Letter Transport Canada Port Modernization

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200-1627 Fort Street, Victoria BC  V8R 1H8 
Telephone  (250) 405-5151    Fax  (250) 405-5155 
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver 660-2421.  Elsewhere in BC 1.800.663.7867 
Email  information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
Web  www.islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
 
Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola Galiano  Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
December 3, 2018 File No.: 5020-30 
 
Via e-filing: tc.portsreview-examendesports.tc@tc.gc.ca 
 
Transport Canada 
Let’s talk Ocean Protection Plan 
 
To Whom It May Concern: 
 
Re:  Transport Canada’s Port Modernization Review Discussion Paper  
 
The Islands Trust is a federation of local government 
bodies representing 26,000 people living within the 
Islands Trust Area and approximately 10,000 non-
resident property owners. The Islands Trust is 
responsible for preserving and protecting the unique 
environment and amenities of the Islands Trust Area 
through planning and regulating land use, 
development management, education, cooperation 
with other agencies, and land conservation. The area 
covers the islands and waters between the British 
Columbia mainland and southern Vancouver Island. 
It includes 13 major and more than 450 smaller 
islands covering 5200 square kilometres.  
Since 1979, in support of its mandate to 'preserve 
and protect' the Islands Trust Area, the Islands Trust 
Council has advocated for regulatory changes that 
will improve the health of marine ecosystems in the 
region. Trust Council's current advocacy on marine 
issues is supported by the Islands Trust Policy Statement, approved by the provincial Minister of 
Municipal Affairs in 1994.  
The Islands Trust Area is home to an extraordinary diversity of marine life and is among the most 
productive marine ecosystems in the world. Life is busy and colourful above and beneath the waves. The 
Salish Sea’s marine waters support diverse species such as bald eagles, oystercatchers, loons, 
cormorants, grebes, gulls and ducks, anemones, sea urchins, sand dollars, crabs, sea stars, octopus, 
seals, river otters, whales, porpoises and sea lions - to name but a few of the 2000 species. Not only do 
marine resources support local economies and diets; they are an ongoing source of wonder. The area is 
critical to the survival of southern resident killer whales, humpback and gray whales, and is critical  
habitat for salmon, rockfish, and herring. This area has been home to Indigenous peoples since time 
immemorial. Despite efforts by local communities to reduce environmental footprints on the marine 
environment and land base we see the impacts of climate change and habitat loss deepen continuously 
as each year passes.  
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Transport Canada 
December 03, 2018 
Page 2  
 
The Discussion Paper regarding the Ports Modernization Review explains that the 1995 National Marine 
Policy which underpinned the creation of today’s port system included key principles that put emphasis 
on accountability to users and the 

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