For several years now, the precious ecosystem of Goldstream Park has faced a threat: the Malahat highway expansion. This project was set to destroy critical salmon habitat and infringe on the Douglas Treaties.
Tsartlip Elder Carl Olsen and the Goldstream Protectors have been fighting to save the Park from the destruction. Many argue the project does not actually improve safety, nor does it add highway capacity despite being "sold" as a widening project. At $162 million, we feel the money would be better spent restoring the railway that passes right through this area.
The project has been paused as of February 2026!
Photo of the base of the Malahat
On the left are 288 people, on the right, 50
The Goldstream section of the Malahat is one lane in each direction.
The mountain next to it climbs to over ~350 m above sea level.
The area consists of metamorphosed sedimentary and volcanic rocks with a varied mix of greywackes, tuffs, and fine-grained volcanic and sedimentary units. In other words, any construction or tunneling work would be particularly difficult and extremely expensive. The latest estimates to add lanes in this section would be $ billion's, and even more to tunnel!
On top of that, any construction project here would impede traffic for several years since the work would need to be conducted from the roadside as indicated in the current projects documentation.
The Damage to the Park from such construction would be unforgivable.
Rail travel is a highly attractive mode of travel, and with modern day trains and repaired tracks, bridges and trestles, many would much rather choose the safest form of travel over braving the Malahat in a car.
In a recent Capital Daily article celebrating the shelving the highly flawed Goldstream Highway project, Adam Olsen, Tsartlip member and former BC Green MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, said "Reopening a portion of Island Rail for shipments could help reroute commercial trucking traffic from the Malahat corridor.”