VANCOUVER – The Wilderness Committee, along with allied environmental groups and concerned residents of the Lower Mainland, is confronting Port Metro Vancouver today with a delegation and rally to express opposition and concern over plans for a new coal export facility at Fraser Surrey Docks.

Hundreds of people have written letters objecting to proposed increases in the region’s coal exports, citing serious environmental, climate change and public health impacts. Despite repeated calls for full public hearings on the Fraser Surrey Docks proposal, Port Metro Vancouver has failed to initiate a meaningful public process, instead requesting that the proponent hold “open houses” for Surrey residents to learn more about the project.

“Open houses run by the proponent do not count as proper public consultation,” said Eoin Madden, the Wilderness Committee’s Climate Change Campaigner.

“Port Metro Vancouver is mandated by the federal government to act in the public interest. But instead of responding to our concerns with a  legitimate public process, they’ve passed us off to the Fraser Surrey Docks – a corporation that is there to sell their project, not to listen to what the people of BC have to say,” Madden said.

The Wilderness Committee is presenting Port Metro Vancouver with its official letter of objection to the proposal, together with copies of more than 250 letters written by local citizens. Municipal leaders have spoken up about the proposed increases in coal shipping capacity at Metro Vancouver ports, including Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who wrote a letter urging the port authority to consult further before making decisions on such proposals. Health officials, including the BC Lung Association and the Public Health Association of BC, have also sent a letter of concern to the Port, asking that they be allowed to participate in the approval process – to no avail.

The push by Big Coal in the United States to get its toxic thermal coal north to Fraser Surrey Docks and Westshore Terminal would make Vancouver the largest exporter of coal in North America. Growing opposition to coal south of the border has made BC a target for the US industry’s exports, because our environmental laws are far more lax. The Wilderness Committee believes that all proposed coal port expansions in the region should be halted, due to the serious climate change and health implications associated with increasing fossil fuel exports from BC.

“We need action from all sectors if we are going to address the threat of climate change, and that means putting the brakes on fossil fuel exports like US thermal coal. Lower Mainland residents appear to have woken up to that fact, but we can’t say the same for Port Metro Vancouver,” said Madden.

The Wilderness Committee, Voters Taking Action on Climate Change (VTACC), the Dogwood Initiative and Kids for Climate Action are calling for a full public hearing process regarding the Fraser Surrey Docks Direct Coal Transfer Facility.