Secwépemc Chilcotin River Emergency Table Launched to Address Growing Landslide Risk

Williams Lake, BC — Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) announced today the establishment of the Secwépemc Chilcotin River Emergency Table (SCRET), a First Nation-led planning table created to support emergency preparedness and risk mitigation in response to continued inaction by the Province of British Columbia and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to address a known and escalating landslide risk at Kwellk̓ém̓t (Farwell Canyon) on the Chilcotin River.

Following the July 30, 2024 Chilcotin River landslide, geotechnical monitoring identified a growing tension crack at Snhaxalaus, just downstream of the Farwell Canyon Bridge. Assessments by WLFN and the Province confirm the slope is unstable and could fail, potentially blocking fish passage, damaging Secwépemc cultural and archaeological sites, and posing serious public safety risks. Despite repeated requests, no coordinated emergency response has been established by provincial or federal authorities, and Secwépemc communities have been excluded from the Emergency Task Force created by the Tŝilhqot’in National Government and Ecofish Research Ltd.

“The risk at Kwellk̓ém̓t is known, the science is clear, and the consequences of doing nothing are unacceptable,” said Willie Sellars, Chief of WLFN. “For months, we have called on the Province and DFO to work with us to plan for this risk, and to protect salmon, people, and our cultural heritage. That has not happened. We have tried to work collaboratively with the Tŝilhqot’in National Government, but those efforts have been thoroughly rebuffed. So out of necessity we have created the Secwépemc Chilcotin River Emergency Table. We need to carefully plan and act now in advance of a disaster.”

All Secwépemc communities have been invited to participate in the table to support coordinated emergency planning and response at Farwell Canyon. Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation (SXFN) has expressed its support of SCRET as a necessary step to protect the river, salmon, and Secwépemc rights and interests. SXFN Chief Hank Adams states:

“SXFN supports the establishment of this table because it brings Secwépemc Nations together to plan, share information, and act before a preventable disaster occurs. The rights and title of the Secwépemc, including SXFN, at Farwell Canyon continue to be ignored, and that must change.”

While SCRET was established to protect Secwépemc rights and title in the Chilcotin River and Farwell Canyon area, the table will be extending invitations to the Tŝilhqot’in National Government, the Province of British Columba, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to participate in the planning and other activities of the SCRET.