million over five years and $16.5 million annually thereafter specifically for the protection of southern resident killer whales.

But Levin and other environmental groups say the government's potential fast-tracking of these projects is a way to get them built at "any cost," including at the southern resident's expense.

Getting projects built at 'any cost'

"The federal government is clearly pursuing multiple avenues to bypass environmental safeguards," said Levin.

Along with potentially fast-tracking several major projects, including a new West Coast pipeline that would end in Roberts Bank, the Carney government is considering further changes to environmental regulations, including the Species at Risk Act, that it says would allow for quicker approval and construction of major projects.

"All of this is about overriding environmental protections, environmental laws and species protections to get certain projects built at any cost," Levin said.

The changes the government is considering would render the Species at Risk Act — and the protection it provides — "meaningless," wrote multiple scientists in a press release last month.

In May, two federal discussion papers proposed a number of possible changes, including exempting certain projects from the "jeopardy test" in the Species at Risk Act. Following criticism from First Nations and environmental groups, the government extended the engagement period, which ended in July.

"We're suggesting, rather strongly and bluntly to the minister, maybe this is not the way you want to do this," said David Green, a biologist and professor emeritus at McGill University who is one of the former COSEWIC chairs behind the letter.

"You don't have to just give yourself carte blanche to do whatever you want without mulling it over."

Brock Wilson is a senior writer and producer for CBC News, based in Toronto. He produces episodes for Rosemary Barton Live and About That with Andrew Chang and writes digital stories. You can reach him at brock.wilson@cbc.ca.