The Michael J. Fox Theatre in south Burnaby, B.C., is set to be unavailable for community use starting July 1 this year — which a union leader argues will damage the city’s cultural fabric.

Opening in 1993, according to its website, the theatre was built as part of Burnaby South Secondary School and boasts that it is “one of the busiest venues in the Lower Mainland,” seating over 600 people.

But the local school district, which now manages the theatre, said ongoing fiscal constraints mean non-school uses aren’t possible after the end of the school year.

In a statement, the Burnaby School District said there are discussions with the City of Burnaby about stepping in and being involved with running the theatre.

“A school district is not necessarily the best suited to running a community theatre,” said Kristin Schnider, the chair of the Burnaby Board of Education, in an interview with CBC News.

“We are hopeful that there’ll be a situation where the community theatre can continue,” she added. “But at present, the Burnaby Board of Education is just not able to continue, due to some financial pressures we’ve been feeling for the last number of years.”

Schnider said that the theatre was running at a loss already, saying it had lost the district $150,000 in the current fiscal year alone.

She said that the school district became the sole operator of the theatre in late 2024 — and for the previous three decades, it was run by a non-profit board that consisted of community members and school district officials.

Schnider argued that district staff were taking on extra work to run the theatre after the school district stepped in to become the sole operator.

She said that, if no third-party operator is found by July 1, the theatre would be for school use only — such as for school music concerts and high school drama.

“Some of the technical elements that we see with the larger productions, community productions that come through the Michael J. Fox Theatre, those won’t be able to continue anymore,” she said.

Union critical

A spokesperson for the City of Burnaby said that council has asked city staff to look at the costs and feasibility of any city involvement with the theatre.

“Until [council] has made a decision, it would be inappropriate to speculate on next steps,” the spokesperson wrote.

“The City recognizes the significance of the Michael J. Fox Theatre to the community and remains committed to being transparent as the process concludes.”

Damian Petti, the international vice-president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), said 11 part-time stagehands at the theatre had recently joined the union.

In a statement, IATSE said they were issued termination notices a little over a month after they voted unanimously to unionize.

“The theatre is so busy that … a number of [the stagehands] are working basically full-time hours,” Petti said.

“It’s often booked 200 nights a year. So, I think beyond the employees, I think the whole community is affected,” he added.

Petti said that “we’re going to lose a major piece of the cultural scene in Burnaby” if a solution isn’t found to keep the theatre running.