Families of missing women deserve search for their bodies, special interlocutor says
A Mohawk official tasked with helping Indigenous communities investigate unmarked graves says the refusal by Winnipeg police to search for the remains of missing women whose bodies are believed to have been left in a landfill is a "breach of human dignity."
Kimberly Murray made the comment at a gathering of Assembly of First Nations chiefs in Ottawa, where chiefs plan to discuss how to respond to the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls.
Murray, a former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, was appointed by the federal government to serve as a special interlocutor to help communities search for the remains of children who were forced to attend residential schools.
She told the assembly one of her office's guiding principles is that families and communities have a right to know what happened to these children, how they died and where they are buried.
"And I think about our women, that the Winnipeg police aren't going to search for those remains, like that is a breach of human dignity," she said late Tuesday.
"Those families have a right to know," she said. "International convention says they have a right to know."
Earlier Tuesday, Cambria and Kera Harris made an emotional plea outside the House of Commons for police in Winnipeg to begin a search for their mother, Morgan Harris, who went missing in May and whose remains are believed to be in a city landfill along with at least one other missing woman.
Police have charged 35-year-old Jeremy Skibicki with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Harris, Marcedes Myran and Rebecca Contois, along with an unidentified woman who is known as Buffalo Woman.
Cambria Harris called it "disgusting" police won't search for her 39-year-old mother, and said she shouldn't have to beg for officials to act.
"We would ask every Canadian to consider how they would feel if it was their mother or daughter or sister or best friend whose body was lying at the bottom of a landfill. Would they not demand that she be found?" said Carol McBride, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, in a written statement Wednesday.
"We can't help but wonder if the Winnipeg police would have continued to look for Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran if they had been white."
McBride added that if police in Winnipeg don't have the capacity to do this work, they should look to another investigative body.
During Question Period Tuesday, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller told members of Parliament it is "very puzzling to hear the news that this landfill will not be searched," saying he hoped to get clear answers from the city.
"Clearly the federal government needs to play a role in an area where jurisdiction is a poisonous word and continues to kill Indigenous women and children in this country."
The office of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who is set to address the chiefs' assembly late Wednesday, confirmed it had not received any requests for help searching the landfill.
Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth also said he hadn't spoken to anyone in the federal government about the matter.
The force's head of forensics spoke to the media Tuesday to provide more details about the decision not to carry out a search.
Insp. Cam MacKid said police determined it wouldn't be feasible given how much time has passed and how much has been dumped at the site, which is regularly compacted using heavy equipment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.
-- With files from Brittany Hobson in Winnipeg
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.