The Tsleil-Waututh Nation has filed a legal challenge to overturn federal approvals for a dredging project in Burrard Inlet. This project would enable oil tankers at the Trans Mountain pipeline's Westridge Marine Terminal to load to their full capacity.
On Wednesday, the First Nation submitted applications for a judicial review in Federal Court, disputing both the project permit granted by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and a Fisheries Act authorization issued by Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans for the Second Narrows Dredging Works.
The issue revolves around a plan to deepen parts of the navigation channel located east of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge in Vancouver's Burrard Inlet. The goal of this work is to lift a longstanding depth restriction that currently limits Aframax tankers visiting the Westridge Marine Terminal to about 80% of their cargo capacity.
The Tsleil-Waututh Nation argues that regulators did not properly evaluate the environmental effects and impacts on Indigenous rights due to the increase in marine traffic that this project would bring.
“While Tsleil-Waututh recognizes that this dredging is essential for Canada's international trade goals—including boosting oil shipments through the Inlet— the approval process has been rushed and overlooked our concerns regarding the impacts of marine shipping,” stated Chief Justin George.
The Nation contends that the federal government did not fulfill its obligation to consult before the port authority granted the permit and claims that the agency's assertion that the project would not have significant negative environmental effects was unreasonable based on Canada’s Impact Assessment Act.
Among its primary concerns, the Nation highlights that regulators only looked at the immediate physical impacts of dredging and neglected the wider implications of allowing fully loaded oil tankers to travel through Burrard Inlet. They also believe the review failed to adequately consider cumulative impacts on Indigenous rights, marine ecosystems, risks of oil spills, shoreline erosion, and cultural resources.
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority approved the project on June 23, following a Project and Environmental Review process that involved public input and consultations with First Nations and stakeholders.
The port authority reports that the project will involve dredging about 25,000 cubic meters of material over approximately 17,000 square meters of the navigation channel, removing sections of old water pipelines, and adding new range lights to enhance vessel navigation in this narrow waterway.
This work aims to improve shipping efficiency through Second Narrows and facilitate the potential for vessels at the Trans Mountain's Westridge Marine Terminal to load more fully. Dredging is scheduled to happen from mid-August to the end of February, aligning with Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s designated least-risk window for fish habitat.
The port authority stated that feedback from the public, stakeholders, and First Nations was taken into account before the permit was issued.
This project has wider implications for Canada’s energy exports. When the federal government approved the Trans Mountain Expansion Project in 2019, environmental and marine risk assessments assumed that Aframax tankers leaving Westridge would still be limited by the existing 80% loading restriction from the shallow Second Narrows channel.
If the dredging project is completed, this limitation would be removed, allowing tankers to depart fully loaded and increasing the export capacity of the expanded pipeline without the need for additional tanker visits. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation argues that no regulatory body has fully assessed how these changes could impact marine traffic risks and environmental conditions in Burrard Inlet.
The Federal Court will review whether the approvals met Canada's obligations regarding consultations and environmental assessments.