Protesters set up new camp at Canadian Museum for Human Rights

One day after a blockade at a Winnipeg landfill came down, a new camp went up in Winnipeg.

The camp, known as Camp Marcedes, is located near the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and is named for Marcedes Myran, one of the two women whose remains are believed to be in the Prairie Green Landfill outside of Winnipeg.

“We’re set up at the Human Rights Museum, because this is a human rights problem, so it’s a good space for us," said Jordan Myran, the sister of Marcedes Myran. "Lots of traffic goes through here, so they can see what’s going on here and open their eyes."

Those at the camp continue to protest the premier’s decision not to support a search of the landfill for the remains of Myran and Morgan Harris.

The two women are believed to have been killed by alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki. Skibicki is also charged in connection with the deaths of Rebecca Contois and an unidentified woman given the name Buffalo Woman or Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe by community members.

A drummer plays at a camp outside the Canadian Museum for Human Rights calling for a search of Prairie Green Landfill on July 19, 2023. (Image source: Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)

In early July, a group of protesters set up a barricade outside Brady Road landfill, where the remains of Contois were located, and called for a search of the landfill. The blockade was in place for nearly two weeks before it was dismantled Tuesday.

 

A feasibility study into the search of the Prairie Green Landfill found it could cost up to $184 million, could take up to three years and there was no guarantee of successfully finding the remains. The study also said not doing a search would have a significant impact of the families of the victims.

Premier Heather Stefanson said Manitoba would not support a landfill search, saying the province won’t knowingly risk the safety of Manitoba workers. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller has criticized Stefanson’s decision, calling it “heartless.”

-with files from CTV’s Danton Unger.