First Nation challenges port plan to dredge Metro Vancouver's Second Narrows for oil tankers

The tugboat HaiSea Wamis escorts an oil tanker in the Second Narrows, spanned by two key bridges, a railway bridge (foreground) and the Ironworkers Memorial highway bridge (background) Photo by Seaspan Marine Transportation

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The Tsleil-Waututh Nation is asking a court to stop the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority from dredging the Second Narrows, a scheme to accommodate fuller oil tankers shipping crude from the Trans Mountain pipeline.

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The North Shore First Nation asked the Federal Court of Canada on Thursday to overturn the permit that allows the port authority to deepen the water of the channel that passes under the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, the nation said in a news release.

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The nation argues Canada failed to adequately consult it before the port’s permit was issued last month and it was based on an unreasonable determination that the work wouldn’t have a significant impact on the environment. The Nation has been involved in a multi-year project to restore the tidal flats north of the channel.

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“While Tsleil-Waututh understands the proposed dredge is an important step for Canada’s international trade objectives, including increasing the amount of oil moving through the Inlet from Westridge Marine Terminal, the approval process has been rushed and has not addressed any of Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s concerns about marine shipping impacts,” said Chief Justin George.

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But, “Tsleil-Waututh has a sacred stewardship obligation, a responsibility to care for our lands, air and waters. While we attempted to resolve these outstanding issues in good faith, our concerns were ignored, leaving us no choice but to go to court to protect our territory and interests.

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“A well-planned economic initiative needs to include addressing and accommodating impacts to Tsleil-Waututh’s inherent and constitutionally protected rights. That did not happen here.”

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This dredging has “far-reaching implications for our Tsleil-Waututh people,” he said in the news release.

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“Tsleil-Waututh Nation will continue to uphold our sacred duty to protect the Inlet and ensure that current and future generations will thrive.”

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Currently Aframax oil tankers can only fill to about 80 per cent of their capacity at the Westridge Marine Terminal when loading crude off the Trans Mountain pipeline.

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Dredging work is scheduled for later this year. It would allow tankers to ride deeper in the water and therefore be filled with more oil. Fuller tankers would improve the competitiveness of Canadian crude exports out of B.C., ultimately reducing the cost to send oil to Asian buyers.

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The federal-government-owned Trans Mountain runs from northern Alberta to the B.C. coast and carries about 890,000 barrels a day of crude. Its capacity was tripled two years ago after a decade-long expansion project that added a second pipeline and cost about $34 billion. The dredging project is part of a broader plan to improve the Trans Mountain system, raising its capacity to almost 1.2 million barrels a day by 2029.

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Trans Mountain was also recently tapped by the Canadian and Alberta governments with building a third line largely along its existing route to a new deep water port in Delta to accommodate larger tankers and avoid the Second Narrows in Burrard Inlet.

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The Vancouver port authority and Trans Mountain did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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With files from Postmedia News

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