‘Finally we’re getting started’: Plan to search landfill for women’s remains approved

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government has given environmental approval to a planned landfill search for the remains of two murdered First Nations women.

For some family members who have fought a search for more than 18 months, the news was a welcome relief.

“They’re going to start right away, hopefully by the end of the summer or something like that and they’ll be able to work until the winter. So that’s good,” said Donna Bartlett, Marcedes Myran’s grandmother, after meeting with Premier Wab Kinew on Tuesday.

“We still have a long way to go, but we’re finally getting started,” read a message posted on social media by Myran’s sister, Jorden Myran.

Police believe the remains of Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris are at the Prairie Green Landfill, a privately run facility north of Winnipeg.

Jeremy Skibicki admitted to killing Harris, Myran and two other indigenous women – Rebecca Contois, whose remains were found in another warehouse, and an unidentified woman whom an indigenous community named Mashkode Bizhiki’ ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, whose remains have not been found. been located.

Skibicki’s first-degree murder trial ended Monday with closing arguments, and the judge reserved his decision until next month. Defense attorneys argued that Skibicki should be found not criminally responsible due to mental illness.

Manitoba’s former Progressive Conservative government previously rejected calls to search the landfill, saying asbestos and other materials would pose a threat to researchers and that the effort had no guarantee of success.

The Conservatives took out ads in last year’s provincial election campaign saying they would “stand firm” on not conducting the searches.

The New Democrats promised to search the dump before winning the election. Kinew said Tuesday that the groundwork for the search has already been laid.

“We are doing the work of setting up the search unit and making sure we have the health and safety protocols in place,” Kinew told reporters.

The plan, approved by the province’s Department of the Environment, would call for safeguards to be put in place to prevent watery runoff of toxic materials. Workers should be trained and new infrastructure should be built.

Unlike many other landfills, Prairie Green accepts asbestos, a material that can cause cancer if ingested. Asbestos-containing materials must be double-bagged to prevent the asbestos from becoming airborne.

The environmental plan calls for a shutdown of all operations when such bags are discovered. Non-essential personnel would have to evacuate upstream and the bags would be discarded.

The Manitoba and federal governments have pledged $40 million for the search, which is well below cost estimates presented in previous studies by victims’ families.

Kinew said he was confident the money would cover the necessary work and said the government had a better idea of ​​where human remains might be found, which would narrow the search area.

With the environmental plan approved, the proposed search now requires planning permission for an indoor search facility and a center where families will be supported.

The search could last until early 2026, Kinew said.

“We will ensure that the people conducting the search are kept safe while we carry out our compassionate mission here, which is trying to recover the remains of two of our fellow Manitobans.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 11, 2024.

Steve Lambert, Canadian Press