Search for remains at Winnipeg landfill could take years, cost up to $184M: feasibility study
CBC
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
A search for the remains of two First Nations women at a Winnipeg-area landfill could take up to three years and cost $184 million, says a study examining whether a successful search is possible.
The study, obtained by The Canadian Press, looked at the various scenarios and challenges that come with searching a landfill and concluded a canvass of the Prairie Green landfill is feasible.
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has scheduled a news conference for Friday at noon to discuss the results and share next steps.
Leadership from the assembly, members of Long Plain First Nation and family members of Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran — three Indigenous women whom Jeremy Skibicki is accused of killing — are expected to attend.
CBC News will livestream the news conference here starting at noon CT.
The feasibility study warns of "considerable risks" in a search due to exposure to toxic chemicals and asbestos, but that forgoing the search could be more harmful for the families of Harris and Myran.
The remains of Contois were found at the City of Winnipeg's Brady Road landfill in June 2022. Winnipeg police have said they believe Harris and Myran are somewhere within Prairie Green, a private facility in the rural municipality of Rosser.
"Not conducting the search could cause considerable distress to victim family members," the report says.
"The impact of not conducting a search and humanitarian recovery for remains of Morgan and Marcedes, when it is possible that they are in the Prairie Green landfill, could have long-lasting repercussions on the families, friends, loved ones and First Nations and Indigenous communities in Manitoba and across Canada."
An Indigenous-led committee spearheaded by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs commissioned the feasibility study after police said they would not be searching the Prairie Green site because of the passage of time and the large volume of material deposited there.
The committee included family members, First Nations leaders, forensic experts and representatives from the province and the city.
The study says it's not guaranteed a search would locate the women's remains.
It could take one to three years and would cost $84 million to $184 million.
