Question Period Note: Status of the Environmental Assessment of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project

Status of the Environmental Assessment of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project

• I am confident the ongoing assessment process will allow us to make well-informed decisions that are in the best interest of all Canadians.
• The environmental assessment process, including the public hearing, ensured the views of the public, Indigenous groups and affected communities were sought and considered. The assessment was conducted using a fair and predictable process grounded in science and traditional knowledge.
• Additional information was required from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority in order to inform decisions under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.
• The responses from Vancouver Fraser Port Authority are currently subject to an extended public comment period until March 15, 2022, and comments, including from expert federal departments are being posted publicly.
• The timeline for a decision on the Project is now paused, and will resume once the information is provided and deemed to be sufficient.

• The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority proposes to construct and operate a new three-berth marine container terminal located at Roberts Bank in Delta, British Columbia. The Project, as proposed, would double the container capacity of the existing terminal and facilitate a potential increase up to approximately 260 container ships per year (five per week) through the Juan De Fuca Strait.
• On January 7, 2014, the Government of Canada referred the environmental assessment of the Project to a Review Panel and on May 31, 2016, the then Minister of Environment and Climate Change appointed a three-member, independent Review Panel to conduct the environmental assessment.
• On April 24, 2019, the Review Panel’s Terms of Reference were amended to include marine shipping associated with the Project as an activity incidental to the proposed marine terminal.
• The Review Panel held public hearings from May 14 to June 24, 2019, in Delta, Victoria, Vancouver and in five First Nation communities.
• On March 27, 2020, the Review Panel submitted its report to the former Minister of Environment and Climate Change. The Review Panel concluded that the Project was likely to cause significant adverse project-related or cumulative effects in approximately 30 areas, including fish and fish habitat and marine mammals (including Chinook salmon, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Dungeness crab), current use of lands and resources and cultural heritage of some Indigenous groups, and human health.
• The Review Panel was unable to determine significance in 11 areas due to uncertainty regarding the science or insufficient information, including biofilm and related impacts on Western Sandpiper.
• On August 24, 2020 the former Minister of Environment and Climate Change issued an information request to the Proponent in response to their timeline extension request. The information request contains questions regarding fish and fish habitat; offsetting, avoidance and mitigation measures for project construction, operation, and marine shipping; biofilm and effects to migratory birds; effects to Indigenous peoples; as well as detailed consultation outcomes for all of the above.
• The timeline for a decision statement (originally November 22, 2020) is now paused, and will resume once the information requested is deemed to be sufficient to meet the requirements of the request.
• The proponent submitted final responses to the Information Request on September 24, 2021. The responses were made available for a public comment period starting in December, 2021. The comment period was extended to March 15, 2022, due to the timing of federal submissions and requests from the public.
• Federal submissions in relation to the Information Request have been filed and publicly posted in February 11, 2022. In its submission, Environment and Climate Change Canada has indicated that there will be serious, irreversible impacts to migratory birds (Western Sandpiper) resulting from changes to biofilm. Fisheries and Oceans Canada indicated that they are uncertain as to whether a Species at Risk Act permit can be issued for the Project.
• After the close of this public comment period, sufficiency of the information will be determined and the timeline will resume for decision. At that point, there will be 89 days left to issue a decision statement to the proponent.
• On March 28, 2019, GCT Canada Ltd., a competitor of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, filed two applications for judicial review with the Federal Court:
• One application named the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) and the Attorney General as respondents. This Application sought orders from the Court prohibiting the public hearing until the Review Panel had addressed issues raised by GCT. This application is being held in abeyance (stayed indefinitely) as GCT advised it may discontinue the application.
• The other application named the Port Authority and the Attorney General as respondents. It sought to compel the Port Authority to conduct a permitting process for GCT Canada Limited Partnership’s proposed Deltaport Fourth Berth Project.
• GCT has submitted a draft Initial Project Description to the Agency for its proposed Deltaport Fourth Berth Project.
• There are 46 Indigenous groups being consulted on the Project and associated marine shipping. Concerns raised so far include effects on salmon, crab and shellfish harvesting, cultural practices, interference by shipping activity on the exercise of rights, and cumulative effects from increased ship traffic, including on Southern Resident Killer Whales. It is likely that accommodation measures will be required to address these impacts.
• Under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012), timelines have been established for this Project as follows:
• The timeline for the Panel to be established was 150 days (five months) from the referral of the Project to a Review Panel (completed).
• The timeline for the Panel to submit its report was 430 days (14 months) from the establishment of the Review Panel (completed).
• The timeline for the Minister to issue the Decision Statement is 240 days (eight months) from submission of the Review Panel’s Report.

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