Winnipeg's mature trees are part of what makes this city worth living in.

They shelter wildlife, create privacy for residents, cool our streets, and give older neighbourhoods their character and identity. I want to protect that — not just for us, but for the people who will call this city home long after we do.

Infill development is becoming increasingly common across Winnipeg, and while more housing is genuinely needed to address affordability, it is coming at a serious cost to our urban tree canopy. Winnipeg's canopy currently covers just 17% of the city. The City's own goal is to reach 24% by 2065.

We are already behind and mature trees that take 50 to 100 years to grow are coming down with no accountability and no replacement.

These trees are not decorative. A well-treed neighbourhood can be up to 4 degrees cooler than one without trees. That is the urban heat island effect. When concrete and pavement replace canopy, entire neighbourhoods get measurably hotter.

Trees also filter air, absorb stormwater, reduce flooding pressure on aging infrastructure, and studies show a 10% increase in canopy cover is associated with a 12% decrease in crime. Winnipeg already risks losing nearly half of its total tree population to disease over the next 40 years. We cannot afford to also lose them to development loopholes.

And there are loopholes.

Right now, some developers are deliberately clearing every tree from a lot before applying for a development permit — specifically to avoid triggering the tree protection requirements that would otherwise apply. The system is being gamed, and the City currently has no mechanism to stop it.

On top of that, landscaping plans are required as part of every development permit in Winnipeg. But there is no inspection process and no enforcement mechanism to confirm those plans are ever completed. Within the Glenwood neighbourhood alone, dozens of infill homes completed years ago still have no trees, no shrubs just crushed rock. Even the City of Brandon, Manitoba's second largest city, has a system that ties landscaping completion to permit closure. Winnipeg does not.

The good news is that right now, the City of Winnipeg is conducting a full zoning bylaw review. This is the moment to change it.

The Glenwood Neighbourhood Association has submitted an 11-page formal document to the City with specific, actionable recommendations including:

Requiring a permit before any trees are removed from a development site, treating tree removal as development in its own right

Mandating a comprehensive arborist report be submitted with every development application before construction begins, including a full tree inventory and tree protection plan

Prohibiting clear-cutting of trees prior to a building permit being issued

Requiring tree protection plans for boulevard trees and trees on neighbouring properties that may be impacted during construction

Tying landscaping plan completion directly to development permit closure so that permits cannot be closed until plantings have been verified and completed

Implementing a deposit system that incentivises builders to fulfil their landscaping commitments, with penalties for non-compliance

Requiring permeable surfaces for parking areas to reduce stormwater runoff and urban flooding

Clarifying that crushed rock does not qualify as soft landscaping under the 30% green space requirement

These are not radical asks. They are common sense protections that cities across Canada have already implemented. Winnipeg just needs the political will to follow through.

Please sign this petition and urge the City of Winnipeg to adopt the recommendations put forward by the Glenwood Neighbourhood Association in the current zoning bylaw rewrite. Let's make sure that density and trees are not treated as mutually exclusive. Winnipeg can have both — but only if we require it.