Port Metro Vancouver is not looking for taxpayer dollars to build Terminal 2. CEO and president Robin Silvester made that assurance following concerns raised about what the port is seeking from the new federal government following a visit by a senior cabinet minister last month Federal Minister of Transport Marc Garneau got a tour of the local port just as the government is being wooed on several fronts for infrastructure funding promised during the last election campaign. He was told the importance of accommodating the flow of trade for the economy, something echoed recently by the Vancouver Board of Trade, which listed the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project as "deserving of federal support."
Against Port Expansion's Roger Emsley describes that as outrageous.
"It hasn't even gone through the approval process yet, which is another strange thing," he said.
Noting future funding participation would be sought for road and rail projects to help facilitate the efficient movement of goods, something the government has supported in the past, Silvester said the port would not seek money to build the proposed three-berth container facility.
"To be really clear, it's not for Terminal 2. That is a private sector funded project and others will be funding too," he said.
"Our conversations with the minister were really starting with what is our role, and it's to facilitate Canada's trade, to respond to the growth in Canada's trade, to plan for the infrastructure that will be necessary for Canada to be able to continue to grow those trading relationships and that part of the economy. Our mandate is to do that, mindful of the desires of the community and ensuring protection of the environment."
Their conversation at the highest level all comes from ongoing detailed analysis of transportation needs in the Lower Mainland and in partnership with Transport Canada, TransLink and the province, Silvester explained, who noted the volume of trade through the port has grown substantially in the past five years.
"When we then look forward, we see a similar growth opportunity. Bulk products will be a little bit softer over the next year or two, but over the five-year horizon we see the opportunity for another 30 million tonnes of growth as the growth starts to return in 2018, and we need to plan for the infrastructure to be able to handle that amongst what is already a growing region."
Projects that would be seen as necessary for infrastructure improvements, Silvester said, include the Sunbury/Nordel interchange at the South Fraser Perimeter Road, which he said has already reached traffic volumes originally projected for 2020.
"Without Terminal 2, without the volumes being nowhere where they're going to be with Terminal 2, that junction is already congested... because a lot of port traffic moves up the SFPR, we see that has a priority as well."
Meanwhile, it's not clear how, or if, the application to build T2 will be affected when the Canadian government unveils new environmental review requirements in the coming weeks. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had promised an overhaul of the assessment process as part of his Liberal platform during last year's federal election.
Emsley said he wonders how the Liberals' promise to reinstate more stringent assessment standards, as well as new Delta MP Carla Qualtrough voicing opposition over T2 during the election, will impact port expansion at Roberts Bank.
