Morgan Harris’ family protests at Brady Road landfill, wants operations paused

Several members of the Indigenous community, including family members of Morgan Harris, protested at Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill Sunday afternoon, calling for the site to pause operations immediately to search for the remains of two women.

Around two dozen people blocked the main access road to the landfill in the city’s south end. Protesters want police to search both the Brady landfill and the Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg.

Police believe the remains of Harris and Marcedes Myran ended up at Prairie Green in the spring. They decided not to conduct a search, citing a low likelihood of finding remains due in part to the amount of time that has passed.

Melissa Normand, Harris’ cousin, believes the remains of Harris and Myran are not at the Prairie Green landfill, but at the Brady Road landfill.

“I think what they are trying to do is divert our attention away from here,” said Normand. “Because how bad is our city going to look, how bad is our police system, who are there to protect us, going to look when they start digging and finding, I’m sure, many of our women.”

Cambria Harris, Harris’ daughter, says it’s time for the public to stand up and put an end to the horrible tragedies faced by Indigenous families.
“Why did it take four indigenous women’s lives to be taken and for me to go to Parliament for you to finally notice?” said Cambria. “You should be ashamed, and you should be embarrassed.

“Imagine if you were in my shoes, or any of these women’s shoes and I should not have to stand here and grieve in front of the world.

“It’s time to say wake up Canada and make a change.”

READ MORE:

• Police should reconsider decision not to search landfill for remains: advocates
• Indigenous advocate calls for more support, long-term funding after women killed
• New rules, more thorough record keeping could help find more murder victims, NDP says
• No decision on landfill search, Winnipeg Police Board considering outside help
• ‘Breach of human dignity’: Police must search for Indigenous women’s remains, says Mohawk official
• Manager of Prairie Green landfill cooperating with WPS; offers condolences

Police allege Harris, Myran, Rebecca Contois and an unidentified woman named Buffalo Woman were killed by Jeremy Skibicki, who is charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

“A lot of people are very uncomfortable with what I have to speak about, and they don’t want to acknowledge this sort of thing, which I think is very sad,” said Cambria. “This is a reality for a lot of our people, and it’s become a story that we have come familiar with. But you guys don’t seem to not be, because you watch the stories and forget about us over and over. And it is time to stop that.”

On Thursday Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson and Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham announced the Prairie Green Landfill will pause operations.

Normand says this is not enough.

“That’s only doing half the job,” she said. “Yes, that’s a small victory with getting Prairie Green shut down, but they need to stop the garbage being thrown on our women here at Brady. And until they do, we are going to keep coming back here.”

WATCH: Family wants police to search for loved ones in landfill

Danny Smyth, Winnipeg’s chief of police, says he has no plans to resign after Harris’ family and Indigenous leaders called for his resignation over the decision not to search the Prairie Green landfill.

“If we want change, you see how many people are standing behind us and we are grateful for the people behind us, but you should all be outraged,” said Kirstin Witwicki, Morgan Harris’ cousin. “I told someone earlier, and this is a direct message to Danny Smyth that if it were your loved one and you were screaming for justice, we would be standing behind you, and I can guarantee that.”