Template Letters

August 10, 2021

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6

Jonathan.Wilkinson@canada.ca

cc: Impact Assessment Agency of Canada ec.ministre-minister.ec@canada.ca, CPPittMeadows@iaac-aeic.gc.ca

Dear Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson,

I am writing to you to request that you designate the proposed Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) Projects in Pitt Meadows, BC under the Impact Assessment Act. I also support a similar request by Katzie First Nation (IAAC reference #82818) to ensure these projects undergo an Impact Assessment.

CP and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority are proposing two projects: (1) the CP Logistics Park: Vancouver (CPVLP), and (2) the Pitt Meadows Road and Rail Improvements Project (PMRRIP). CP claims that the proposed Logistics Park (CPVLP) is 9 hectares below the 50 ha threshold that would require an impact assessment, however, CP has declined to state the total footprint of the proposal after accounting for expansion activities within the CP right-of-way. Moreover, when the CPVLP is considered with publicly available information regarding the footprint of the PMRRIP, it appears that the totality of the project is greater than 50 ha.

The projects are connected as they share objectives, occupy the same lands, and are facilitating the same rail activities as confirmed by CP representatives during their public engagement process in January 2021. CP officials confirmed “there will be absolute benefits to our project (CPVLP) from the Kennedy Road overpass (PMRRIP).”

There are potential adverse effects from this project that fall within federal jurisdiction including indigenous rights within the unceded territories of the Katzie, Kwitwetlem, and Kwantlen First Nations, as well as Species at Risk Act, Migratory Birds Convention Act, and Fisheries Act.

There are also gaps in legislation to protect the health and safety of communities that an impact assessment may address. The CPVLP and PMRRIP will change a transportation corridor into a rail yard and facilitate building trains within 23 feet of homes. There are no meaningful processes in place to consider the health and safety impacts of these changing rail operations. The risks include, but are not limited to, exposure to toxic diesel emissions for extended periods of time, unreasonable noise and vibration levels, and the potential risk of a derailment in a residential area that would result in disastrous consequences and likely loss of many lives.

Although CP has deliberately separated the projects, it is important to note that it will be impossible to separate the impact of the two projects to the community. The impact from these projects will be cumulative. It is only through your designation that an impact assessment can be undertaken to consider the cumulative effects of the projects, and it is only with an assessment that we can ensure meaningful mitigation to protect the health and safety of our community.

I trust that you will agree that determining the adverse impacts from these projects are in the public interest and you designate the CP Projects in Pitt Meadows (CPVLP and PMRRIP) as a Proposed Project under the Impact Assessment Act.

Regards,

Name

ACTION ITEM Deadline August 16, 2021

Template letter below and link to MS Word file

Send in your letter(s) today, to help support Pitt Meadows and stop the CP project.
The most recent letter is at the top of the page. Previous letters are also on this page.

Send in your letter today, to help support Pitt Meadows and stop the CP project.

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To: Jonathan.Wilkinson@canada.ca
cc.: ministre-minister.ec@canada.ca, CPPittMeadows@iaac-aeic.gc.ca
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Send in your letter(s) today, to help support Pitt Meadows and stop the CP project.
The most recent letter is at the top of the page. Previous letters are also on this page.

To help with the process we are providing this template letter.
Copy and paste the letter into your Email.
Please personalize the letter by adding your contact information and name at the end of the letter.
You are also welcome to customize this letter or write your own.
Both Email and mailing addresses of our elected officials are listed on this website on the the Public Engagement page.
This letter is also available in a word document.

Template letter below and link to MS Word file

ACTION ITEM from 2021

Full Name
Address
City, Province
Postal Code

Date

Dear Minister

I am writing to you to express my grave concerns regarding CP Rail’s plans for the community of Pitt Meadows, B.C. which put the environment, and health and safety of residents at risk. It is imperative that you are aware of these concerns and take action to protect the citizens and this community.

The community has a number of significant concerns, including the following:

Local and regional environmental impacts:

Damage to Waterways including the Katzie Slough, Pitt River, and Fraser River
Permanent loss of viable agricultural land
Damage to surrounding farms
Permanent loss of vital habitat for local and sensitive wildlife
Flooding

Serious health and safety concerns:

Serious and potentially fatal fire hazards
Air pollution
Exposure to chemical toxins including diesel fumes leading to increased risk of cancer
Noise and light pollution
Exposure to extreme vibrations
Sleep disruptions leading to serious physical and mental health issues
Significant impacts on quality of life as a result of shunting from building of trains in residential areas

Additional concerns:

Ability to remove land from the Agricultural Land Commission without due process
Increased truck traffic in locations already suffering from congestion issues
Residences within metres of heavy industrial rail yard
Disregard for community amenities in close proximity such as the Pitt River Greenway Dyke trail and municipally owned BMX track

Another concern is the lack of respect for proper public engagement. No advance notice was provided for the public engagement process and CP chose to do “engagement” during a pandemic with public health orders preventing public gatherings while people are in the midst of Christmas preparations. They took full advantage of a public health crisis and abused the process that is in place to hear and address residents’ concerns. The engagement was limited in scope as the open houses were not long enough to adequately answer residents' questions. They may be fulfilling their requirements of the process to the letter, but they are not fulfilling their duty to the spirit in which it was intended.

In summary, CP’s plans for Pitt Meadows will bring extreme fire and safety concerns, environmental concerns regarding air, water, and land, negative health affects for residents and the community, noise and vibration issues, and an unmanageable increase in traffic volumes.

There needs to be a balance between the national interests for moving goods across the country and the protection of the communities whose environments, and health and safety are put at risk. I ask you again to take action to ensure the protection of our environment and health and safety, by preventing CP from executing their plans for our community. Our community and lives depend on your actions as our elected official to represent us and protect us from CP Rail!

Sincerely,

[Include your Full Name and address]

URGENT ACTION ITEM Please send your letter ASAP. IAAC submission deadline is Monday August 16, 2021. Link to Template Letter

ACTION ITEM Deadline August 16, 2021