Brady landfill staff keep eyes open for remains

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/04/2023 (931 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Staff at Winnipeg’s only active landfill have been on heightened alert for the possibility of human remains being dumped since four Indigenous women were killed last year.

Brady Road landfill employees discovered the body of Linda Beardy, a 33-year-old Indigenous woman, as a garbage truck was depositing its contents Monday afternoon.

“We can’t really get into any specific description of what happened in this case, but staff definitely have a heightened awareness because of recent events,” Colin Fast, a spokesman for Mayor Scott Gillingham, wrote in an email Thursday.

In June, partial remains belonging to Rebecca Contois were found during a police search at the landfill on Winnipeg’s southern limits.

Contois is one of four Indigenous women who police believe were slain by an alleged serial killer.

Police chief Danny Smyth said Brady Road staff are “diligent” in informing police when they find “unusual things” in the landfill.

“Because of the things that we’ve encountered in the last year or so, (it’s) pretty top of mind – lots of communication between the police and the employees there at Brady,” said Smyth. “There’s a high degree of diligence around this.

“The circumstances in this case were such that the employees at the landfill noticed this right away when the load was released.”

On Wednesday, federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said the find “reflected some heightened vigilance” by staff.

Smyth said the landfill has a “good” system, with surveillance cameras and GPS tracking on most trucks that deposit waste.

Brady Road staff are trained to report anything suspicious to Winnipeg police, said city spokesman David Driedger.

The landfill remained closed Thursday, with contingency plans for garbage and recycling collection, following the discovery of Beardy’s body.

As police announced foul play is not suspected, Chief Danny Smyth said Thursday there is no reason for the site to be held for further investigation.

It’s up to the city to decide when to reopen the landfill, he noted.

As of Thursday, the city hadn’t announced a reopening date.

The city wouldn’t say where waste was being deposited while Brady was closed.

“We are trying to maintain these services without disruption during the closure,” Driedger wrote in an email.

Until Brady Road reopens, the 4R depots on Panet Road and Pacific Avenue are open for residents who need to dispose of recyclables.

If needed, residents can request an extra garbage or large item collection, or use a private landfill that accepts residential waste, the city said.

Commercial customers are advised to contact private landfills to make alternative arrangements during the closure.

The city closed the landfill for more than two weeks in December and January, after a group set up a blockade and a camp to call for a search for human remains and more action to prevent violence against Indigenous women and girls.

To continue residential collection, waste was diverted to two private landfills outside of Winnipeg.

In February, a city report estimated the municipal government is facing nearly $1 million of added costs and lost revenue associated with the closure, with further costs to be tabulated.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching