Blockade continues at Winnipeg landfill after deadline passes
Posted July 10, 2023 3:01 pm.
Last Updated July 10, 2023 6:48 pm.
Dozens of protesters were continuing to block a landfill south of Winnipeg after a city-imposed deadline ordering them to leave had passed.
The barricade at the Brady Road landfill was being reinforced with more than a dozen tires and wood planks today and some demonstrators gathered in a circle to pray.
The city issued an order late Friday afternoon demanding the demonstrators restore full access to the landfill by noon today.
Winnipeg police tell CityNews they are continuing to monitor the situation, and say “The role of the police is to ensure public safety and keep the peace. Open communication, a reasoned and tempered approach and the proper use of police discretion guide the Service’s response; we continue to engage with involved parties to support peaceful resolutions.”
Protesters take to The Leaf at Assiniboine Park as Canada’s Premier’s meet to talk about issues Canadians are facing. (Photo Credit: Mike Sudoma, City News)
Protesters also began heading over to the Leaf at Assiniboine Park, where the premiers are meeting this week, continuing to call for a search of the Prairie Green and Brady Road landfills.
“You sit in these powerful positions, but where are you when your own people need you,” said Cambria Harris, daughter of Morgan Harris, while at the Leaf.
Cambria Harris talks to media during a protest at the Brady Landfill Monday morning. (Photo Credit: Mike Sudoma, CityNews)
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The blockade began Thursday after the Manitoba government decided against searching a different landfill north of the city, Prairie Green, where the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are believed to have been dumped.
Stefanson said last week a search would come with long-term human health and safety concerns that cannot be ignored. She added the province would not stand in the way, however, if the federal government wants to lead the search, as long as there are guarantees for worker safety.
A city official said he did not expect police to move in right away, and the next step would likely be to seek a court injunction as early as Tuesday.
“If we can’t reach a resolution, then we will need to escalate our own efforts. That will very likely mean applying to court,” said Michael Jack, the city’s chief administrative officer.
Jack says there are environmental hazards, such as toxic materials leaching into the soil, tied to any disruption in landfill operations.
He also said the city could soon be at risk of violating its environmental licences and polluting the surrounding area.
WATCH: Manitoba government not supporting landfill search
The push to search the Prairie Green landfill has gone on for months, and the federal government funded a study this year that concluded a canvass of the site is feasible.
The study warned there are risks due to exposure to toxic chemicals and asbestos. The search could take up to three years and cost $184 million with no guarantee of success. But the report said forgoing a search could be more harmful for the women’s families.
The federal government has said it is still reviewing the feasibility study.
Cambria Harris said there have been searches of landfills in the past. Winnipeg police searched the Brady Road landfill for the remains of Tanya Nepinak in 2012, but looked at only a small area and called off the search after seven days.
“Heather Stefanson, when we met with the premier, she sat across [from] my family. When I said that when you say that you won’t move forward with the search you’re telling my community that it is ok, and you condone the continued dumping of indigenous women. And they pretty much scoffed at my face,” said Harris.
In 2021, Toronto police found the remains of homicide victim Nathaniel Brettell after searching a landfill in Southwold, Ont., for several weeks.
Robinson said Monday a search for her cousin’s remains must proceed.
“I’m not going to have my nieces go sit at a landfill to visit their mom for the rest of eternity. It’s wrong.”
Grand Chief Cathy Merrick of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, says the site has become an important symbol of remembrance and healing.
“It has served as a powerful reminder of the urgent need to address the systemic issues perpetuating violence against First Nations women and girls in our province,” she said in a release.
“It is a place where we have gathered to remind our missing loved ones and those who have tried to stop us that we won’t give up on these women.”
Supporter Vern DeLaronde stands tall in support of the protesters behind a blockade at Brady Landfill Monday morning. (Photo Credit: Mike Sudoma, CityNews)
Many gathered in a circle and prayed near a large red dress painted on the pavement to symbolize missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Sue Caribou, Aunt of Tanya Nepinak, an Indigenous woman killed in 2011 adds, “No human being belongs in a dump. It’s been so long since Tanya has been missing and we still don’t have justice till this day.”
Protestors say they are not going anywhere till landfills are searched.
“We need to bring our sisters and our relatives home, they don’t deserve to be in the dump,” said Elroy Fontaine, brother of Tina Fontaine.
Jeremy Skibicki faces first-degree murder charges in their deaths as well as for the death of Rebecca Contois, whose remains were found last year at Brady Road, and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders are calling Buffalo Woman whose remains have not been found.
