Landfill search dollars from Manitoba, Ottawa a relief, but trial is 'going to be very hard,' family says

After over two years of looking for her granddaughter, Donna Bartlett says a $40 million commitment for the search of a Winnipeg-area landfill means she's closer to finding her remains.

On Friday, the federal and provincial governments committed $20 million each toward searching the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26, in a closed-door meeting with their families, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the city.

"I'm happy that they put some funds forward for us, because that is a big, big, big start," Bartlett, Myran's grandmother, told CBC on Monday.

"It's very important, and I felt good about it, and I thought: 'OK, we're going to get something done this year,' I'm hoping."

Friday's announcement came after months of calls for funding, protests and two feasibility studies into a landfill search. An Indigenous-led committee commissioned two reports on the feasibility of a search, which has been estimated to cost $90 million if completed within a year.

Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, calls the announcement a big step forward, but said she regrets that the families of Harris and Myran had to endure such a lengthy and politically-fuelled process to get there.

"It always brings a tear to my eye because I can't imagine what those families have [gone] through," Woodhouse Nepinak told CBC.

A search of Prairie Green will "be a painful process for First Nations, and for many Manitobans and Canadians," she said.

"But it also shows that trilateral relationships can work, with the provinces and the feds and First Nations governments at the table."

The city did not answer questions Monday about whether it will commit land or money for a search of Prairie Green, but told CBC that it will continue to work with the families, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and other levels of government to see if there is any support it can provide if needed.

"Once a timeline and next steps are determined on a search plan, conversations will continue," a spokesperson for Mayor Scott Gillingham's office said in a Monday statement.

The AMC told CBC on Monday that conversations with all levels of government regarding next steps in the landfill search will continue in the coming weeks.

Bartlett said Gillingham expressed sorrow and support for the families of Harris and Myran at Friday's meeting, but "he didn't really share much, as far as funding or anything."

It's unclear who else will be involved in the landfill search, or when exactly it will go ahead, but the AMC said Friday that a search won't happen until after the man accused of killing Harris and Myran has his days in court.

Jeremy Skibicki is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Harris, Myran, Rebecca Contois, whose partial remains were found in a different landfill, and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Buffalo Woman, whose remains have not been found. The 28-day jury trial is set to start April 29.

Bartlett says she's focused on the trial for now.

She's also grateful that Friday's announcement means financial and mental health support for her family and Myran's two kids. The province committed $500,000 to help the families during the trial, while the federal government pledged another $200,000 for their mental well-being.

"It's going to be very hard to go through, very hard, and so the support will be good," she said. "I can get them some help that they need."

Myran's eight-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son know where their mom is believed to be, Bartlett says, but they're hurt and don't understand why she hasn't been found yet.

"The only thing I want is my girl to be brought home," she said.

"You have your grandchildren sitting there asking you questions and you can't answer them," she said. "I live with that on a daily basis. That really hurts."