Just how far will activists go in Winnipeg?

The piece on the other side of the paywall was written by yours truly. As well, it was sent to all members of the ruling Progressive Conservative Party (PCP) of Manitoba on August 5, 2023, with the following introduction:

Dear PCP of Manitoba member of Legislative Assembly,

The landfill search issue [for the remains of two murdered indigenous women in Winnipeg] is bound to impact the results of the October 3 provincial election, especially in seat-rich Winnipeg.

For this reason, the PCP of Manitoba needs to go beyond the easily disputable assertion that searching for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran would endanger the lives of the searchers by more clearly and forcefully articulating the many other reasons this search should not be undertaken, particularly the central factor — its lack of feasibility.

Another relevant factor that could never be mentioned because of its political incorrectness is the life circumstances of the victims and other family members of the profound tragedy.

The particular details of Morgan Harris’ life, now quickly forgotten, dispute the issue of the need for closure on her death because “closure” seems inherent in her family history.

According to her daughter Cambria, her most outspoken advocate, at least now that her mother is dead, she was removed from Morgan’s care at the age of six.

“I probably didn’t see her for a few years after that,” she claimed months ago.

Cambria was herself part of the child welfare system until she was 17. She said she watched her mother struggle with addiction, mental health issues and homelessness after she lost custody of her children.

"She was in and out of treatment centres and homeless centres repeatedly trying to get help, and she spent her life on the streets fighting to survive, and she lived in fear."

Yet her family or community members may never have attempted to bring her home.

Yes, Morgan’s death at such a young age — she was  only 39 — is a tragic event, but to remove her human agency by blaming society for her problems only serves to infantilize indigenous women. It also exempts Cambria and the children of the other victims from doing more to ensure their safety.

The case of Marcedes Myran, one of Skibicki’s alleged victims, is particularly instructive of the troubled nature of too many indigenous families. Her mother waited seven long months before finally reporting her as missing to the police in late September.

Perhaps shame and guilt are also driving the grief, anguish, and zeal to find the remains of these women.

Moreover, why is it that the longer indigenous people have been dead, the more their communities are frantically searching for them?

The alleged burials of 215 Indian Residential School students near the former Kamloops boarding school is a prime example that points to the answer: money.

In the unmarked graves’ case the federal government allocated $321 million to search for Indian Residential School graves and allied issues. If such an amount is being distributed to look for children never reported missing by their parents, how much will the Indian Industry extort from a compliant Trudeau government to direct all aspects of the search for the remains of women known to have been murdered?

After all, the relatively simple 2002 excavation of serial killer Robert Pickton’s pig farm cost nearly $70 million. Much more would surely be needed that the $184 maximum estimate to excavate the Prairie Green and Brady Road landfills, the likely result being no evidence of the remains of the two murdered women. But given the precedent of similar searches, the Indian Industry will be heavily rewarded for its participation.

The most politically incorrect question the mainstream media would never ask – and you could never mention on the campaign trail -- is whether there would be the same control given to family and community leaders over the burial search of these four women were Skibicki an indigenous man or were the four murdered women white females?

Please find below my latest published take on this troubling issue.

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An update to this piece is now in order based on the results of the October 3 election in Manitoba which gave the victorious New Democrat Party government a resounding victory some critics say was rooted in the PC’s opposition to supporting excavation of Prairie Green.

Pressure will now be exerted on the NDP to act on its promise to ensure such a search takes.

A possible roadblock is the federal government’s announcement of “$740,000 toward further review of a possible search of the landfill which Winnipeg police believe holds the remains of the two women.”

New Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree made the announcement on the National Day of Action for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, one day after Manitoba voters elected their first indigenous premier, NDP Leader Wab Kinew.

Anandasangaree claimed the funds will go to Long Plain Indian Reserve, which was involved in a search-feasibility study, to help figure out more details about what needs to be done on the technical, logistical and personnel side to search Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg.

According to Kinew, "I think the first task before us is to go through the transition and to be sworn in as a new government, and then this [search of Prairie Trail] will be one of those items that we want to tackle in the very early days of our administration."

Kinew hasn't yet committed money to the search but claimed it's an urgent issue that doesn't "need more study." He also pledged to collaborate with other levels of government.

What this “collaboration” will consist of and how much funding will be delivered by a cash-strapped government is unclear.

Stay tuned; this story still has lots of legs.