Dear Editor:
As the chairman of the Low Level Road and port area community liaison committee, I believe that comments made by Robin Silvester, Port Metro Vancouver's chief executive officer, in the North Shore News article "Low Level Road Spurs Export Growth" (March 5) are misleading. Specifically, his comments that we do not need a health impact assessment for the port's expansion is unfounded given recent information of which Mr. Silvester is aware.
Our committee is working hard to balance resident concerns with the business needs of the port and its tenants. We recognize that for our community, residents and businesses to succeed we must find compromises together.
Dr. Patricia Daly, the vice-president of public health at Vancouver Coastal Health, recently attended a committee meeting with Port Metro Vancouver to explain her role and how it relates to the public health concerns of citizens regarding the Low Level Road project. We asked Dr. Daly whether a health impact assessment would be helpful.
Health impact assessments, according to the World Health Organization, are a means of assessing the health impacts of policies, plans and projects in diverse economic sectors using quantitative, qualitative and participatory techniques. They go beyond a one-dimensional approach of environmental studies, for example, by weighing positive benefits as well as negative impacts. Canadian documentation on how to complete such an assessment is available publicly on the World Health Organization website despite contrary suggestions from Port Metro Vancouver.
Dr. Daly confirmed a health impact assessment would be beneficial for North Vancouver. She believes large development projects like this one merit the completion of such a study and pledged support for one. Crucially, this is not about targeting coal or any other single commodity. It is about giving Dr. Daly and Vancouver Coastal Health objective studies from independent third parties that allow conclusions to be made. Interestingly, Dr. Daly also said new regulations for diesel emissions will likely have greater impact in protecting public health as compared to popular concerns about coal dust. The costs of completing this work are normally covered by the entity undertaking the project as part of their social license. In this case that is Port Metro Vancouver, and given the "brownfield" nature of the development, costs are likely minimal and could be covered by project contingency.
The City of North Vancouver council and our committee have both officially called for a health impact study, but Port Metro Vancouver remains reluctant. If you are interested in ensuring your public health authority has the necessary information to protect your health please contact Vancouver Coastal Health and our committee to show your support.
Tony Valente
Chairman, Low Level Road and Port Area Community Liaison Committee
