Explainer

Mapping Burrard Inlet’s legal polluters

These 21 facilities hold provincial authorizations to release polluted effluent, challenging efforts to bring the Lower Mainland waterway back to life

By Ainslie Cruickshank

May 23, 2024 2 min. read

This article is more than 6 months old

Centuries of colonization, urbanization and industrial activity have severely polluted Burrard Inlet, the waterway that offers protected harbour off the shores of Vancouver and other Lower Mainland municipalities.

These waters nourished Tsleil-Waututh Nation (səlilwətaɬ) for millennia, before they became a hub for global trade, home to Canada’s busiest port. But the more recent legacy of pollution has contaminated food sources and a way of life. Shellfish harvesting has been closed for half a century, and people are regularly barred from swimming at local beaches.

Tsleil-Waututh Nation is leading efforts to clean up the inlet and bring it back to life. But addressing historic pollution is only part of the challenge. As part of a broader investigation, The Narwhal compiled public documents to show just how much pollution the Government of British Columbia still allows companies to release into Burrard Inlet.

Map: Ainslie Cruickshank / The Narwhal

This Burrard Inlet map compiles information from provincial authorizations for 21 facilities to release contaminants into the waterway. Click on a marker to explore the details of the permits, including the amounts of specific pollutants that wastewater may still contain.

A portrait of pollution around Canada’s busiest port

These authorized polluters include petroleum processing and shipping facilities, chemical manufacturers, concrete producers, an animal and fish rendering plant, a sugar refinery, a wastewater treatment plant, a shipyard and several bulk loading terminals where a range of products from coal to copper concentrate are shipped overseas. While some wastewater undergoes a degree of treatment, companies are not required to remove all contaminants before releasing it into the inlet.

Investigating problems. Exploring solutions

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for a weekly dose of independent journalism.

Investigating problems. Exploring solutions

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for a weekly dose of independent journalism.

In some cases, the wastewater permits are in direct conflict with new water quality objectives, jointly approved by Tsleil-Waututh Nation and the province. Those objectives state, for example, that no oil or grease should be present in the inlet. But authorizations for four companies permit a combined release of 629 kilograms of oil and grease in a single day.

According to a statement, the province is working to bring permits in line with current policies and is prioritizing facilities with high environmental risks and companies that have applied for permit amendments.

5 things to know about water pollution at Canada’s busiest port

Another year of keeping a close watch

Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

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Published By

Ainslie Cruickshank

Ainslie Cruickshank is a Vancouver-based journalist covering biodiversity issues for The Narwhal. She has previously written for The Walrus, The Toron...

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