Splatsin Community Centre (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

Upholding Jurisdiction

Illegal access road on Splatsin First Nation land decommissioned

Jun 19, 2025 | 6:00 AM

An illegal access road onto Splatsin Indian Reserve #1 (IR#1) has been decommissioned.

The First Nation said the work began late Tuesday morning and was completed by early afternoon by the Splatsin Development Corporation. The decommissioning was part of an ongoing effort to uphold Splatsin’s jurisdiction and protect environmentally sensitive lands.

Splatsin First Nation said the area in question was “unlawfully reactivated” by the landowner, Gary Roberts, in defiance of Splatsin’s authority and in violation of multiple court orders. The route was often mischaracterized as a legitimate road but was formally deactivated years prior to the landowner acquiring the adjacent property. A past environmental assessment found the use of the road by the new owner had disturbed natural regrowth, as the area was plowed without authorization.

“This was never a legal road,” Kukpi7 (Chief) Michael Christian said.

“It 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, not just legally, but environmentally.”

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In 2019, the landowner filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court,seeking to have the illegal access road recognized as public, as well as an injunction to have Splatsin stop blocking access to the road, but the Courts ruled in favour of the First Nation in both cases.

The owner then continued to use the road, and the order was reaffirmed by the Courts in October of 2024, explicitly prohibiting Roberts, his agents, and his company from using any access route other than the one sanctioned by the Court.

“Splatsin has a duty to enforce both its Title and the law,” Kukpi7 Christian said.

“We’ve done everything reasonably possible to accommodate Mr. Roberts within the framework established by the courts. His refusal to comply left us with no alternative.”

The First Nation said SDC took steps to maintain public safety and ensure emergency access during the decommissioning process, including relocating the gate to a point that connects with a side road leading to the neighbouring property, and improving the surface of the designated road to allow for emergency vehicle access.

Splatsin added it remains committed to “responsible land stewardship, environmental protection, and the enforcement of its legal rights on IR#1.