Centre Stage seeking approval to clear trees adjacent to Snuneymuxw burial sites

Emily Carson-Apstein

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder

Centre Stage Holdings is requesting Islands Trust approval to remove select trees on their 110 acre property located between Lackhaven drive (above the Community Hall) and Oyster Way, on the upper level of what is commonly known as the Seafood District, off of Stokes Road by the South Road cemetery.

The tree removal is required to make room for private roads throughout the property, in preparation for potential subdivision. The property is heavily sloped, which means tree removal can lead to geographical instability as tree roots help maintain the structural integrity of sloped land and cliff faces. Centre Stage provided the Islands Trust with more than a hundred pages of professional assessment demonstrating that the proposed tree removal would not cause geographical instability or increase the risk of landslides.

This property has been under discussion since 2005, and the Sounder covered a previous application for subdivision in the spring of 2024. That application was deferred because of concerns around the indigenous history of the land in question, including Snuneymuxw burial sites on the hillside.

The documentation provided to the Islands Trust by Centre Stage Holdings for their June 26, 2025 meeting did not include any reference to consultations with Snuneymuxw First Nation, or the burial sites on the land.

In the June 5 2024 Sounder article trustee Tobi Elliott quoted former Snuneymuxw Chief John Wesley, who wrote in 2005, “many times our elders have gone over to Gabriola to explain the importance of our cultural sites on the island.

“As we have stated many times in the past, these lots behind False Narrows contain some of the most sacred areas of our Territory that should have been protected as Reserve Land… sacred sites should be protected first. Otherwise it will be hard to avoid the conclusion that our sacred sites and the graves of our ancestors are being sacrificed to meet… the developers’ interest in profit.”

At the meeting on June 26 no conclusion was reached, and the application is up for further discussion at the Local Trust Committee meeting on July 31. Centre Stage Holdings was given the opportunity to comment for this article, but at the time of publication no response had been received.