Earlier this week, Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) filed a judicial review to overturn the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s (VFPA) permit allowing the VFPA to dredge tsa-ah-nah (Second Narrows area) of səlilwət (Burrard Inlet).
“While Tsleil-Waututh understands the proposed dredge is an important step for Canada’s international trade objectives, including increasing the amount of oil moving through the Inlet from Westridge Marine Terminal, the approval process has been rushed and has not addressed any of Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s concerns about marine shipping impacts,” said Chief Justin George.
“Tsleil-Waututh has a sacred stewardship obligation, a responsibility to care for our lands, air and waters. While we attempted to resolve these outstanding issues in good faith, our concerns were ignored, leaving us no choice but to go to court to protect our territory and interests. A well-planned economic initiative needs to include addressing and accommodating impacts to Tsleil-Waututh’s inherent and constitutionally-protected rights. That did not happen here.”
On June 23, 2026, the VFPA issued its Project and Environmental Review Permit for the Second Narrows Dredging Works. On the same day, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) issued its Fisheries Act Authorization (FAA) for the Second Narrows Dredging Works, permitting the VFPA to destroy fish and fish habitat while dredging. TWN will be challenging both authorizations.
In the judicial review filed two days ago, TWN argues that:
- Canada failed to discharge the duty to consult TWN before the VFPA issued the Permit, thereby breaching the honor of the Crown; and
- The VFPA’s decision to issue the permit was based on an unreasonable determination that the Second Narrows Dredging Works are not likely to result in significant adverse environmental effects under the Impact Assessment Act.
According to TWN, legal materials filed in Federal Court argue that the VFPA issued the permit for the Second Narrows Dredging Works without addressing significant gaps in its review process that TWN identified early on in the review:
- Despite TWN raising the issue repeatedly, the VFPA did not assess the impacts to TWN’s rights, culture, and way of life that will occur due to the changes to marine shipping enabled by the dredge – including the risks of more fully laden oil tankers traversing the inlet. The VFPA only assessed a limited set of physical impacts that will result from the dredging,
- The VFPA also did not reasonably assess how the Second Narrows Dredging Works and related marine shipping will contribute to the already critical cumulative impacts of industrial development on TWN’s title, rights, culture, and way of life.
