Brady Road landfill closure cost rises to $1.5M: report

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This article was published 24/04/2023 (868 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg is facing $1.5 million of costs after a blockade at its only active landfill.

Protesters began demonstrating at Brady Road landfill in December 2022 to back their demand to search the site for the potential remains of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

That demonstration included a blockade at the south end facility, which led municipal crews to divert waste to two privately owned landfills outside of Winnipeg, according to a new city staff report.

The estimate includes about $900,000 of previously revealed costs and lost revenues for 2022, plus another $600,000 for 2023.

Coun. Jeff Browaty, chairman of council’s finance committee, said the city must continue to consult those affected by the tragedies connected to the protest.

“Obviously, we want to respect families of those impacted by the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. So, finding the proper way to balance the need to continue operating the landfill while these concerns are out there could be a challenge, but (it is) definitely something we have to continue working with Indigenous leaders on.”

The protest began at the landfill Dec. 11, 2022. Brady Road resumed normal business hours Jan. 6, while an encampment remained near the site’s entrance.

Alleged serial killer Jeremy Anthony Michael Skibicki is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and an unidentified victim (who’s been named Buffalo Woman by elders).

Harris’s relatives and their supporters began the Brady Road demonstration. A second group gathered at the privately-owned Prairie Green Landfill north of the city, where police believe the remains of Harris, 39, and Myran, 26, are located.

Protesters at Brady Road called for its operations to stop, and to launch a search for the potential remains of other missing Indigenous women, such as Tanya Nepinak, 31, who was last seen in 2011. Nepinak’s case was deemed a homicide, and her body was believed by investigators to have been transported to Brady Road.

Police did not find Nepinak’s remains during a search of the site that lasted for about a week in 2012.

Coun. Brian Mayes, water and waste committee chairman, said he’s relieved the protest at the landfill did not result in violence.

“I think that’s to the credit of both sides. This could have been a much worse situation… The city could have used other means to end (the protest) earlier but there would have been a cost to that, I think, in terms of safety,” said Mayes.

“I think a peaceful resolution was important and I think that was obtained.”

While having just one city landfill does leave a risk its operations could be disrupted, Mayes said the cost to open another public site to handle waste would likely be much higher than temporarily diverting it.

In addition to tipping fees paid at private landfills, the city also paid more for signs, security and recycling, while also losing hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue, the report notes.

It’s not yet clear how the costs will be covered.

“An over-expenditure report may be required later in 2023,” the staff report notes, saying revenue loss estimates are based on average past earnings.

Meanwhile, an Indigenous-led feasibility study on searching Prairie Green for human remains is expected to be released soon.

In an April 4 news release, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said the report should be completed within the following four to six weeks.

Operations at Prairie Green paused in early December 2022, but partially resumed Dec. 30, with a section cordoned off where remains are suspected to be.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga