A proposed coal export facility at Fraser Surrey Docks is getting a lukewarm response from New Westminster candidates.
Fraser Surrey Docks has submitted a proposal to Port Metro Vancouver to develop a direct transfer coal facility at the existing terminal in Surrey, which is located across the river from Westminster Quay.
Green party candidate Terry Teather said his party is opposed to the expansion of the coal port at Fraser Surrey Docks.
"I am in favour of not expanding that coal port," he said. "Our position is slightly different with the Green party. We look down the road in terms of the total amount of coal exports. If we must export coal, the very least we can do is put a carbon tax on that export and get some extra revenue from it."
Independent candidate James Crosty is opposed to expansion at Fraser Surrey Docks for the export of coal.
"We have our own coal exports in B.C. We still need to export our resources - nobody is against that. But let's do our own, not the American coal, because they can't get export out of their own ports," he said. "We shouldn't be the fossil fuel dump for the Americans."
Crosty said American cities along the West Coast have opposed the expansion of coal exports.
"It's U.S. coal - let's export our own stuff. There's huge documentation on the Internet, huge - about coal and its effects. They don't need to export it from here. On the West Coast, they are opposing it all the way down to California. Why are we being used in a highly, densely populated area to export coal?" he said. "Someone said to me, what is wrong with coal? I was absolutely flabbergasted. I thought, have you not done any research on the ill effects of coal on your health."
Liberal candidate Hector Bremner, who lives in a downtown condo that faces Fraser Surrey Docks, said he's more concerned about increased rail traffic and emissions from boats that are idling on the river.
"The reality is there's a lot of misinformation that's out there," he said about the coal proposal. "I think if you think parts of New Westminster are going to be blanketed by coal dust, I don't think that is a factual statement."
While he doesn't believe some of the fears surrounding coal expansions projects are entirely warranted, Bremner said he supports a serious conversation about the issue.
"Coal is not illegal. We can't just single coal out - it's a legal product," he said. "It's a product, and you have to take the emotional value out of it. . What you can do and say to business, no matter what kind of business it is, if it is going to happen in our region, it is going to happen to the highest environmental standards possible, communities are going to respected, stakeholders are going to be involved and people are going to be consulted."
If the project proceeds, Conservative candidate Paul Forseth said residents must insist that environmental standards are upheld.
"Community vigilance and input is important for ensuring that our quality of life is protected," he said. "But we must also have commerce - if there are no trains and no trucks and no traffic, that means our economy is dead and nobody is working."
NDP candidate Judy Darcy said she shares concerns expressed by NDP MPs Peter Julian and Fin Donnelly, who have written to Port Metro Vancouver to voice concerns about the project and the public consultation.
She believes Port Metro Vancouver shouldn't be able to make major decisions about issues that affect the community without a comprehensive environmental review.
"I think we are seeing with Port Metro Vancouver over and over again acting like it's a new level of government that's not very accountable," she said. "There are enough serious questions that I think there needs to be a very, very thorough consultation with the communities that are going to be affected, and very careful review of evidence, a real evidence-based inquiry about the possible repercussions."
The coal, which originates in the United States, would travel by rail through White Rock, Delta and Surrey to Fraser Surrey Docks.
From there it would be loaded onto ships and eventually sent overseas.
NDP leader Adrian Dix is calling for full public hearings on the proposal to export U.C. coal from Fraser Surrey Docks.
The Voters Taking Action on Climate Change group is surveying candidates from all parties in ridings near the proposed coal port and rail line to determine their positions on the issue.
