Who is evaluating the potentially harmful impacts of dredging Burrard Inlet?

In mid-September, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) launched a new website outlining its plan to dredge Burrard Inlet, east of the Second Narrows. The website confirms that the work to remove sediment from two locations in the inlet remains in a “preliminary stage,” including First Nations consultation and early field studies. It also sets a clear expectation: dredging could begin in 2026.

The proposed project has raised concerns among scientists and experts about the lack of study on harmful impacts resulting from dredging, and whether there is independent oversight in place to manage and mitigate the risks.

Dredging is not new to the Port Authority. They are responsible for multiple recurring projects, including annual dredging of the south arm of the Fraser River to maintain a deep-sea channel by removing millions of tonnes of sediment each year. Leaving the material in place would increase flooding risks, threatening infrastructure and farmlands, in addition to disrupting marine-related trade and transportation, said the VFPA in a statement.

Yet dredging in the Fraser River is a cautionary tale. Dr. Jeremy Venditti, Professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Environmental Science, explained that repeated dredging has already reduced the river’s depth by several metres and could cause an eight-metre drop by 2050. 

He emphasized that there has been no program to track the ecological effects of these interventions over time. For Vendetti, a research and monitoring centre should be established to build baseline data sets of the river’s present condition. The lesson, he said, is that residents are being asked to trust claims about Burrard Inlet without any data from the Fraser River showing that the impacts have been responsibly managed. 

The benefit of the proposed project in Burrard Inlet is the opportunity for ships passing through the area to increase capacity, such as oil tankers accessing the Trans Mountain facility in Burnaby, according to the Port Authority. VFPA insists dredging Burrard Inlet would likely be a one-off project. They point to the deep-sea channel near Lions Gate Bridge, last dredged in the 1970s, which has not required maintenance since.

However, much like the Fraser River there is no comprehensive ecological baseline for Burrard Inlet. While targeted studies exist, such as monitoring phytoplankton species, no full dataset exists to show how dredging might alter biodiversity over time, according to Paul Covert, a federal scientist leading the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Ocean Baseline Program. 

Developing a baseline of the ecological condition of Burrard Inlet is possible, but there is no dedicated funding to do so, nor is establishing a baseline a mandate for any government department currently.

Venditti said even a single dredging can reshape sediment flows for decades, with changes only becoming apparent long after the fact. Without baseline data, “the changes may only become visible when it is too late to act,” he cautioned.

The tools exist to model sediment changes and run simulations on the impacts of dredging in Burrard Inlet over time, said Venditti, but funding and political will are lacking. “The idea that you can’t predict what would happen if we dredge the Burrard Inlet is not true,” he said. “You can… but it just needs to be properly funded”.

Burrard Inlet has been assessed for contamination levels over the past 25 years, but is not being monitored regularly. A federal–provincial assessment in 2000 found sediments in multiple areas of the inlet to have elevated levels of harmful substances like metals, hydrocarbons, and PCBs. The report cautioned that these pollutants, bound in sediments, could be released if disturbed, posing risks to marine organisms and to people consuming local seafood.

Newer studies have focused on reviewing compounds like pharmaceuticals and microbiological pollution, measuring harmful living organisms like fecal matter. The 2021 Burrard Inlet Water Quality Proposed Objectives report concluded that fecal matter and other indicators are still frequently and significantly above safe benchmark levels in nearly every area of the inlet. High levels of these harmful organisms mean it is impossible to safely swim and harvest foods for consumption.

The studies show that Burrard Inlet continues to exceed safe thresholds for both chemical and microbiological pollution. This underscores the concern that dredging could disturb contaminated sediments and worsen conditions, in addition to hampering active restoration efforts.

Dredging could cause cascading ecological effects, warns Meaghan Efford, a PhD researcher at UBC whose work models pre-contact food webs in Tsleil-Waututh territory, which includes Burrard Inlet. Dredging would impact fish and filter feeders, and by extension the entire marine food chain, Efford explained. Increased vessel traffic would also bring higher risks of spills and accidents, which would have major consequences for salmon and orcas, which hunt in and around the inlet. 

Efford stressed that science often lags behind development. By the time someone measures the impact, the Port Authority could have already started dredging, Efford said. She added that environmental assessments must be independent, cover the entire fjord system, and include cumulative risks, not just immediate seabed changes. Anything less “is not credible,” Efford said. 

Conflict of interest?

Experts, including Efford, Venditti, Covert, and others, warn that an environmental review by the Port Authority (VFPA), the project proponent whose mandate is to “advance Canada’s trade objectives,” may not put the ecological and social health of Vancouver’s waterways as a top priority. 

When initially asked for comment about independent review processes, the DFO directed Vancity Lookout to the Port Authority instead, saying they “are the lead on this as the Vancouver Harbour is owned and operated by VFPA.” 

In response to questions about impartial environmental studies, the Port Authority said in an emailed statement that all projects are “subject to all applicable regulatory authorizations, including a Project and Environmental Review permit.” That permit can be granted after an internal review process entirely conducted within the VFPA. The internal review “ensures appropriate environmental mitigation measures are implemented… with the goal of balancing trade objectives with environmental protection and community interests,” according to the VFPA. 

DFO can evaluate development projects through Requests for Review, but these submissions are not required by law. Project proponents are asked to submit Requests for Review at least 60 days before the project’s start date. As of December 16, DFO had not received a submission for dredging works in Burrard Inlet.

People of the Inlet

Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) has been conducting studies in the inlet to better understand the environmental restoration needs of the area. The proposed dredging could counteract decades of cultural and ecological recovery work by Tsleil-Waututh. TWN’s research with the University of British Columbia (UBC) found that industrial development had already reduced the carrying capacity of harvestable traditional foods in the inlet by 88 per cent between 1820 and 1980.

In a July 2025 news release accompanying that research, TWN said that projects like the proposed dredging of Burrard Inlet “pose serious concerns.”

“To protect and restore the health of the Inlet and address significant legal risks to Canada, we need the Crown to enter into joint decision-making with səlilwətaɬ [Tsleil-Waututh] to review and authorize Crown activities that may further impact our rights in Burrard Inlet as a shared path forward,” TWN said. 

Over the past five months, Vancity Lookout has attempted to speak with a TWN representative about the proposed dredging in the inlet. However, TWN spokespeople and TWN Councillor James Sandover declined our repeated requests for an interview or to comment on the dredging proposal, including an update on the status of consultations and how the project might threaten ecological and cultural restoration efforts in the area. 

Those efforts include a Shoreline Adaptation and Restoration Project at Whey-ah-Wichen (Cates Park) in North Vancouver, which TWN and the District of North Vancouver are collaborating on. The $6 million project is intended to protect sensitive archaeological sites on the former TWN village site from erosion and rising sea levels, while improving facilities and access for locals and visitors.

Sandover emphasized the importance of səlilwət (Burrard Inlet) to səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), a name which translates to ‘People of the Inlet.’ “It’s always in the Tsleil-Waututh’s best interests to put work into [environmental restoration]. We’ve been doing it for decades,” Sandover told Vancity Lookout, speaking about the Whey-ah-Wichen restoration project. 

“We're trying to restore it back to what it used to be, to keep it natural, to keep it healthy,” Sandover said, by removing material like cement and tar from the shoreline and replacing it with sand, rock, and sediment. Part of that sediment was actually sourced from a different dredging project nearby, which otherwise would have been dumped at sea, TWN said in a mid-December project update. 

What Happens Next

Dredging remains in early planning, with consultations and fieldwork ongoing, and a target for work to begin in 2026, according to the Port Authority. The next steps will depend on regulatory approvals, environmental assessments, and the responses from First Nations like Tsleil-Waututh and federal agencies like DFO.

For Vancouver residents, the stakes are clear. As Efford put it, dredging is “a profit-driven decision” that benefits those who already have more than enough. She contrasted that with restoration and protection projects, which can create long-term jobs and ecological resilience. Venditti added that the most severe consequences will likely not be borne by today’s residents but by their children and grandchildren.

Whether dredging proceeds, and under what safeguards, will reveal how seriously the federal government weighs trade against ecological health in Burrard Inlet.

With files from Nate Lewis.