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Russell Wangersky\/Free Press<\/p>\n
Which municipal candidates will pledge to protect Winnipeg\u2019s trees, Erna Buffie asks.<\/p>\n
I was blown away when I heard about it. I was even more impressed when I read the words of the town\u2019s mayor, Michel Bordeau, who affirmed that trees were not merely the backdrop for his community. They were \u201cindispensable allies for our health, our climate resilience and our quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other words, trees not only have an inherent right to exist, but also the right to have their lives protected because of the extraordinary benefits they provide, from storing carbon and providing habitat to offsetting heatwaves and super-storms.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, it\u2019s an idea that is anathema to some and music to the ears of many others.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because trees, like all elements of the natural world, have been seen historically and legally as property \u2014 a treasure trove of resources just waiting to be cut down, dug up and exploited.<\/p>\n
And \u2014 surprise, surprise! \u2014 those who own land and benefit from \u201cnature as property\u201d don\u2019t want the rules of the game changed.<\/p>\n
By contrast, those who support the idea of nature being imbued with inalienable rights maintain that if a corporation is viewed as an individual under the law, with all the rights that implies, then why not trees, a river or an entire rainforest? Especially now in an era of climate chaos and catastrophic nature loss.<\/p>\n
The political battle between these two opposing points of view is being waged, in one form or another, at almost every level of government, including the city level.<\/p>\n
In fact, here in Winnipeg, it\u2019s playing out right now, during the civic election, as Trees Please Winnipeg \u2014 an organization I belong to \u2014 challenges candidates for council and mayor to sign what we\u2019re calling the \u201cSave the Shade\u201d Pledge.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re not asking the city to recognize the Universal Rights of Trees. But we are asking them to do everything in their power to protect as many of our mature trees and forests as possible, on both public and private land, because of the essential life-sustaining services they provide to everyone.<\/p>\n
And believe me when I say that this isn\u2019t our first go-round on the issue. Ever since the city adopted its 20 Year Urban Forestry Strategy in 2023, Trees Please has been pushing council to do what the strategy recommended. That is, enact bylaws governing mature tree removals and the clear cutting of our riparian and aspen\/oak forests on both public and private land.<\/p>\n
So, what has the city done? Well, to say it\u2019s been stalling for the past two years would be an understatement. Indeed, their most recent reason for doing nothing boils down to council\u2019s belief that it can\u2019t act to protect trees on private land, unless the province changes the city charter.<\/p>\n
Really? By my reading, the charter clearly states that council and the mayor are responsible for the health, safety and wellbeing of their citizens. It\u2019s also crystal clear about the city\u2019s responsibility for the environmental impact of all development projects.<\/p>\n
So, don\u2019t those two clauses alone give them the power to enact a private tree bylaw?<\/p>\n
Well, as it turns out, two similar clauses in Edmonton\u2019s city charter were used to pressure their council into drafting a private tree bylaw, which is now in the works. And guess what? Prior to that, Edmonton had been stalling, using the same charter change excuse that our mayor and council are now using.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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This when between 80 per cent to 90 per cent of Winnipeg\u2019s three million trees sit on privately owned land with no protection, while more than 20 other municipalities nationwide already have private tree bylaws in place to protect their canopies.<\/p>\n
So, head over to Trees Please Winnipeg\u2019s website and check out which candidates have signed our pledge and those who haven\u2019t. Then take a look at the candidate\u2019s broader platform.<\/p>\n
You just might discover that candidates who care about trees are also the ones who care most about you and your neighbourhood.<\/p>\n
Then, on Oct. 28, vote for trees and candidates who, like the mayor of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, see them not just as a pretty backdrop, but as indispensable allies that protect our health, safety and environment.<\/p>\n
Erna Buffie is the author of Out On A Limb: Saving the Urban Canopy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In July 2026, Terrasse-Vaudreuil, a small Quebec town, made international headlines. And no, it wasn\u2019t the result of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":903945,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-903944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}