Question Period Note: Tilbury Marine Jetty Project

Tilbury Marine Jetty Project

• Canadians expect us to take meaningful action to protect the environment while supporting economic growth, not just for today, but for future generations.
• As such, our Government is committed to a federal assessment process that is robust, based on science and Indigenous knowledge, protects our rich natural environment, respects the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and supports our natural resources sector.
• The Tilbury Marine Jetty Project is undergoing a thorough, science-based environmental assessment, including meaningful consultation with Indigenous groups and public participation.
• Consistent with our goal of one project, one assessment, the Government of British Columbia is conducting the environmental assessment on behalf of both the federal and provincial governments, with the participation of expert federal departments.
• I am confident this process will allow us to make well-informed decisions that are in the best interest of all Canadians.

• The Tilbury Jetty Limited Partnership, a joint venture between FortisBC Holdings Inc. and Seaspan Ferries Corp, proposes to develop a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine terminal facility on Tilbury Island, along the South Arm of the Fraser River in Delta, British Columbia (B.C.).
• LNG would be sourced from an existing natural gas liquefaction facility owned by FortisBC and would either be loaded onto large, panamax-class carriers for export to global markets, or onto smaller purpose-built LNG bunkers to support local and regional LNG use. The Project would operate for a minimum of 30 years.
• The Project is subject to an environmental assessment under the former Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012), which was substituted to the province of B.C. in July, 2015, by the former Minister of the Environment.
• The environmental assessment originally only considered marine shipping to the mouth of the Fraser River. During the assessment, comments from Indigenous groups and federal authorities on the potential for effects beyond the mouth of the river prompted the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to determine in July 2019 that marine shipping is part of the Project along the shipping route through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the 12 nautical mile limit of Canada’s territorial sea. This is consistent with assessments for the TransMountain Pipeline Expansion and Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Projects.
• The Province concluded a public comment period on the draft Assessment Report and potential federal and provincial conditions in early September 2021. In November 2021, the proponent informed the Province that they anticipate changes to vessel traffic associated with the Project in the Fraser River that would require a supplementary assessment and additional Indigenous consultation to inform the provincial Assessment Report.
• At the end of the substituted environmental assessment, the province will submit the final Assessment Report to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada to inform decision-making under CEAA 2012.
• The final environmental assessment decision is anticipated in summer 2022.

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