Port of Vancouver

We do have a lot of data in this book from OECD and the World Trade Organization.

Just to point out, the Port of Vancouver, according to the World Bank, which is no slouch organization, it's part of the UN, ranked Port of Vancouver 398 out of 402 ports in the world.

In other words, we're at the bottom of the bottom, and this is hurting the shipment of grains out of the, out of Western Canada, for example.

Mm-hmm.

Oh, okay.

I thought you, you cut out for a second.

Can I just ask, though, o- on that topic, because we know, um, the federal government has targeted the Port of Vancouver as a project-

Yeah

Well, potentially some, but I would be making a couple other linkages.

I would be talking about the need to use Canadian steel and Canadian labor in the construction of the pipeline and how much economic activity that that could provide to Ontario and other parts of the country or for people working in the Port of Vancouver.

So I think there's...

There are lots of reasons to maybe broaden out that economic messaging in ways that I think Kathleen was getting at.

Amy.

Judith raises an excellent question around the cumulative effects of a lot of development that's happening right now in the Port of Vancouver and beyond, including the risks to southern resident killer whales, of which there are 73 or 74 remaining.

So we know that, for example, Ottawa has already approved a shipping terminal expansion at Robbers Bank, and that was approved despite the federal review panel concluding that underwater noise from the ships would have significant averse cumulative effects and it would increase the risks of extinction for the southern resident killer whales.

And we also know, you know, there are other kinds of harms here to salmon and their habitat and the risk of shipping strikes and underwater noise.

They need to have that ability if they're going to advocate for themselves.

And I think that when we really drill down at this, what's going to happen? Like the very first place this legislation is going to be tested is at the Port of Vancouver.

And if you want to tell me that those workers at the Port of Vancouver who are staring down automation, whose jobs are already under threat, are not going to look at any kind of a back-to-work order that comes out of this legislation and defy it, I think you're on a different planet.

So this legislation, I think it does not strike the right balance.

I do think the government has the opportunity to make some changes here.

Or, sorry, last episode.

And, um, I noticed Canpotex announced an expansion, uh, you know, $500 million port of Vancouver expansion.

Was that planned? Is that new? That sounds like a good idea.

Any thoughts about that expansion?

And, uh-

Mm-hmm

... and so I do think that the announcement of, at the Port of Vancouver is very much part about, part of, of this strategy for Canpotex to expand the market for both Nutrien and Mosaic.

Both are obviously shareholders of, of Canpotex.

The proposed route would follow a similar southern corridor to the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, and the North Coast oil tanker ban would remain-- will remain in effect.

[clapping] But between our n-- increased trade requirements, more ships will enter the Port of Vancouver.

So we must scale up our systems to protect marine life in the event that something goes wrong.

This was the environmental and political balance.