Councillor says city should expropriate land as protest continues around Lemay Forest tree cutting
Planner says workers were prevented from accessing site Wednesday; protesters deny they blocked crews
A Winnipeg city councillor says he wants the city to explore expropriating land at Lemay Forest, as protesters continued trying to halt the removal of trees from the privately owned south Winnipeg land.
The development planner for Tochal Development Group, which owns the land, said he couldn't get past a blockade of at least four people who had set up a sacred fire and tent when he showed up at the site around 9:30 a.m.
"We tried with our tandem truck, we tried twice with the Bobcat, and all three times people would not move out of our way," said John Wintrup.
The protesters, however, deny they prevented anyone from accessing the site on Wednesday.
A protest camp was started at the St. Norbert area site late last month after workers for Tochal cut down dozens of trees and created an access road for vehicles and equipment just before Christmas.
The developer has proposed building a 2,500-unit assisted-living facility on the land between Lemay Avenue and the Red River, south of the Perimeter Highway. That proposal was rejected by city council in September, but the Manitoba Municipal Board is set to hear an appeal of the decision in February.
The city gave Tochal permission to start clearing trees in October, but that halted after the protest camp was started.
Wintrup said the people on site were peacefully protesting Wednesday but are violating a court order that says while the protesters can make their concerns heard on nearby city property, they can't create blockade or be on the privately owned property.
He said he plans to go back to court with more evidence that protesters are blocking the road.
Wintrup said he spoke with Winnipeg police officers who were in the area for an unrelated matter Wednesday, but they told him they wouldn't attend the blockade as long as it remains peaceful.
Protester Louise May said police officers did speak with people at the camp sometime after Wintrup left.
She said protesters came to the site after hearing crews were going to cut down trees Wednesday.
"We were not blocking, we were asking for police to be present to have the conversation that would get into the nuances of this, because it is a criminal act to cut down a tree in a cemetery," May said.
Protesters say the forest is a ceremonial site for Indigenous people, and is believed to have remnants of a cemetery connected with a former orphanage.
May said she feels governments are taking the protesters' concerns seriously.
However, one city councillor said there may be few options if a $5.25-million offer to buy the property by the Manitoba Habitat Conservancy isn't accepted.
That offer was made last week but hasn't been accepted by Tochal. Wintrup said on Friday that there are concerns around the proposal.
Wyatt wants city to pay for land
Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt says he's exploring the idea of expropriating the land, which would cost the City of Winnipeg millions of dollars — money he says the city has already earmarked for forestry.
"We can use part of those funds to acquire this land," Wyatt said Wednesday, adding that process could take years, but may be expedited if the provincial and federal governments step in.
"I just don't know how many more blockades we got to see going up to do what's right when it comes to the environment and it comes to lands that are significant," he said.
Parks and green spaces are crucial to maintaining quality of life in Winnipeg, but have been underfunded for decades, Wyatt said.
He hopes to receive support from other city councillors to allow him to bring forward a motion to expropriate the land when the city's property development committee meets on Monday.
But the city councillor for the area said right now, "it's a bit premature to move toward expropriation, especially in an era where … the city is financially cash strapped."
St. Norbert-Seine River Coun. Markus Chambers said he's working with the Manitoba and federal governments, as well as the Manitoba Métis Federation, to find a different solution that will put an end to the tree-cutting.
Mayor Scott Gillingham said he is not supportive of a motion around expropriating at this time.
Wintrup said expropriating the land would be a waste of taxpayers' money.
"If the city wants to burden taxpayers with a … lengthy legal process to please a few residents down in St. Norbert, that's up to them to decide, but certainly we're not going to go quietly," he said.
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With files from Maggie Wilcox and Cameron MacLean