Manitoba·NewA protester with a group that fought to prevent trees from being cut down at a privately owned parcel of land in south Winnipeg has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine after a judge found her to be in civil contempt of court for breaching an injunction.Louise May blocked developer’s access to the St. Norbert property in JanuaryCBC News · Posted: Jun 09, 2025 4:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 20 minutes agoLouise May, a member of the Coalition to Save the Lemay Forest, was found in civil contempt of court for breaching an injunction when she impeded the developer’s access to the St. Norbert property. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)A protester with a group that fought to prevent trees from being cut down at a privately owned parcel of land in south Winnipeg has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine after a judge found her to be in civil contempt of court for breaching an injunction.Louise May, a member of the Coalition to Save the Lemay Forest, was found in civil contempt of court on Feb. 26 for breaching an injunction when she impeded the developer’s access to the St. Norbert property.May sat with supporters in the gallery for her sentencing hearing in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench on Monday. Her lawyer, Scott Newman, argued the contempt finding should be thrown out given May had apologized. Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Sarah Inness said the fine was a “fit and appropriate sanction” for May, noting that May had no criminal record and no prior contempt breaches, and describing her as a community activist on environmental issues.”She did the wrong thing, but for an important public purpose,” Inness said.In April, a provincial board upheld a City of Winnipeg decision rejecting a proposal to build a 5,000-bed, 2,500-unit assisted living facility on 18 hectares of forested land along the Red River.Shortly after, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced that his government plans to expropriate the land and turn it into a provincial park.The City of Winnipeg assessed the value of the land at around $1.7 million, according to court documents, but the developer has argued the land has an estimated value of $8 million.A lawyer for Tochal Development Group, the developer that owns the land, wanted May, a member of the Coalition to Save the Lemay Forest, to pay court costs and expenses of around $42,000.Kevin Toyne, who represents Tochal, argued costs that are too low could be seen as a “slap on the wrist.””That’s something that will encourage contempt, not dissuade it,” he told the judge.Lemay Forest, a privately owned parcel of land in south Winnipeg, is shown in this file photo from April 14, 2025. (Ilrick Duhamel/Radio-Canada)Newman argued the costs Toyne’s client was seeking from May would have been “a massive penalty for a 60-year-old goat farmer.”Newman argued minimal costs, a small fine, community service or a charitable donation would be an appropriate punishment for May. He wanted a penalty of just over $3,000.With files from Josh Crabb
Lemay Forest protester fined $15K for breaching court injunction
