Dear Editor:
The recent controversy over the proposed Richardson International redevelopment of its North Shore facility is the first of many North Shore projects to come that demonstrate a complete failure of vision on the part of the North Shore Trade Area initiative undertaken on behalf of the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia, Port Metro Vancouver, TransLink, the City and District of North Vancouver and the private sector. This project is being pursued with a take-no-prisoners strategy that excludes the residents of North Vancouver from any meaningful input into the consultative process and precludes any search for compromise.
The agent of this vision is Port Metro Vancouver. The port's tactics are not restricted to the North Shore; it has already run afoul of B.C.'s Agricultural Land Reserve and is currently pursuing a project through the South Shore Trade Area with equal opposition from residents.
To quote CTV News: On Oct. 11, "hundreds of Burnaby residents gathered at a town hall meeting to oppose the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline. A proposal to twin the Trans Mountain pipeline would mean up to 750,000 barrels of oil would flow from Alberta to a terminal on Burrard Inlet, directly under homes in Burnaby. If approved, an additional 300 tankers a year would be required to ship the oil out of Port Metro Vancouver."
Will the municipalities, local, provincial and federal governments unite to save Burrard Inlet by forcing Port Metro to seriously consider, through a transparent consultative process, more creative solutions and a more balanced vision to regional development than turning the inlet into an industrial wasteland and toxic hotspot?
Charles and Marlene Goodbrand North Vancouver
