A group of Indigenous protesters have been ordered to stop blocking tree-cutting efforts and vacate an area known as Lemay Forest in the south end of Winnipeg.
The move comes after a Manitoba Court of King’s Bench judge granted an interim injunction to Tochal Development Group of Toronto on Dec. 31.
But protesters who spoke to APTN News say they’re not going anywhere.
Tochal has plans to build a condo development on a parcel of land it purchased from a private owner overlooking the Red River and began cutting down trees last month.
But some members of Winnipeg’s Indigenous community say they use the forest to hold traditional ceremonies and are concerned the site may be home to unmarked graves of Indigenous children from a former Catholic orphanage.
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On Dec. 26, the group lit a sacred fire and set up a protest camp on a city service road and main entrance to the land owned by Tochal.
Advocates including the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs have asked the City of Winnipeg, which issued the tree-removal permit last fall, to postpone development for a deeper investigation at the site
Meanwhile, John Wintrup, a Winnipeg developer for Tochal, says work has ground to a halt.
“They are aware of the injunction and calling for more people to come down there for security of the site,” he said of the protesters. “We have absolutely lost any control or access to the property. They blocked us and denied us.”
Over the summer, the three levels of government offered to buy the land from Tochal, which declined to sell.
