VICTORIA/UNCEDED lək̓ʷəŋən TERRITORIES — First Nation leaders, community members and environmental allies are gathered at the B.C. Legislature to demand an immediate halt to a $162 million highway expansion project that threatens Goldstream River (SELEKTEL), a sacred and ecologically vital waterway on Vancouver Island. 

Led by W̱SÁNEĆ Elder Carl Olsen, with support from the Wilderness Committee and Goldstream Protectors, the rally is a call to protect the river, uphold Indigenous Rights and stop a destructive project that offers no new transportation benefits. The rally began at noon on the front lawn of the B.C. Legislature, featuring speeches from Indigenous leaders, cultural ceremony and public calls to action.

The B.C. government’s proposed highway expansion through the Malahat corridor, a project with a $162 million price tag and no new lanes, would require blasting through critical salmon habitat and sacred territory. It poses not only an ecological threat but also a violation of the Douglas Treaty Rights held by several First Nations in the region.

“Goldstream is protected under the Douglas Treaties. The government was supposed to keep this protected so that we could hunt and fish and steward the land as formerly.” said W̱SÁNEĆ Elder and rally leader Carl Olsen. “I am here to remind the signers of the treaty that they have a responsibility to look after this place, rather than destroy it.”

The Douglas Treaties, signed in the 1850s between the Crown and local First Nations, guaranteed Indigenous Peoples the right to continue their ways of life, including fishing in rivers like Goldstream. Blasting, pollution and habitat loss from the highway expansion would further erode these rights, adding to centuries of environmental and cultural harm.

“What’s really important for people to know is that they have a voice,” said Olsen. “They need to learn how to use that voice and share that voice to save this environment.”

Other speakers at the rally include former MLA for Saanich North and the Islands Adam Olsen. The proposed highway project is permitted and accounted for in the B.C. budget, but there is no planned construction start date as of yet.

“The province is about to spend $162 million destroying salmon ecosystems and treaty rights for a project that won’t even make anyone’s life easier,” said Wilderness Committee Forest Campaigner Tobyn Neame. “We’re here in solidarity to say, there has to be a better way.”

Organizers are calling on the provincial government to take the project off the budget, respect Douglas Treaty rights and invest in community-led, climate-resilient transportation solutions that prioritize Indigenous sovereignty and ecological protection.

-30-

For comment on the Goldstream Highway expansion and its impacts: 
ZȺWIZUT Carl Olsen | W̱SÁNEĆ Elder and Land Defender
250-886-3018, carlolsen2@hotmail.com
 

For information about the rally:
Tobyn Neame | Forest Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
403-461-5151, tobyn@wildernesscommittee.org