Three peat mining companies were granted licenses to thousands of hectares of Manitoba's boreal forest peat lands days after a provincial ban on peat mining leases took effect in summer of 2011, despite objections from the government's own experts. The Save Lake Winnipeg Act became law on June 16, 2011, and prevents the province's Mine's Branch from issuing new leases for peat lands. Three peat mining companies; Sun Gro, Jiffy, and Berger, received environmental licences to mine peat in eastern Manitoba, on June 29, July 18 and July 20, respectively. All three environment licences were grandfathered, meaning they were granted based on leases from before the moratorium was imposed.

Peat mining negatively affects water quality by releasing sediment into streams and creeks feeding Lake Winnipeg. The mining of peat also releases a tremendous storehouse of carbon, which contributes to devastating climate change.

"People are concerned about our water and our climate," said Eric Reder, Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee. "Manitobans see a solution to these looming environmental disasters, and banning peat mining is part of it."