Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree walks past members of the media during the Liberal Cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
OTTAWA – Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree says the federal government will put $740,000 toward further assessing the feasibility of searching a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations women.
He says more research is needed to figure out how a search can be undertaken, after an initial federally funded feasibility study found that a search is possible but toxic materials could pose a risk to workers.
Manitoba’s premier-designate Wab Kinew promised his NDP government would search the landfill if he came into power, and Anandasangaree says the federal government aims to work with the province on next steps.
Anandasangaree says the money will help governments get all the information they need before sitting at the table together to make a decision about the search itself, but he wouldn’t commit to putting up the estimated $184 million the search would cost.
He says the work is expected to be completed within the next 90 days, adding that Ottawa is “in it for the long haul.”
The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are suspected to be in the Prairie Green Landfill, a private facility north of Winnipeg.
Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Harris, Myran and two others – Rebecca Contois, whose partial remains were found in a different landfill last year, and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders are calling Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe or Buffalo Woman.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2023.
