Manitoba justice minister doubles down on stance against searching landfill
'If it were my son, I would advocate for my son, [but] the provincial government has to consider all families'
Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen offered sympathy, but no hope, on Thursday to families calling for the Manitoba government to search a landfill north of Winnipeg for the remains of two First Nations women.
"Every family would advocate for their family, and every family should advocate for their family, but the provincial government's responsibility is broader than that," said Goertzen, who is also attorney general.
"There's a number of different things at play [but] safety is paramount."
Premier Heather Stefanson said earlier this month that her government would not provide support to search the Prairie Green landfill in rural municipality of Rosser for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran.
Police believe their remains are located below the surface of the privately run landfill, and that they are two of four victims of an alleged serial killer.
The other two are Rebecca Contois and a woman whose identity is not known. She has been named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.
The partial remains of Contois were found at the City of Winnipeg's Brady Road landfill in June 2022. The location of Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe is not known.
Protesters blocked access to the Brady landfill on July 6, after Stefanson said Manitoba wouldn't help fund a search. The blockade was removed by police on Tuesday, four days after the city obtained a court injunction.
Protesters continue to maintain a presence near the dump at a site they named Camp Morgan. They also established a new camp on Wednesday, called Camp Marcedes, next to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights at The Forks.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller has criticized Stefanson's decision, calling it "heartless" and saying the federal government wants to help but the province must take the lead.
Stefanson has said her decision is based on safety concerns associated with sifting through toxic materials, as outlined in a search feasibility report, although it said a search could be done at a cost of $184 million.
Goertzen on Thursday said he is often asked, "What if it was your family?"
"If it were my son, I would advocate for my son, [but] the provincial government has to consider all families. And it has to consider what the risk is for the families and for those who might be doing a search on an industrial landfill site," he said.
He also stressed his reluctance to jeopardize the court case being built against the alleged serial killer.
"[Manitoba Prosecution Services] has made the determination that they have the evidence that they need … to lay charges against an accused in this case. My concern, from the attorney-general perspective, is to also ensure we don't disrupt that, because justice also has to be served for families," he said.
"If there are things that are happening that can delay those cases, that can have an impact on justice."
It is government's responsibility to weigh all of that, Goertzen said, saying he is "entirely sympathetic" to those who want the search done.
"It's never an easy decision," he said, calling it particularly difficult "because you're dealing with families who are rightfully and understandably grieving and advocating for their loved ones, which all of us would do as family members."
Cambria Harris, Morgan Harris' daughter, said her family understands the impact a search could have on the court case.
"It's not a risk for our family, the risk for our family is you telling us that you will not search for them," she said outside city hall Thursday after a meeting with Mayor Scott Gillingham.
She said she and her family has met with the Crown attorney many times, saying that they were told they have more than enough evidence to charge Skibicki for Rebecca Contois' murder.
"We said screw your jurisdiction, it's about the fact that we want those women home and they deserve to come home with the proper ceremonial burial," she said.
Asked if he might consider a search once the court case has wrapped up and there's no worry about interfering with judicial proceedings, Goertzen said the safety concern still stands, and always will.
Long Plain First Nation Chief Kyra Wilson, who also spoke after meeting with Gillingham Thursday, said it's unfortunate the government keeps citing safety concerns as one of the reasons it won't support a search.
"We've already indicated that is not a safety issue. There are different measures in place to make sure that any risks are eliminated as long as we follow proper safety measures," she said.
Other landfill searches have been done successfully in other parts of the country, so Goertzen was asked why a Prairie Green search would be considered more hazardous.
He referred again to the findings in the feasibility report.
"There are no guarantees for success but there are significant short- and long-term concerns and considerations on the health of those who would have to conduct that search," he said.
"It's an industrial waste site. That was cited in the report in several different places, in terms of that challenge and the harm that exists there."
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