December set for next court date for Port of Prince Rupert and partners over DFO charges on Fairview expansion

Last week The Prince Rupert Court House heard the opening remarks
on chargesrelated to the Fairview Expansion project from 2014 and 2015

Two of Prince Rupert's largest industrial groups and largest employers spent part of last week at the Prince Rupert Court House, the two among a number of port expansion stakeholders making their first appearance on charges related to work done as part of the Fairview Terminal expansion project.

The charges  were introduced at the Prince Rupert courthouse last week, setting in motion a court case that will explore the impact on the environment and fish habitat near the expansion site.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority, DP World, and contractors Fraser River Pile and Dredge and Bel Pacific Excavating and Shoring and Bel Contracting were all listed in court documents for a range of charges which include failure to comply to the Fisheries Act and harmful alteration of fish habitat.

Planning and Construction of
the Port expansion took place from 2014-2017

The charges are a result of a Department of Fisheries and Oceans investigation into the work that took place on the Fairview expansion site starting in 2014.

The first shovel went into the ground at the Fairview site in March of 2015, two years later the finished expansion project opened for business on August 30, 2017.

In an email reply to the North Coast Review, Port officials provided the following short note related to the court case.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority is aware of the charges filed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada relating to the construction activity during the Fairview Terminal expansion. Throughout the investigation PRPA has been fully cooperative with all relevant agencies. As this matter is before the courts we cannot provide any further comment at this time.

The next court date for the Port and it's partners is December 19th.

For more items of note related to Port developments see our archive page here.

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