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Letters: RBT2 continues to be flawed

Do Canadians seriously want to spend tax dollars to destroy salmon, whale, and migratory bird habitat in order to funnel containers from Asia, through Canada, to the USA?
T2-port
Optimist file

Editor:

Re: Numbers show need for Delta expansion, says port (Optimist, Sept. 30)

The Roberts Bank Container Terminal 2 Project (RBT2) is a plan to dredge and fill the Fraser River to build an artificial island the size of 250 football fields.

The plan will double existing container capacity which will double impacts – increased air pollution, truck traffic, train traffic and the increasing demand for large properties to store and transload containers. 

Ironically, only 10 per cent of the import containers are for local use. We suffer pollution and congestion from truck traffic so containers can be transloaded and sent east with 26 percent going to the U.S. Chicago hub.

Exports in containers have been flat for several years. Container trade value to Canada is small compared to bulk shipping. However, 47 per cent of the Port’s lucrative income is from the container business, which explains the push for RBT2.

Three transportation experts advised the Canadian Government to maximize container capacity at Prince Rupert before considering expansions in the Lower Mainland.

The International Longshore & Warehouse Union has warned that RBT2 will lead to job losses at existing container terminals.

The $3.5 billion RBT2 Project will require road and rail infrastructure. Canadians have already spent $1.4 billion on Asia Pacific corridors. The recent upgrades in Delta cost $18.3 million. Do Canadians seriously want to spend tax dollars to destroy salmon, whale, and migratory bird habitat in order to funnel containers from Asia, through Canada, to the USA?

Susan Jones