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Communities and Coal Society et al. v Vancouver Fraser Port Authority et al. - judgment

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Communities and Coal Society et al. v Vancouver Fraser Port Authority et al. - complaint

Filing Year For Action

Beginning on August 21, 2014, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority issued a permit approving Fraser Surrey Docks LP’s (FSD) coal facility proposal. Specifically, permission was granted to construct and operate a 4 million tonne direct transfer coal facility in Surrey, British Columbia. The Port operates under the authority of the Canada Marine Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2021 (CEAA), which requires operators to consider and avoid significant adverse environmental effects, ensure public safety and environmental protection, and respond to local priorities. 

On October 30, 2014, local residents–represented by Ecojustice–Christine Dujmovich and Paula Williams, and environmental groups Voters Taking Action on Climate Change and Communities and Coal, filed an application for judicial review in the Federal Court challenging the Port Authority’s approval of the project. The application specifically raised concerns about the procedural fairness of the decision and the failure to consider the climate impacts of the burning coal as it reaches Asia. 

The legal grounds for the challenge, per the applicants, included: 

1. The Port’s Board of Directors lacks the authority to delegate its powers to make the mandatory determination under s 67(a) of CEAA of whether the project could result in significant adverse environmental effects to the Port’s Chief Executive Officer and President 
2. If it is determined that delegating the CEAA Determination and the decision to issue the project permit was within the Board’s authority, the process of delegation was done improperly. 
3. If the Board did have the authority and properly delegated said authority, the CEO failed to make the CEAA Determination.
4. The Port’s approval gives rise to reasonable apprehension of bias, considering the financial incentives for decision-makers and key officials. 
5. The Port’s amendment to the project permit cannot cure the underlying defects in the project approval.

In January 2018, the Federal Court dismissed the legal challenge. Midway through Ecojustice’s appeal of this decision, the Port Authority canceled the permit for the project. 


Communities and Coal Society et al. v Vancouver Fraser Port Authority et al.

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

People whose health, both mental and physical, makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Communities and Coal Society et al. v Vancouver Fraser Port Authority et al. - judgment

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance