Complaint to Law Society of Manitoba aims to protect public from intimidation 
 

WINNIPEG / TREATY 1 TERRITORY AND HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS NATION — The Wilderness Committee filed a harassment complaint against developer John Wintrup’s lawyer Kevin Toyne this week, in relation to pileated woodpecker cavities and the Lemay Forest area in south Winnipeg. Toyne emailed Wilderness and Water Campaigner Eric Reder on January 8, 2025, compelling him to explain federal species protection law after Toyne’s client John Wintrup cut down trees in the Lemay Forest.

“We at the Wilderness Committee are used to threats from companies who are planning to harm nature, but demands from lawyers to the average person cause fear and that’s not ok,” said Reder. “Lawyers should not be doing things that discourage folks from speaking up about what’s right in our communities.”

Earlier this month, the Wilderness Committee raised the alarm about federal protection for pileated woodpecker cavities under the Migratory Bird Convention Act. According to a court-filed affidavit, tree cutting in the Lemay Forest went ahead without the cavity search requested by federal wildlife officers. Lawyer Kevin Toyne demanded that the Wilderness Committee explain woodpecker protections within two hours and held up a threatening injunction. Further,  Toyne or Wintrup shared Toyne’s email to the Wilderness Committee with the media.

“It is not my responsibility, nor any other member of the public, to explain the law to a developer,” said Reder. “Holding up an injunction, which the Wilderness Committee had nothing to do with, to compel us to do so—plus sharing intimidating correspondence sent to us with reporters—is harassment.”

As well  this week, a St. Norbert community member also filed a formal harassment complaint regarding the Lemay Forest development  with the Winnipeg Police.

The Wilderness Committee believes that harassment from lawyers and developers plus litigation against members of the public strains the ability for communities to plan for the public good. The Wilderness Committee is calling for Manitoba to adopt legislation to protect folks from legal action meant to silence the public. One option is the adoption of a new Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) law. A SLAPP suit is a legal proceeding (e.g. lawsuit for defamation) intended to discourage citizens from making public statements about their environmental and health
concerns.

The Wilderness Committee has always argued that SLAPP suits are a threat to democracy and communities and called for Anti-SLAPP legislation to help safeguard our communities and nature.

“Winnipegers and Manitobans need to be free to talk about how we want to care for nature, how we deal with abandoned graves and how we reconcile with the erasure of Indigenous ceremonial spaces,” said Reder. “Public conversation allows communities to grow but harassment with legal tools cuts them down.”

For more information, please contact:

Eric Reder | Wilderness and Water Campaigner
204-997-8584, eric@wildernesscommittee.org

Background Information:

Anti-SLAPP legislation recommendation - (pp. 69, 142)

Email from Lawyer Kevin Toyne to Eric Reder

Link to affidavit which includes email from Riley Black of the federal government asking for a sweep of the forest ahead of  tree cutting and a response email that doesn’t indicate a sweep was conducted (pp. 170-172). 

Migratory Bird Regulations
According to the newest regulations introduced in July 2022, a pileated woodpecker cavity must be left alone for 36 months after discovery to prove it is unoccupied. It is the most stringent protection.