Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) · Mon, Sep 10, 1990

500 rally against Tod Inlet Proposal

By Kim Westad

Times-Colonist staff

Led by the chanting of native Indian spiritual songs and the strains of bagpipes, about 500 people converged at Tod Inlet on Sunday to voice concern about a planned luxury development on the land.

Native speakers and representatives from the Citizens Association to Save the Environment said they would work together to stop the luxury hotel, marina, golf course, condominium and townhouse complex slated for the shores of the waterway, an inlet off Brentwood Bay.

“At this point and time in history in Canada, working together with the native people is extremely important to all of us,” said Derek Mallard of CASE.

Vancouver-based Fama Holdings Ltd. is planning the development, and owns the 96-hectare Tod Inlet property.  Its subsidiary, M. Star Developments Ltd., is in the process of purchasing Crown land on the Tod Inlet foreshore.

Fama also owns an adjacent 380-hectare parcel in the Highlands in Langford.

The crowd, from toddlers to senior citizens, walked through second-growth forests to the inlet’s shore, which natives say is sacred land.

The land was once the site of one of the oldest Indian villages on the Saanich Peninsula, the group heard, and is home to various types of wildlife and vegetation which could be wiped out by development.

“We’re not here about land claims right now – we’re here because of land,”  Tsartlip band member Philip Paul said.  “We’re standing heart to heart with you.  We have a lot of common interests in protecting the environment.