Clock ticking on federal commitment for landfill search before Parliament’s summer break: Manitoba grand chief

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This article was published 08/06/2023 (821 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s grand chief fears a proposed landfill search for two Indigenous women could be delayed by several months if Ottawa doesn’t make a funding decision before Parliament’s summer break.

Critical work cannot go ahead without a commitment from the federal government, said Cathy Merrick, who noted the current parliamentary session is set to end June 23.

If Ottawa doesn’t announce funding before then, Merrick doesn’t expect any movement until September or later, when MPs are sitting again.

“Time is of the essence,” the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said this week. “We need to be given a positive response from the government.

“If nothing is going to happen until the fall, we’ve lost all this time to prepare in the summer months. It is harder to prepare in the winter.”

A search could involve excavating and analyzing material along a conveyor belt.

Winnipeg police believe the remains of Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26, are at the privately owned Prairie Green Landfill just north of the city.

Police suspect Harris, Myran and two other Indigenous women — Rebecca Contois, 24, and an unidentified victim since named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman) — were slain by an alleged serial killer in early 2022.

Merrick said Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller indicated during a recent meeting he wants to move forward with a search of the landfill.

She said the wait has been extremely difficult for the Harris and Myran families.

“They shouldn’t be waiting for the government to be making a commitment to what needs to be done,” said Merrick.

“Time is of the essence.”–Cathy Merrick

A federally funded study by an Indigenous-led committee, which is overseen by AMC, found it is feasible to search Prairie Green for human remains.

The committee said a search of the privately-owned site in the RM of Rosser could take one to three years and cost between $84 million and $184 million.

There is no guarantee remains will be found, but Merrick and the Harris and Myran families previously said neither that possibility nor the potential cost should prevent a search from taking place.

Harris’s loved ones are holding a rally outside the Manitoba Legislative Building at 1 p.m. on June 14 to bring attention to what they call a “lack of response and support” from the provincial government.

The Harris and Myran families have requested a meeting with Premier Heather Stefanson, but thus far a meeting has not been scheduled, Facebook posts by Harris’s relatives have said.

They noted Miller has offered support during multiple meetings.

Merrick said she understood there was a request for the premier to meet with the families and Kyra Wilson, chief of Long Plain First Nation, where Harris and Myran were from.

At an unrelated news conference Thursday morning, Stefanson said she was not aware of such a request.

A spokeswoman for the premier later said requests must be formally submitted in writing and none had been received.

Stefanson said the province will “stand with” the families, but will leave it to them and the federal government to take the lead.

“Certainly, our hearts go out to those who are suffering right now with the loss of their loved ones,” she said.

Stefanson said she has not yet read the committee’s report, but the province will review the document and its recommendations.

Merrick said Ottawa should work with Manitoba to determine how much could be contributed by the province which, thus far, has not committed any funds.

“We’re not going to leave our loved ones in a landfill.”–Cathy Merrick

A dark message will be sent to the public if governments do not support a search, she said.

“It will show the nation it is free to dispose of First Nation women in landfills,” she said. “We’re not going to leave our loved ones in a landfill.”

When he visited Winnipeg last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed his government will “be there” for the families.

Crown-Indigenous Relations spokesman Randy Legault-Rankin said the department is working closely with AMC, the province and the city, while it reviews the report and considers all technical, legal, cultural and jurisdictional implications.

The Indigenous-led committee has also asked Ottawa to fund a feasibility study for a search at the city-run Brady Road landfill.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham, who has read parts of the committee’s report, said efforts must be led by the federal government.

He said the city is supporting the community and will provide assistance if there is a study of Brady Road.

“We would need the federal government to assist and, really, to lead that because we just don’t have the level of funds that would be needed to conduct a search,” he said.

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Police found some of Contois’ remains while searching Brady Road in June 2022.

Buffalo Woman’s remains have not been recovered.

Jeremy Skibicki, 36, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the women’s deaths. A trial is set to begin next year.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.