New rules, more thorough record-keeping could help find more murder victims, NDP says
Tighter rules and more thorough record keeping could help prevent cases where human remains are lost in landfills and murder victims' families are left dealing with an added layer of grief, Manitoba's Opposition NDP said Wednesday.
"At the end of the day, we have to give the information to police that helps them do their job and that gets justice for families," Nahanni Fontaine, NDP justice critic, said in an interview. Fontaine is the caucus spokesperson for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Fontaine's comments came a day after Winnipeg police laid out reasons why they have decided against a search of the Prairie Green landfill, where two Indigenous women -- Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran -- were believed to have been taken by an alleged serial killer.
The remains were believed to have been taken to the privately owned landfill north of Winnipeg in the spring. Many apartment and condominium buildings in Winnipeg use private contractors to collect waste. When police learned of the possibility several weeks later, the site had already seen an additional 10,000 truckloads of refuse dumped along with about 1,500 tonnes of animal remains.
The trucks involved did not have GPS units on board to track their location or video cameras, police said, and the landfill has compacted its waste with tons of heavy mud and clay.
Fontaine said requiring GPS tracking and video cameras could help pinpoint an area to start searching. She would also like to see very thorough record-keeping required to track what is deposited of.
"There are Manitoba families that are in incredible turmoil right now and suffering in unimaginable ways," she said.
Fontaine pointed to the search for Rebecca Contois, whose partial remains were found in the city-run Brady landfill in the city's south end in June. The garbage trucks used by the city have GPS tracking and video cameras. Material at that landfill is also not compacted. As a result, police had a starting point for that search and an easier time sifting through material. Less time had elapsed in that case as well.
Contois, Harris, Myran and an unidentified woman police and community leaders have named Buffalo Woman were killed within several weeks of each other in the spring, allegedly at the hands of Jeremy Skibicki.
Skibicki has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He has yet to enter a plea, but his lawyer said last week Skibicki maintains his innocence.
The district manager of the company that owns the Prairie Green landfill said the company is co-operating fully with police and extending condolences to the families of the women.
"The disappearance of these young women is an unspeakable tragedy and all of us are extremely upset by it," said Barry Blue of Waste Connections of Canada.
The company does not know all of the details of the police investigation as it's ongoing, Blue added.
"We're not able to really comment on the ability to locate or retrieve the victims at this time," he said.
"I can tell you that the landfill is a dynamic, dangerous place with lots of moving pieces and so that makes locating anything extremely challenging."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.