Canada has pledged tens of millions of dollars to search landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women believed to have been murdered by an alleged serial killer, but experts and community groups have warned that the figure still may not be enough to complete a full search.
The federal and Manitoba governments agreed to each contribute C$20m ($14.7m) for an investigation of Winnipeg’s Prairie Green landfill, where the alleged murderer Jeremy Skibicki is believed to have dumped at least two of his known victims.
Skibicki, whose trial begins in April, is charged with first-degree murder deaths of Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified victim known as Buffalo Woman (Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe). The remains of both Harris and Myran are believed to have been buried in the privately owned Prairie Green landfill.
Police initially said that they did not have the resources to search the refuse at the Prairie Green facility, much of which is buried under tonnes of clay, and the province’s previous conservative government prompted anger and frustration after it declined to fund a search, even boasting of the decision during a failed re-election campaign.
“Our commitment to search the landfill has been unrelenting,” the Manitoba premier, Wab Kinew said in a statement on Friday, fulfilling a pledge made before his election in October. “Now, we’re glad to be able to move forward with the funds necessary to search every cubic metre of the relevant space. While we don’t know if the search will be successful, we have to try. That’s our commitment to these families.”
Cambria Harris, Morgan’s daughter, has been a fierce champion of her mother and of the need for a search.
“It’s about showing that our Indigenous women, our Indigenous people that we’re worth it, we’re valued, we’re loved and we are more than worth searching for,” Harris told reporters following a meeting with Kinew.
Cathy Merrick, the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said there was no firm timeline for a search, but she remained optimistic that once work begins, it might be finished quickly. “Today is a very bittersweet day. It’s a sense of relief, but yet work needs to be done,” she said at a press conference with Harris.
Police in Winnipeg have previously said they did not have the resources to search a landfill to recover the bodies of the victims.
A recent report prepared by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and ISN Maskwa, a company that provides emergency response training and services, highlights the challenging and dangerous nature of the search.
The 153-page document suggests a thorough search could cost C$90m – more than double the figure offered by the governments – and would also put teams searchers at “very high risk” of encountering asbestos.
Previous reports suggested a search could take up to three years and cost anywhere between C$84m and C$184m.
Among the most challenging aspects of a search is the way Prairie Green Landfill accepts asbestos. While the toxic material is typically placed in thick bags and placed in pre-excavated holes, sections of landfill where the women’s remains are believed to be located had 712 tonnes of asbestos deposited between 11 April and 20 June 2022, according to the Canadian Press, which saw a copy of the report which has not yet been made public.
Nearly 12 tonnes were placed on 16 May 2022 – the day the remains of the two women were probably dumped into the landfill.
“It’s a start,” Merrick said of the C$40m offered by both governments. “It’s very important that this process starts and keeps continuing.”
In recent decades, at least 4,000 Indigenous women and girls have been murdered – or simply vanished, a reality described in a landmark 2019 report as a “genocide”. And against a backdrop of systemic inequity and injustice, vulnerable Indigenous women continue to be victims of neglectful policies and state indifference.
For months, Indigenous groups in Winnipeg have led marches and road blockades to pressure officials to approve a search.
“We want to see this work be completed,” said Merrick. “We want to ensure that we find the loved ones that have been there and that we be able to – hopefully, God willing – that we be able to find them and be able to bring them home.”
