An effort to uphold jurisdiction and land protection, Splatsin te Secw茅pemc has decommissioned an illegal access road on Splatsin Indian Reserve No. 1 (IR#1).
The area in question was unlawfully reactivated by landowner Gary Roberts in defiance of Splatsin鈥檚 authority and in violation of multiple court orders.
The route, often mischaracterized as a legitimate road, was formally deactivated by Splatsin years ago, prior to Roberts acquiring the adjacent property.
At the time, Kukpi7 (Chief) Michael Christian served as Lands Manager and directed Splatsin Developement Corporation (SDC) to conduct an environmental assessment after Roberts disturbed natural regrowth by plowing the area without authorization.
鈥淭his was never a legal road,鈥� said Christian. 鈥淚t was an illegal route created without permission, on reserve land, and it damaged the recovering ecosystem. Splatsin has always maintained jurisdiction over this land, and we took this step to protect it 鈥� not just legally, but environmentally.鈥�
In 2019, Roberts filed a petition in BC Supreme Court seeking to have the illegal access road recognized as public. He also sought an injunction to stop Splatsin from blocking his use of it.
Justice G.P. Weatherill denied the injunction and ordered Roberts use an alternate, court-approved route 鈥� Splatsin鈥檚 Woodlot Road 鈥� to access his land.
Splatsin was ordered to provide a key to the locked gate along that route.
Roberts, however, continued to use the illegal road in direct contravention of the court鈥檚 ruling.
In a subsequent hearing in 2024, Justice B. Smith reaffirmed the order, explicitly prohibiting Roberts, his agents, and 4X Ranch Ltd. from using any access route other than the one sanctioned by the Court.
鈥淪platsin has a duty to enforce both its Title and the law,鈥� said Christian. 鈥淲e鈥檝e done everything reasonably possible to accommodate Mr. Roberts within the framework established by the courts. His refusal to comply left us with no alternative.鈥�
