Did you know that the only thing keeping the grand trees of Lemay Forest standing is one resident bringing private charges against owner Mazyar Yahyapour under The Cemeteries Act? And it's in court on February 20th?

Folks across Manitoba have heard about the Lemay Forest, and the hired guns trying to raze the old trees to the ground. It’s a hard campaign to bear witness to, with legal action thrown at community members, ongoing Indigenous ceremony being disrupted and unmarked burial sites at imminent risk of destruction. 

For almost five years local community members have been working on ways to preserve the Lemay Forest. A notable development was the ecological report on the forest, produced in part by Ducks Unlimited. Trees over 200 years old were identified and the forest was found to be of high conservation value. Eventually the Manitoba Heritage Conservancy offered the owner, Mazyar Yahyapour, more than 5 million dollars, about three times what the owner bought it for several years ago. 

Support was growing to add the Lemay Forest into our protected parklands in Winnipeg. There were ongoing community conversations about what a park might look like. Meanwhile a different development scheme hatched by the owner and his consultants was submitted to the City of Winnipeg too, for a big commercial operation, but was rejected as inappropriate.

Suddenly in December of 2024 the owner or his minions decided they wanted to take the trees down anyway. Chainsaws were screaming in the neighbourhood, trees were felled, and the community rose up to stop the massacre. Eventually the cutting ended after folks stood up and said no, but the owner's henchmen filed for an injunction to keep cutting trees and keep the community quiet. An Indigenous ceremonial fire was lit on December 26 and has been burning ever since.

On January 6 the Courts ruled that the ceremonial fire burning on the city owned right-of-way to the Lemay Forest could continue, but people were not allowed to stop the tree cutting crews. Two days later the trees were coming down again. There was a much greater uproar from community organizations and the media and after a few hours the saws went silent. Again the owner's hirelings took folks to court, claiming they couldn't drive their trucks in to cut trees. 

It was at this point that a private prosecution was filed under The Cemeteries Act, because this provincial law is clear: you can't cut trees in a cemetery. Information about the Asile Ritchot orphanage and accompanying cemetery has slowly been coming to light. What is known for certain is that much of the Lemay Forest is an unmarked burial ground. 

At this point there are multiple legal actions involving the Lemay Forest. The owner is trying to punish folks for standing up for the wishes of their community. There have been harassment complaints filed against the owner's hirelings. And one community legal action is holding off the saws.

The Cemeteries Act private prosecution is the only reason that the trees of Lemay Forest are still standing. The owner’s henchman has stated explicitly that all the trees would come down because the owner wanted to enjoy his property without any trees. 

Local citizen Louise May had to spend time and money to uphold provincial law, to save this forest and the sacred burial sites. 

This shows that two things are missing. 

First, where is the government? Municipal, provincial, federal governments should be here, loudly proclaiming a path forward for this site. So where are they? Why do regular folks have to pay to fight big money developers? 

The second question is about government responsibility too. Where is the space for these important community conversations about the forest’s future? Why can't we hear from a doctor about the determinants of health which affected the size of the Asile Ritchot cemetery? Why can't we hear from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs? Or the Manitoba Métis Federation? The historical society that's been caring for the records from the orphanage? The lodge keepers who have been holding Indigenous ceremony in this forest for years? 

The reason we can't hear the community’s ideas instead of those for commercial development is because governments have been too timid. They're happy to watch two centuries of history be cut down, rather than step forward and lead. 

Louise May wasn't too timid to stand for this forest. 

We are not going to sit back without making space for the community to hear the stories and make a decision on the Lemay Forest. Our first town hall is in March, where we will bring these voices to the public. 

We've laid out a legislated path for elected officials, so we can keep the hallowed big trees and the sacred burial ground as a place to learn and a place for spirit. Heritage site designation, like nineteen other places in Manitoba have been given, can preserve this forest.

Your place in all of this is to contact your elected officials. Contact them twice. Call them, fill out an online petition, send a personal letter, writeto the editors of the local news organizations. Your voice, just like Louise's legal action, is a crucial and necessary step to preserve Lemay Forest. You can use our letter writing tool here to voice your opinion to governments.

UPDATE: The provincial prosecutor’s office has rescheduled the hearing for April 15th.