Lemay Forest graves safe: developer

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This article was published 06/02/2025 (255 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The developer of the proposed assisted-living facility on the Lemay Forest property promised it wouldn’t be constructed near land that is suspected of having unmarked graves from a 20th century Catholic orphanage.

John Wintrup says he and the landowner have consulted with the provincial government and Indigenous organizations since 2023 about the possibility of unmarked graves on the northwest corner of the 23-acre site in St. Norbert.

“The very first time I stepped on the land … I saw some stones and a bit of a fence and you can see some depressions on the ground that look like graves,” Wintrup said Wednesday. “We’re not building on graves. We’re not destroying that area.”

Winnipeg city council rejected Tochal Development Group’s plan to build the 2,500-unit assisted-living facility, but the developer intends to appeal the decision to the Municipal Board in February.

Burial records shared by the St. Boniface Historical Society show 726 infants, including some Métis children, were buried in the cemetery at the former site of the Asile Ritchot Catholic orphanage from 1907 to 1912.

However, a preliminary analysis of orphanage admission registers reported 3,383 deaths associated with the institution, the historical society said.

Wintrup suggested there could be upwards of 5,000 graves at the site, based on a 2020 site assessment and subsequent research.

“We disclosed that right away,” he said.

Documents shared with the Free Press show Wintrup notified the Manitoba Métis Federation, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, all three levels of government and the provincial government about the findings.

The assembly agreed to conduct cultural ceremonies and recognition of any graves, Wintrup said.

The planner said he will work with the provincial archaeological assessment unit to conduct ground-penetrating radar and soil testing on the northwest corner of the property and, if anomalies are found, he will consult with Indigenous stakeholders about preserving the site.

Tochal, the landowner, said it instituted a 100-metre buffer zone around the site and won’t build near it regardless of whether unmarked graves are found.

The orphanage was established by the Sisters of Misericordia in 1903, who expanded it until 1911, and was later managed by the Oblates. Prior to that, the land was used by Indigenous people for fishing and hunting.

Historical maps and aerial photos indicate a cemetery on the property and reports say it was deconsecrated in 1954.

Shelley Sweeney, a scholar at the University of Manitoba Archives, said some of the children who died at the orphanage could have been buried at the nearby St. Norbert cemetery, but she believes the majority were buried in unmarked graves at Lemay.

“The whole point of having your own cemetery is to accommodate the deaths in your institution. There’s every likelihood that the majority of those 3,383 deaths would have been in the forest,” she said.

Emilie Pigeon, executive director of the historical society, said it doesn’t have a position on the development but encourages thorough research of its records to ensure data accuracy.

Consultants for the Lemay project came to do research at the historical society but Pigeon couldn’t say which records they pulled.

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Pigeon also said the site’s history must be considered.

“We aim to protect francophone and Métis heritage, and this is a built heritage site by francophone religious communities,” Pigeon said. “This is going to be part of, potentially, the built heritage of franco-Manitoba that would be lost.”

The site has been subject to court proceedings and demonstrations in recent months. A group of people started camping at the property on Dec. 27, 2024 to protest tree clearing, citing the cultural, environmental and historical significance of the site.

On Dec. 30, the Court of King’s Bench granted an interim injunction that demands protesters not impede access to the forest.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca

Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer

Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.

Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.