Judge dismisses U.S. tribe’s challenge to major B.C. port expansion

By Stefan Labbé – BIV

A federal judge has ruled Ottawa met its constitutional obligations when it consulted a U.S.-based Indigenous tribe in connection with a major port expansion in British Columbia.

Released Friday, the Dec. 17 decision hinged on how the federal government consulted the Lummi Nation, a Coast Salish tribe in Washington state, in connection with the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion project in Delta, B.C.

The Lummi Nation challenged the federal approval of the massive terminal expansion, which seeks to expand its capacity by a third and cement the port as Canada’s largest shipping gateway.