By Zak Vescera, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter THE TYEE

The B.C. dockworkers91裸聊视频� union wants the federal government to block the $3.5-billion Roberts Bank container port project to protect members91裸聊视频� jobs.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union says the port expansion will introduce technology and automation and set the stage for job losses at other West Coast ports.

The union wrote a letter to the federal cabinet last week urging it to reject the Roberts Bank Terminal 2. The controversial project would transform more than 1.7 square kilometres of subtidal and tidal waters into a container port capable of handling 260 ships and more than 2.4 million containers a year. It would be connected to the current Deltaport terminal just north of the Tsawwassen BC Ferries terminal.

In the open letter, ILWU Canada president Rob Ashton said he shared concerns with environmental groups on how the project91裸聊视频檚 environmental impact would harm fish and seabirds.

But he also worries the new terminal would replace workers with machines.

The Port of Vancouver, proposing the project, is a federal government agency. It says decisions on automation would be left to the private company selected to operate the new port.

But Ashton believes the new port could bring a level of automation that would force competing container ports to also automate their operations.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 going to force the rest of the terminals to automate faster than they were doing it otherwise. That91裸聊视频檚 what we want the Canadian government to understand,91裸聊视频� Ashton said. 91裸聊视频淭his is going to destroy a lot of people91裸聊视频檚 livelihoods.91裸聊视频�

The port has described Roberts Bank Terminal 2 as 91裸聊视频渟emi-automated,91裸聊视频� just like the two other major private container ports in B.C. Those are Deltaport, operated by Global Container Terminals, and DP World91裸聊视频檚 Fairview Container Terminal in Prince Rupert.

A number of jobs 91裸聊视频� like gantry crane operation 91裸聊视频� would still be done by humans.

In an August presentation, the port said it was making the decision to limit automation 91裸聊视频渄espite the trend towards greater container port automation over the last two decades91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� something the ILWU has resisted.

But the presentation says some automation decisions would be left up to the private company that eventually runs the port.

Port authority spokesperson Alex Munro said in an email that 91裸聊视频渟emi-automated terminals are becoming increasingly common in OECD countries like Canada.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚n line with most large, recently constructed container terminals, the proposed Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project is expected to include some automation,91裸聊视频� Munro wrote.91裸聊视频漈he level of automation is subject to final terminal configuration, which would be determined by the terminal operator.91裸聊视频�

But Ashton fears the result will be lost jobs.

91裸聊视频淭heir version of semi-automated and my version of semi-automated must be completely different 91裸聊视频� in different realms, in different galaxies,91裸聊视频� he said.

Ashton91裸聊视频檚 letter to federal ministers comes weeks before a final decision on the decade-long project is expected from the federal Impact Assessment Agency, charged with 91裸聊视频渄elivering high-quality impact assessments that look at both positive and negative environmental, economic, social and health impacts of potential projects.91裸聊视频�

Stephane Perrault, a spokesman for that agency, said the legislated deadline for a decision is April 29.

Ashton said he expects it will come before that date.

If approved, the port says construction could be completed within six years.

The authority, a federal agency, says the project is vital to accommodate growing Pacific trade, which it believes will outstrip capacity at existing container ports.

In 2021, the authority says Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 ports processed a total of 3.7 million 91裸聊视频淭EUs,91裸聊视频� a measurement unit equivalent to one 20-foot-long container box.

But by 2040, the authority and its consultants estimate the region91裸聊视频檚 ports will need to handle between six million and 9.8 million TEUs, depending on how quickly trade with Asian markets grows. The authority says failing to build the port will cripple the supply chain and force more of that commerce to flow through competing ports in the U.S.

The port authority says the expanded port could support thousands of jobs across the supply chain.

Munro said the development would support 850 91裸聊视频渄irect long-term91裸聊视频� jobs at the terminal itself. The authority believes the downstream effects of the port would create more than 17,000 jobs in the economy as a whole.

But the project has faced opposition from some environmental groups, local governments and now the ILWU, who have long feared robots could claim their members91裸聊视频� jobs.

In 2019, a lockout at the docks ended in a five-year collective agreement that, among other things, guaranteed the ILWU membership on a committee to discuss further automation projects. ILWU Canada commissioned a report that year, arguing that pursuing automation in British Columbia91裸聊视频檚 ports could cost thousands of jobs on the docks.

Ashton says the ILWU is instead backing two different container port expansion proposals.

Deltaport, the operating name of Global Container Terminals Ltd., is awaiting a federal decision on whether it can build a fourth berth at its existing container port on Roberts Bank. And DP World, which operates the Fairview Container Terminal in Prince Rupert, has applied to expand that worksite to increase its capacity.

The difference, Ashton said, is that those operators have made assurances to dockworkers their jobs won91裸聊视频檛 be affected.

91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檝e actually put levels of automation in, but they brought us along with them. They heard our concerns, we91裸聊视频檝e made adjustments and we91裸聊视频檝e protected jobs,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淎 real friction point in these conversions is always what this will mean for existing jobs,91裸聊视频� said Sunil Johal, a University of Toronto professor studying automation. Some argue robots could take over dangerous or time-consuming repetitive tasks, which might make the worksite more efficient and ultimately generate more jobs. Others, though, argue robots will simply replace workers.

91裸聊视频淭hat benefit-cost calculus is particularly stark in an area like a port,91裸聊视频� Johal said, because of the downstream effects its operations have on sectors that depend on those goods.

Ports across the world have automated a growing number of jobs in recent years, including the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California.

91裸聊视频淚t seems that the trend, especially with new ports and new facilities, those are much more likely to be automated or semi-automated,91裸聊视频� Johal said. 91裸聊视频淚 think it91裸聊视频檚 a fair assumption that as the ports that Vancouver engages with automate and digitize their operations, there91裸聊视频檚 going to be more pressure on Vancouver and Canadian ports to do the same.91裸聊视频�

But there has also been debate on whether automating ports is even worth it. A study released by the Center for Innovation in Transport in Spain, which was commissioned by unions representing dockworkers, argued there were no productivity improvements brought by automation.

A 2018 study from the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found automated ports were safer, but also found productivity actually decreased, and that automation required significant upfront capital investment.

91裸聊视频淭here have not been as many productivity gains from automating ports as was first thought, at least in the past several years,91裸聊视频� Johal said. He suspects that if the expansion goes ahead, a private operator will think carefully about how much they want to spend on automation.

91裸聊视频淏efore they start making multibillion-dollar investments, they91裸聊视频檙e going to take a hard look at it,91裸聊视频� he said.