Actions
- Email Mayor Gillingham, all City of Winnipeg Councillors, provincial and federal leaders, and any other person you think should know about this travesty.
- Visit the Wilderness Committee’s website and use their letter tool: https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/take-action/grow-nature-your-neighbourhood-lemay-forest
- Share this information and encourage your friends and family to join The Coalition to Save Lemay Forest Facebook page and Instagram account.
Winnipeg Mayor and City Council contact information
| Mayor Scott Gillingham Mayor 204‑986‑5665 mayorgillingham@winnipeg.ca Councillor Matt Allard St. Boniface 204-396-4636 mattallard@winnipeg.ca Councillor Jeff Browaty North Kildonan 204‑986‑5196 jbrowaty@winnipeg.ca Councillor Markus Chambers St. Norbert – Seine River 204‑986‑5920 markuschambers@winnipeg.ca Councillor Ross Eadie Mynarski 204‑986‑5188 readie@winnipeg.ca Councillor Shawn Dobson St. James 204‑986‑5848 sdobson@winnipeg.ca Councillor Cindy Gilroy Daniel McIntyre 204‑986‑5951 cgilroy@winnipeg.ca Councillor Evan Duncan Charleswood – Tuxedo – Westwood 204‑986‑5232 eduncan@winnipeg.ca | Councillor Janice Lukes Waverley West 204‑986‑6824 jlukes@winnipeg.ca Councillor Brian Mayes St. Vital 204‑986‑5088 bmayes@winnipeg.ca Councillor Russ Wyatt Transcona 204‑986‑8087 rwyatt@winnipeg.ca Councillor John Orlikow River Heights – Fort Garry 204‑986‑5236 jorlikow@winnipeg.ca Councillor Sherri Rollins Fort Rouge – East Fort Garry 204‑986‑5878 srollins@winnipeg.ca Councillor Vivian Santos Point Douglas 204‑986‑8401 vsantos@winnipeg.ca Councillor Jason Schreyer Elmwood – East Kildonan 204‑986‑5195 jschreyer@winnipeg.ca Councillor Devi Sharma Old Kildonan 204‑986‑5264 devi@winnipeg.ca |
Sample letters and supplementary information
Subject: Support Needed for Sacred Burial Sites and Ecological Preservation in Lemay Forest
To whom is may concern (Or recipients name)
I am apart of the coalition to save the Lemay Forestin Winnipeg Manitoba. I am emailing you to raise awareness about the burial sites in Lemay Forest, Winnipeg, which hold cultural, spiritual, and ecological importance. We need help and support protecting this land. This area has been the site of sweat lodge ceremonies for over 30 years, and it is part of Winnipeg’s urban forest—essential for biodiversity and environmental health.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action 71-75 emphasize the need for the protection of Indigenous burial sites, reconciliation, and preserving sacred spaces like those in Lemay Forest. These Calls urge the government to collaborate with Indigenous communities to preserve and protect burial sites as part of the healing process.
In addition to its cultural significance, Lemay Forest’s trees and ecosystems provide vital environmental benefits to our city, including air quality regulation and wildlife habitat preservation. Protecting this site is crucial for both cultural and ecological reasons.
I urge you to support the preservation of Lemay Forest and to express your support. Together, we can ensure this sacred site and its ecosystems are safeguarded for future generations.
Thank you for your time and support.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]
[Your Organization or Role, if applicable}
To whom is may concern (Or recipients name)
The tree cutting in Lemay Forest in St. Norbert area of Winnipeg must be urgently addressed as it is proceeding in contravention to the Federal Migratory Birds Convention Act. In that Act there are specific provisions to protect the Pileated woodpecker, a threatened species that makes its home in the Lemay Forest.
You have been conspicuously silent on this matter and now it is imperative that action be taken as no appropriate survey for the nesting cavities of these birds was taken prior to habitat destruction.
In addition there is a violation of the Cemetery Act which does not allow any disruption, damage or removal of vegetation in a cemetery. So far your office has not taken any action in this regard, either.
These two violations, along with the dysfunctional conduct on the part of the developer and their representative, and the negligence of the City of Winnipeg, cannot be tolerated.
Please step up and take full responsibility for the protection and preservation of this precious part of our City’s infrastructure.
Yours truly,
Points to consider in your letter thanks to The Wilderness Committee
View their article here
- The Lemay Forest is a beautiful healthy river-bottom ecosystem and a great asset for Winnipeg’s natural spaces.
- The developers’ plans for the property were rejected by the city. Despite this, the developer is choosing to cut the trees down, and we need that to stop.
- Several levels of government have submitted a generous offer to purchase the property in order to make it into a public park, which is great news.
- The developer and owner ignored a federal wildlife officer’s request for a pileated woodpecker cavity sweep ahead of tree cutting, thus contravening Federal species regulation.
- In media interviews, the developer seemingly dismissed the need to comply with Federal species law and dismissed efforts by all levels of government to preserve this forest.
- The City of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba must designate the Lemay Forest as a heritage site to begin the process of making it a protected public park.
- The Lemay Forest is the location of the abandoned Asile Cemetery of unmarked graves. Anecdotal stories suggest unmarked graves also exist outside the formal boundaries of the Asile Cemetery. The whole forest should remain intact out of respect for the graves, and because of The Cemeteries Act in Manitoba.
- The Lemay Forest has been used by First Nations and Metis people for ceremony for years. The forest should be preserved and ceremony must be allowed to continue.
- The City of Winnipeg, the province of Manitoba and the federal government have all formally signed on to international goals for preserving biodiversity. We’re required to protect 30 per cent of the lands and waters by 2030. Protecting Lemay Forest is part of our international commitment.
Regarding the Pileated Woodpecker
The Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022 (MBR 2022) change protection from all nests of migratory birds always being protected to most nests being protected only when they contain a live bird or viable egg. This supports conservation benefits, as the nests of most migratory birds only have conservation value when they are active (contain a bird or viable egg), and also provides flexibility and predictability for stakeholders to manage their compliance requirements as they undertake activities on the landscape that may affect migratory bird nests.
Overview of key change to nest protections
Effective July 30th, 2022, under the MBR 2022 it is now prohibited to damage, destroy, disturb or remove migratory bird nests when they contain a live bird or viable egg.
For 18 species of migratory birds identified on Schedule 1, the MBR 2022 provide year-round nest protection until they can be deemed abandoned. The Schedule includes certain migratory birds who either re-use their own nests from one year to the next, or whose nests are commonly re-used by other species of migratory bird species, like Pileated Woodpeckers. If the nest of a Schedule 1 species has not been occupied by a migratory bird for the entirety of the waiting time indicated in the MBR 2022, it is considered to be abandoned, and to no longer have high conservation value for migratory birds.
The Pileated Woodpecker nest cavity is protected for 36 months and a permit from the Federal Government is required to remove any nest cavity.
This Pileated Woodpecker is in the Lemay forest.
From The Manitoba Historical Society
For Immediate Release:
January 9, 2025
Significant Historical, Natural, and Cultural Site – Lemay Forest
Calling for the Invocation of Manitoba Law to Stop the Ongoing Deforestation and Disturbance of Lemay Forest
The Manitoba Historical Society, Heritage Winnipeg, and the Manitoba Archaeological Society is aware of the current incursion, and disturbance within the Lemay Forest in St. Norbert by the developer, Tochal Developments. The Manitoba Historical Society, Heritage Winnipeg and the Manitoba Archaeological Society is calling for a complete stoppage and moratorium on any incursion, damage, deforestation, and alteration of the grounds of the LeMay Forest in this heritage area immediately.
The Lemay Forest site is protected under the Cemeteries Act due to the knowledge of presence of human remains in the Aisle Ritchot cemetery, and the Heritage Resources Act as this site may have significant archaeological materials present. This site is currently under review for becoming a site of National Historical significance. This site is historic and was a site that witnessed the Red River Resistance, and it is known that Riel occupied this area along with many historical figures.
What we know:
• The Aisle Ritchot cemetery, in St. Norbert was the cemetery for the Aisle Ritchot orphanage, and home for unwed mothers and was run by the Sisters of Misericordia from 1904-1948.
• Large numbers of children died from variety of causes such as poor nutrition, disease, and overcrowding.
• There was nearly a 60% mortality rate (599 per 1000 live births)
• Admissions note from 1200 – 2300 children having died at this orphanage and likely the majority of those were buried in common graves in the cemetery.
• Only 15 bodies (named graves) were documented as having been removed and relocated (Desjardins Funeral Home 1974), children’s remains in unnamed graves likely were not removed.
• The Lemay forest is a rare, natural old-growth riparian forest.
• The Lemay Forest is a special significance for animal and bird life and a protected area under the Federal Migratory Birds Protection Act , with specific provisions to protect the threatened, Pileated Woodpecker nesting sites.
• It is a site of cultural and natural heritage.
• Any disturbance /construction could disturb the ecosystem or groundwater.
Under Section 35 of the Cemeteries act:
Any person who
(a) willfully destroys, mutilates, defaces, injures or removes any tomb, monument, gravestone, or other structure placed in a cemetery, or any fence, railing, or other work for protection or ornament of a cemetery, or of any tomb, monument, gravestone, or other structure aforesaid, or of any cemetery lot within a cemetery; or
(b) willfully destroys, cuts, breaks, or injures any tree, shrub, or plant in a cemetery; or
(c) plays at any game or sport in a cemetery; or
(d) discharges firearms (save at a military funeral) in a cemetery; or
(e) willfully and unlawfully disturbs persons assembled for the purpose of burying a body therein; or
(f) commits a nuisance in a cemetery;
Is guilty of an offence and liable under Manitoba Law.
The Manitoba Historical Society, Heritage Winnipeg, and the Manitoba Archaeological Society are calling for an immediate halt of any action, activity, and removal of vegetation or alteration to the landscape immediately by the contractor. Following this, at the very least, there must be environmental and archaeological impact assessments done by Manitoba Government officials. There must be complete compliance with heritage, cemetery, and preservation laws that exist in Manitoba.
Given that this is a cultural and naturally sensitive heritage area, and likely contains mass, unidentified graves containing human remains, it is imperative that this site be protected by our Heritage Laws. We also recommend and expect longer-term measures to be put in place to ensure the long-term protection and conservation of Lemay Forest.
The Manitoba Historical Society
Heritage Winnipeg Corporation
The Manitoba Archaeological Society
Media Contact:
Tracey Turner, Executive Director, Manitoba Historical Society
tracey@mhs.mb.ca
204-792-9763
Cindy Tugwell, Executive Director, Heritage Winnipeg
cindy@heritagewinnipeg.ca
204-990- 8976
Alicia Gooden, Executive Director, Manitoba Archaeological Society
mbarch@mts.net
From the Manitoba Metis Federation
