LUMMI NATION, Wash. – The Lummi Nation is objecting to an expansion of a container shipping terminal at the Port of Vancouver.

The Canadian government recently gave approval to the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project in Delta, B.C.

The Port of Vancouver says it will increase Canada’s west coast container capacity by about one third.

Lummi Nation Chairman Tony Hillaire says in a statement that the increase in container ship traffic will have “devastating effects” on their efforts to revitalize their native fishery.

He says past rulings by Canada’s Supreme Court found that indigenous groups in the U.S. may have protected rights under the Canadian Constitution.

He says those rights were ignored in the environmental review for the port expansion.

The Port of Vancouver says the expansion will bring thousands of new jobs and add roughly $3 billion to Canada’s GDP.