Minister's Response

Project

The Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CP) is proposing the CP Logistics Park: Vancouver (the Logistics Park Project), an expansion of the existing Vancouver Intermodal Facility, including the construction of additional track in its mainline rail corridor and the development of a new transload centre to distribute agricultural, automobile, and liquid products. The Logistics Park Project is located in the Pitt Meadows, British Columbia.

Decision

Non-designated project.

Reasons

Pursuant to section 9 of the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), I, Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change considered the potential for the Logistics Park Project to cause adverse effects within federal jurisdiction, adverse direct or incidental effects, public concern related to these effects, as well as adverse impacts on the Aboriginal and treaty rights of Indigenous peoples of Canada. In forming my opinion, I took into account the analysis prepared by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency).

I am of the opinion that the designation of the Logistics Park Project is unwarranted for the following reasons:

• the regulatory review processes that currently apply to the Logistics Park Project and related consultations with Indigenous peoples provide a framework to address the potential adverse effects and concerns raised by Indigenous peoples and members of the public. These include:
  • relevant provisions of federal legislation, including the Fisheries Act, the Canada Transportation Act, the Species at Risk Act, the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, the Railway Safety Act, and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999; and
  • provincial licenses, permits, and approvals required for the Logistics Park Project pursuant to the British Columbia Wildlife Act and the British Columbia Heritage Conservation Act;
• potential adverse effects within federal jurisdiction or adverse direct or incidental effects would be limited through project design, by application of standard mitigation measures and managed through existing legislative mechanisms; and
• the public concerns known to the Agency that relate to the potential adverse aforementioned effects do not warrant designation under subsection 9(1) of the IAA.