New rules, more thorough record-keeping could help find more murder victims, NDP says
New rules, more thorough record-keeping could help find more murder victims, NDP says
Manitoba opposition NDP member Nahanni Fontaine speaks during question period at the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg, Wednesday, May 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
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
Eight people were seriously injured after a Laval city bus crashed into a daycare Wednesday morning, according to first responders. The driver of the bus has been arrested, according to Quebec Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that if he becomes prime minister he would uphold the 10-year deals Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is looking to ink with provinces and territories that would inject $46.2 billion in new funding into Canada's strained health-care systems.
With the hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkiye and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The confirmed death toll from the world's deadliest quake in more than a decade passed 11,000.
An 'awkward' attempt at a handshake between Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the prime minister Tuesday is another example of leaders from the western province hesitating before shaking Justin Trudeau's hand, say political experts.
An associate of Ontario’s self-described “crypto king” was operating his own fraud scam parallel to the multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme, court documents allege.
Justin Trudeau has thrown in the towel in the fight to maintain the federal role as gatekeeper of a public, universal, accessible and fair health-care system in Canada, writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca. 'That could have tragic consequences for folks on the lower rungs of the social and economic ladder.'
Many Canadians are experiencing strains caused by the increased cost of living and inflation. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the top credits and deductions that you may be able to claim on your income tax return to help you save money.
Saskatchewan underestimated how many rapid antigen tests were needed during the height of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also touting the tests as a key part of its plan to halt transmission of the virus, internal emails indicate.
Robyn Silvernagle will be making her third appearance at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts next week in Kamloops, BC, just weeks after her team was put together.
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars.
An 'awkward' attempt at a handshake between Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the prime minister Tuesday is another example of leaders from the western province hesitating before shaking Justin Trudeau's hand, say political experts.
A Toronto father was working Saturday afternoon when he got a notification from an app connected to his home security system. And what he saw on his phone was every parent's worst nightmare.
An associate of Ontario’s self-described “crypto king” was operating his own fraud scam parallel to the multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme, court documents allege.
The Calgary Police Service asked residents of a northwest neighbourhood to shelter in their homes as officers responded to a situation Wednesday morning involving a firearm.
The 2022 Status of Emergency Preparedness in Calgary report highlights civil disobedience as a potential future disaster in the city and says the risk is considered high.
An 'awkward' attempt at a handshake between Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the prime minister Tuesday is another example of leaders from the western province hesitating before shaking Justin Trudeau's hand, say political experts.
Eight people were seriously injured after a Laval city bus crashed into a daycare Wednesday morning, according to first responders. The driver of the bus has been arrested, according to Quebec Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel.
Police are investigating after a bar in Montreal North appears to have been the scene of an arson early Wednesday morning. There were no reported injuries, but the flames seriously damaged the building and forced residents upstairs to evacuate temporarily.
The number of organ donors in Quebec has increase threefold in the past five years, according to Transplant Quebec, which also reported a “steep” rise in donations coming from patients opting for medical assistance in dying (MAID). Canada’s MAID process allows patients with certain irremediable conditions to end their own life with the help of a physician or nurse. Since the law was passed in 2016, over 30,000 people have sought the process as of 2022, when the last federal report was published.
Eight people were seriously injured after a Laval city bus crashed into a daycare Wednesday morning, according to first responders. The driver of the bus has been arrested, according to Quebec Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel.
Retirement is bittersweet for a Nova Scotia doctor who says she feels like she has abandoned the 2,000 patients she has been caring for because she was not able to find a doctor to replace her.
Thousands are dead and tens of thousands injured following the earthquake that has devastated Syria and Turkey. Maritimers with connections to the region are doing what they can to help during this time of need.
With more than 58,000 people requiring help, the Canadian Red Cross says its relief efforts after post-tropical storm Fiona last September were its largest ever in the country.
Eight people were seriously injured after a Laval city bus crashed into a daycare Wednesday morning, according to first responders. The driver of the bus has been arrested, according to Quebec Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel.
City of Brantford councillor Richard Carpenter asked representatives from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) if they could tell he was excited while wearing a hockey jersey in council chambers Tuesday night.
A range of pressures on British Columbia forests are reverberating this spring through Houston and other rural and northern communities, where sawmill, pellet and pulp closuresare affecting hundreds of workers.
A walk past a cemetery can conjure many emotions – sadness, fear and finality. But rarely does it conjure the idea of actually seeing a deceased loved one again. On British Columbia's Gabriola Island, however, coastal erosion is unearthing more than just memories.
A walk past a cemetery can conjure many emotions – sadness, fear and finality. But rarely does it conjure the idea of actually seeing a deceased loved one again. On British Columbia's Gabriola Island, however, coastal erosion is unearthing more than just memories.
A Victoria man says a series of devastating earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria have left him feeling nearly paralyzed, as the death toll from the quakes rises above 6,200 people.
A range of pressures on British Columbia forests are reverberating this spring through Houston and other rural and northern communities, where sawmill, pellet and pulp closuresare affecting hundreds of workers.
Manitoba opposition NDP member Nahanni Fontaine speaks during question period at the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg, Wednesday, May 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
