The Manitoba government and Ottawa are committing $20 million each to cover the costs of searching a landfill for the remains of two indigenous women at the centre of a first-degree murder trial.
The money will go toward a search of the privately-owned Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg, where the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are believed to be.
“We’re glad to be able to move forward with the funds necessary to search every cubic metre of the relevant space,” Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said in a statement.
“While we don’t know if the search will be successful, we have to try.”
The women are suspected victims of Jeremy Sikibicki, who is charged with first-degree murder in the two women’s deaths, as well as the deaths of Rebecca Contois and an unidentified woman who has been named “Buffalo Woman” by indigenous leaders. The remains of Ms. Contois were found at a different landfill.
Mr. Sikibicki has pleaded not guilt, and a jury trial has been scheduled to start in April.
In 2022, police rejected the idea of searching the landfill for the women’s remains, partly because of the danger from toxic materials as well as the amount of material at the site.
One of the reports indicated that a search would cost $90 million if completed within a year.
Mr. Kinew, Manitoba’s new premier, had promised his NDP government would search the site if he was elected.
The two levels of government have also offered money for mental health support for the families.
