Mayor Malcolm Brodie still maintains taking the province to court over its environmental assessment of the planned jet fuel terminal on the Fraser River is a bad idea.
In a Richmond News election poll Brodie was asked: Would you pursue a lawsuit, against city staff advice, against the province over the jet fuel facility consultation process?
He answered ‘yes,’ causing confusion with VAPOR, a grassroots group that is actually pursuing a court challenge with personal contributions and donations.
“Richmond's Mayor Brodie has (previously) stated that he huddled with Richmond legal staff and decided to not support legal action. Yet in a recent newspaper chart of candidate answers to specific questions, he is listed as supporting a lawsuit. Is the newspaper wrong or have the politicians confused us again?” asked VAPOR chair Otto Langer, a retired DFO biologist.
Brodie said he answered the question verbatim, in that he would go against staff advice but not against that of the outside legal team, which advised him and city council a court challenge was likely futile.
“My position has not changed,” said Brodie, a lawyer.
An airlines consortium is planning to store up to just over 100 million litres of jet fuel near Riverport. Doing so would allow it to save costs with overseas supplies.
Brodie said a court challenge could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and while “there’s always a sliver of a chance of success in any lawsuit” he said the best that could be done in this case would, inevitably, be a simple delay of the project (which he had opposed since day one).
“I believe the airlines will spend as much money they need to make sure that facility goes through,” said Brodie.
“You have to convince me it’s the right thing to do,” he said, adding it wouldn’t be right to waste that much of taxpayers’ money on something that he sees would fail.
Does his 'yes' response mean a councillor can table a motion to pursue legal action and Brodie would get on board? Not necessarily, he said.
“I would be hesitant to go against the legal advice we were given,” he said.
Brodie's challenger Richard Lee, also a lawyer, said previously that the money would be worth the risk as well as the message that the city and majority of residents oppose jet fuel on the river
Langer, for his part, said many council candidates and the mayor are talking doublespeak.
“All candidates insist they stand for ALR and environmental protection and on public safety. Yet many also oppose taking the BC Government to task in a project that indirectly threatens our ALR and directly harms the environment and public safety. Do the candidates not realize that if this jet fuel facility is built it will open up the entire lower Fraser River to heavy industrial development by Port Metro Vancouver? The jet fuel issue is just the tip of the iceberg and if it not opposed and a better, safer fuel transport option pursued, the environment, our safety, the Agricultural Land Reserve and our quality of life in Richmond and Delta will greatly suffer,” said Langer.
