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Prime Minister Mark Carney has backed a proposal to expand a major port facility in Metro Vancouver, saying its existing capacity won’t be enough to meet Ottawa’s goals for growing and diversifying the economy.
Carney outlined his support for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion project as he toured part of Global Container Terminals’ Deltaport facility at the site in Delta, B.C., on Thursday.
“When you look at the capacity of the Port of Vancouver, it’s bigger than the capacity of the next five biggest ports in Canada combined,” he said.
“But within the next decade, it’s not going to be enough.”
Canada must expand port capacity and connected infrastructure if the country is to become “stronger, more independent, more diversified,” increasing trade with Asian countries, while moving exports away from the United States, Carney said.
“The federal government is looking to invest about $10 billion, more than $10 billion, to help expand the port, grow our exports away from the United States by more than 50 per cent, create over 17,000 jobs, 18,000 jobs in the construction of that (and) another 17,000 jobs, full-time, in the operation of that additional capacity,” he said, adding there would be knock-on benefits for businesses across the country.
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Carney’s visit came two weeks after Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon held a news conference at the Roberts Bank port to announce that Ottawa was referring the expansion plan to Canada’s Major Projects Office for possible fast-tracking.
The project includes a proposal for a new three-berth terminal that would increase the port’s container capacity by 50 per cent, with MacKinnon saying the expansion would enable $100 billion in new trade capacity annually.
Ottawa’s support is a boost for the project that environmentalists have fought for years, saying it threatens the habitat of endangered southern resident killer whales, among other concerns.
Carney said the government was working with local First Nations to share in the economic benefits of the proposal and ensure environmental protections.
Ottawa has been committing funds to protect whales, including the southern residents, as well as Pacific salmon, he told reporters.
The federal government has said the Major Projects Office would immediately start consulting with Indigenous communities about the expansion plan.
Alberta’s West Coast oil pipeline proposal, which would terminate at Roberts Bank, is also being considered as part of the plan for the port.
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