Trees Please Winnipeg Supports Motion to Expropriate Lemay Forest

On Thursday, March 27, 2025, City Council will vote on whether to expropriate the land known as the Lemay Forest. The Trees Please Winnipeg Coalition was pleased to make a submission in support of the motion.

Dear Mr. Mayor and Councillors:

My name is Erna Buffie, and I am writing on behalf of Trees Please Winnipeg in support of the expropriation and rezoning of the Lemay Forest. Given that Tochal Developments has turned down two generous offers to purchase the Lemay forest, I am urging you to vote “Yes,” to expropriation of that land for the following reasons:

1. In 2024, Urban Forestry planted a record 17,000 trees. If the estimated 19,000 mature trees in the Lemay Forest are clear cut, it will not only cancel out those gains, it will also rob the city of the substantial benefits those mature trees provide. Benefits which newly planted trees won’t produce for at least another decade. … 

Click here to read the submission in its entirety.