Court hearing on injunction to end Winnipeg landfill blockade adjourned to Thursday

A court hearing on an injunction to end a seven-day blockade at a Winnipeg landfill has been adjourned until Thursday.

The city filed an application Tuesday to the Court of King’s Bench seeking the removal of protesters from the Brady Road landfill.

Dozens of protesters have blocked the main road demanding a search of a different landfill north of Winnipeg, called Prairie Green, where it’s believed the remains of two slain Indigenous women were dumped last year.

The blockade began last week after Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said the province would not support a search of Prairie Green, pointing to a study that said it could cost $184 million, pose safety risks and not have guaranteed success.

Stefanson said Wednesday that the decision was difficult but she stands by it.

“My heart goes out to the families. It’s a horrific situation that they are facing,” Stefanson told a news conference at the annual premier’s meeting in Winnipeg.

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LATEST ON LANDFILL BLOCKADE:

• Winnipeg mayor says Brady Road landfill blockade must end
• Blockade continues at Winnipeg landfill after deadline passes
• AMC disappointed Winnipeg is dismantling Camp Morgan
• City of Winnipeg orders protesters at Brady Road landfill to stop blocking access by Monday at noon

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A city official said earlier this week the blockade was preventing maintenance work from being done and the city was at risk of violating its environmental licence.

Mayor Scott Gillingham has said he hopes for dialogue with the protesters but the City of Winnipeg must make sure that garbage continues to be collected and there is access through the road.

Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of the two women – Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran – whose remains are believed to be at the private Prairie Green landfill.

He has also been charged in the death of Rebecca Contois, whose remains were found last year at the city-owned Brady Road landfill, and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders are calling Buffalo Woman, whose remains have not been found.

The federally-funded study into the possibility of a search warned there are risks due to exposure of toxic chemicals and asbestos. It also said forgoing a search could be harmful for the women’s families.

—By Kelly Geraldine Malone in Saskatoon, with files from Steve Lambert in Winnipeg and Colette Derworiz in Calgary