A protester speaks with Winnipeg Police Inspector Gord Spado, centre, and Constable Brian Wurm, right, as city of Winnipeg workers remove the blockade on the main road into the Brady Road landfill just outside of Winnipeg on July 18.David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press
A blockade is down at a Winnipeg landfill where demonstrators have been demanding the search of a different landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women.
Workers with front-end loaders and other machinery, along with police, arrived at the landfill Tuesday morning to begin taking apart the blockade.
“This isn’t over yet, you can bet on that,” said Harrison Powder after the blockade was taken down.
“Other activists, other warriors, will take action.”
Dozens of protesters have blocked the main road to the Brady Road landfill for nearly two weeks, after Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said the province would not search the privately owned Prairie Green Landfill, north of the city, for the remains of two slain Indigenous women.
A Manitoba judge granted a temporary injunction to end the blockade at the Brady Road landfill Friday after the City of Winnipeg argued in court it was causing environmental and safety risks. A city official posted the court order, stapled to a wooden board, at the blockade later that evening.
Protester Sipihko Kamamak watches and livestreams as City of Winnipeg workers remove the blockade on the main road into the Brady Road landfill.David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press
Insp. Gord Spado said emotions were high over the weekend, so Winnipeg police waited to act on the court order. Spado said he spoke with demonstrators before the blockade was dismantled and they were co-operative.
“It was kept peaceful,” Spado said in a news conference at the landfill.
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“The protesters removed things they wanted to keep off the roadway and that allowed the city to come in and assist us in removing the material that was still blocking the road.”
The judge had said demonstrators can continue to protest at the Brady Road landfill but they cannot block the road. They can hand out materials and talk with people passing by.
A camp set up by demonstrators was still in place and police said they have no intention of removing it.
The Manitoba and federal governments have been sparring over the landfill search.
Activists blockade the main road into the Brady Road landfill on July 10.david lipnowski/The Canadian Press
Stefanson cited safety risks as her main reason for opposing a search of the Prairie Green landfill. She pointed to a federally funded study that said a search could cost up to $184 million, expose workers to toxic material and have no guarantee of success.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller criticized the province for shirking its responsibilities, while Stefanson accused Miller of politicizing a tragedy.
Harrison said demonstrators will take other actions, including blockading railways and highways, until there is a search.
“We need to put pressure on the federal government. We need Marc Miller to step up,” Harrison said. “The feds have to take control. This premier is useless.”
Experts consulted for the study joined Indigenous leaders and the families of the women Monday, saying risks could be mitigated and the search could be done safely.
Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of four women, including Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, whose remains are believed to be at the privately run Prairie Green landfill.
He has also been charged in the death of Rebecca Contois, whose remains were found last year at Brady Road, and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders are calling Buffalo Woman, whose remains have not been found.