Motion of contempt claims Lemay Forest protester breached court injunction, blocked access to property
Private prosecution filed against developer for alleged violation of Cementeries Act
A Winnipeg developer has filed a contempt of court motion against a group fighting to preserve Lemay Forest, arguing a truck parked on city-owned land continues to block access to the St. Norbert private property.
The motion was filed at the Manitoba Court of King Bench on Thursday by the developer against Louise May, a member of the coalition fighting the tree cutting, for allegedly breaching the terms of a court injunction ordering protestors opposed to a planned development in the Lemay Forest not to block access to the site.
That injunction was granted on Dec. 30 by Justice Sarah Innes, and extended on Monday, also forcing the group to leave the roughly 18 hectares of forest land owned by Tochal Development Group south of the Perimeter Highway.
Since the injunction was first granted, Tochal said it notified May via email to remove a pickup truck that was parked on city-owned land on Dec. 27, which it said prevented access to the property.
The court motion said the request to move the truck was made once again on Tuesday when Tochal notified May they would be accessing the property the next morning.
But the truck was still parked outside the property on Wednesday, and May refused to move it, the motion said.
WATCH | Developer files contempt of court papers against group fighting to preserve Winnipeg-area forest:
"We tried multiple times the other day to enter the property, as the judge said he could do and have the right to do," John Winturp, a planner who represents Tochal, told CBC News.
"We were denied access all three times," he said, "blocking a bobcat and a larger truck from entering city-owned land ... so we're asking for contempt of court."
The motion alleges May "intentionally" violated the injunctions by using the truck and her body to impede access to and from the property through city land, obstructing the movement of machinery.
The court document said May also trespassed the property on Wednesday and has threatened the developer by swearing "abusive and vexatious" information on a private prosecution entered earlier this week.
"They're ignoring the judge's order while trying to enforce other laws," Wintrup said.
Alleged violation of Cemeteries Act
May declined to comment on the motions filed against her on Friday, but said Wintrup and the developer have been trying to intimidate her and other protesters.
"When they don't get what they want, they turn into bullies, and the way they bully is through extensive legal harassment, so that is what we're dealing with now," she said.
May filed the private prosecution against Tochal on Wednesday over alleged breaches to the Manitoba Cementeries Act, which states that any person who willfully "destroys, cuts, breaks, or injures any tree, shrub, or plant in a cemetery" is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine.
Tracey Turner, the executive director of the Manitoba Historical Society, said the grounds of Lemay Forest house a cemetery site belonging to the Aisle Ritchot orphanage that ran from 1904 to 1948.
Records from the Manitoba Historical Society show the institution, which also operated as the home for unwed mothers, had a mortality rate close to 60 per cent, and between 1,200 and 2,300 children died in the building.
Turner said most of them were buried in common and unmarked graves in Lemay Forest.
"This is an issue of reconciliation … that story needs to be told here," Turner said. "We need to respect … honour the site as a place of remembrance."
With records of only 15 bodies documented as being removed and relocated, Turner said the removal of trees and roots can disturb the burial site, especially as there is no way to know how dispersed the graves are until an extensive archeological impact assessment is completed.
"These sites are irreplaceable," she said. "There are many other [places] that could be developed with high-rise structures. Why put them over a place where we know there are children's graves, children's remains in the ground?"
In September, city council rejected a plan to build a 5,000-bed, 2,500-unit assisted living facility, which city planners said was too big for the site. The Manitoba Municipal Board is set to hear an appeal of that decision in February.
But regardless of the outcome, Wintrup said the property owner "does not want to keep trees for the pleasure of other people."
He said the developer has also completed four archaeological studies to survey the site and identified unmarked graves over more than a year and a half.
A buffer zone of 100 metres was then established on the property with the intent of not doing any tree clearing on the site of the cemetery.
"We're staying as far away as we can from it," Wintrup said. "We're in an area that we have cleared" by archaeologists who have said "the likelihood of mass graves in this forested area are significantly low, if not nonexistent."
Still, May said the developer should be held responsible for the tree cutting, which she heard resuming on Wednesday with at least two hours of work on the site.
"Already another significant hit for the forest," she said. "We will stay here and protect this forest until we come to a good conclusion."
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With files from Radio-Canada's Maggie Wilcox and Cameron MacLean