Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington says the provincial government is failing to adequately protect the Roberts Bank Wildlife Management Area from the risks of an oil spill.
"If last week's spill in English Bay had happened at Roberts Bank in the fall or winter months, it would have been disastrous," Huntington said last Thursday. "It would devastate the most important migratory bird stopover on the west coast of North America."
When asked in the legislature last week, Huntington said the minister for forest lands and natural resource operations did not answer whether the Wildlife Management Area Plan for Roberts Bank had considered the impact of a spill. The independent MLA also asked the environment minister to make a "world class spill response" a precondition for approving the Terminal 2 project, and asked the minister to commit to vetoing the project if the government could not guarantee the protection of the Fraser estuary.
Huntington said Mary Polak would not commit to ensuring the Roberts Bank terminal would face the same conditions and avoided the question on vetoing the proposal. She stated she was confident the environmental review would address spill concerns.
"As we saw again last week, oil spills don't just come from tankers," said Huntington. "The T2 project will significantly increase the number of container ships coming to Deltaport, and I'm disappointed that the environment minister will not commit to ensuring the Fraser River estuary is protected."
