Heritage groups concerned over deforestation, development of Lemay Forest

Three heritage groups are expressing their concern over continued deforestation and development of Lemay Forest, and they are urging the provincial government to intervene and halt further disruption to the area, which they believe holds significant cultural, natural, and historical value.

The Manitoba Historical Society, Heritage Winnipeg, and the Manitoba Archaeological Society claim that the remains of children from the Aisle Ritchot cemetery, as well as other unmarked graves, fall under the protections of the Cemeteries Act, Heritage Resources Act, and the United Nations Declaration of the Right of Indigenous People.

“It’s a bigger issue than just protecting the trees it’s about protecting a sacred area used for ritual and was used for burial,” said Tracey Turner, the executive director of the Manitoba Historical Society.

“The developer said there may be 1,500 buried children, they thought that would be the cap, were now looking at well over 3,383 deaths on that site.”

Scholars, such as Shelley Sweeney from the University of Manitoba Archives, say that while new records reveal over 3,300 children died at the Azile Orphanage, the exact number buried at the site and their ethnic backgrounds remain unclear.

“I think it is a cultural and historic nexus for the development of the province of Manitoba,” said Sweeney.

“Not all of the registers have all of the ethnicity of the children recorded, but I’ve seen anywhere from 8-15 per cent were Métis, it could be higher though.”

Turner emphasizes that deforestation could disturb these graves further, and is calling for a halt on development until proper assessments are completed.

“I think if you ask anyone except the developer what the right thing is to honor the site,” said Turner.

The land’s developer John Wintrup argues that consultations with Indigenous groups and the provincial government have been ongoing, and their intention is to protect the area with a 100-meter buffer around any unmarked graves.

“We’ve never indicated were going to build on them, I think there’s lots of misinformation being spread out there,” said Wintrup.

“We’ve always all along wanted to accommodate some Indigenous ceremonies on the property.”

Wintrup says he attended a municipal board meeting Wednesday to request a zoning change. However, regardless of the outcome, tree removal for future development plans is continuing.