Editor:
It seems disingenuous that the provincial government is requesting public input on the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project, stating that B.C. ministers have not decided if the project should proceed, when Premier Eby has already publicly expressed his wholehearted approval and the federal government has given the green light.
Is it possible that a public outcry from the citizens of British Columbia could stop this environmental tragedy from proceeding? One can only hope.
The federal government has stated that its approval includes 370 legally binding conditions to protect the environment.
Firstly, where is the government going to get the resources to enforce these 370 legally binding conditions? One has to admit that its record on enforcing environmental laws is dismal at best.
Secondly, a cursory look at the conditions reveals serious, numerous deficits. To mention only a few; there is no requirement for monitoring of the terminal’s effects on salmon migration patterns. There is no mention of vessel strikes. The apparent requirement not to increase noise does not include noise from the operation of the marine terminal, which is the only activity that all parties agreed will increase noise.
In case nobody has noticed, there is a global diversity, climate and species extinction crisis. The health of the Fraser Estuary is vital to millions of migrating birds, salmon and other fish and marine mammals, not to mention plant life on land and in the marine environment. It is already critically threatened. This project will tip it over the edge.
Debra Probert
