30 years after his hunting arrest set off a landmark court case, ZȺWIZUT keeps holding the Crown to its treaties — as he tries to halt a highway’s expansion

In front of ZȺWIZUT is the Malahat, a busy two-lane highway that cuts through the park and sees an average of 25,000 vehicles a day pass by.

The park’s accessibility means more than 600,000 people visit each year to camp, hike and hang out.

Many come in the fall to watch the huge runs of chum, Chinook and coho salmon that return each year to spawn in SELE₭TEȽ‘s waters.

What prompted ZȺWIZUT to go out there in the early months of 2023 was learning of a proposal put forward by the province to widen the Malahat.

Critics say it would catastrophically affect the adjacent Chinook and coho salmon spawning habitat in SELE₭TEȽ.

According to the province, the highway expansion, estimated in 2024 to cost $162 million, was needed to improve safety and reliability along a 1.7-kilometre section that bisects the park.

One part that especially concerned ZȺWIZUT was the expected “permanent loss or alteration of aquatic salmonid and amphibian habitat” in SELE₭TEȽ.