Winnipeg landfill to reopen while talks of searching for Indigenous women continue

WINNIPEG – A landfill has reopened to the public after weeks of conversations between the City of Winnipeg and demonstrators who set up blockades calling for a search of the area for Indigenous women believed to be victims of an alleged serial killer.

An encampment is to remain near the entrance along the roadway to the Brady Road Resource Management Facility, but the city says customers will be able to access the landfill and the depot.

Indigenous groups and family members have been advocating for a search of the site after the partial remains of Rebecca Contois were found in the city-run landfill last summer.

Police have charged Jeremy Skibicki with first-degree murder in the deaths of Contois and three other women whose bodies have not been found.

Police believe the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are at a landfill outside the city that is privately owned, but Harris’s family has been calling for a search of both sites.

The city says it is committed to maintaining an open dialogue with demonstrators and have been able to reach a compromise that supports the right to peacefully protest while allowing operations to continue at the landfill.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2023.