Dear Editor,
Are we to forget about all the discussions between the provincial department of transportation and the Port of Vancouver as to why the George Massey Tunnel (GMT) must be removed?
If the Fraser River is not to be dredged deeper then why spend hundreds of millions of dollars to remove any part of the GMT?
Why would you destroy the GMT when with $45 million you could bring it up to modern, seismic standards and replace the ventilation and lighting?
Why not leave the present hydro lines in the existing GMT and avoid the cost of $76 million to place them overhead?
Does this mean they will be not dredging for the turning basins for the Fortis LNG, the Vancouver Airport Fuel or the new grain-handling facility?
Would the Port of Vancouver accept another tunnel above the GMT?
Is the Port of Vancouver prepared to accept a major environmental and hydrological study for the Lower Fraser River, before proceeding with any of their industrial proposals?
If not, why not?
Is it because this could silence once and for all any future thought of dredging the Lower Fraser River deeper and save the remaining 15 per cent of what is known the world over as a wetland of international significance?
I find it impossible to trust the Port of Vancouver as the caretaker of such a valuable ecosystem.
There must be a body appointed that will look out for all those involved in its preservation, as promised by the federal government.
Douglas George Massey
Delta
