Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Trudeau calls landfill discovery heartbreaking

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Apr, 2023 01:15 PM
  • Trudeau calls landfill discovery heartbreaking

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government needs to do more to end the epidemic of violence that Indigenous women and girls face after police found the body of another Indigenous woman in a landfill this week.

Trudeau says it's heartbreaking that discoveries like these continue to happen.

The Winnipeg homicide unit says it started an investigation after staff at the Brady Road landfill south of the city found the body of 33-year-old Linda Mary Beardy on Monday.

Police say they do not believe the case is linked to the killing of Rebecca Contois, whose remains were found in the same landfill last year, or the killings of three other women.

Police have said they believe the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are in a different, privately run Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg, but they have not been found.

The prime minister says his Liberal government has made significant strides in countering gender-based violence, but there's more it can be doing.

"My heart goes out to the community in Winnipeg and to the families of the woman who was ... left in this way," Trudeau told reporters Wednesday.

"We will continue to be there with the community as it grieves, but we will also continue to be there to put an end to this unconscionable violence."

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the discovery highlights the need to implement the 231 calls for justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

"Women are dying, lives are being taken and we have to take it seriously," Singh said.

The federal Crown-Indigenous Relations minister has praised workers at the city-run Brady landfill for their "heightened vigilance" in finding Beardy's remains.

Marc Miller also said a study into the feasibility of searching the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of Harris and Myran should be completed in the coming weeks.

The federal government put up $500,000 in February for the study into a potential search landfill.

An Indigenous-led committee headed by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said Tuesday the study is expected to be completed in four to six weeks. The organization added it is confident the study will "deem these search and recovery efforts feasible."

Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Contois, Harris and Myran — all First Nations women, as well as an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman. Police have also not located her remains.

The Brady landfill is to remain indefinitely closed. The city said contingency plans for garbage and recycling are in place, and workers are trying to maintain these services without disruption during the closure.

MORE National ARTICLES

Freeland to table 2023 federal budget March 28

Freeland to table 2023 federal budget March 28
The Canadian economy is expected to slow significantly this year and potentially enter a recession as high interest rates squeeze the budgets for individuals and businesses alike. Freeland has stressed that the Liberal government is focused on fiscal restraint, so as to not work against the Bank of Canada's efforts to tame inflation.

Freeland to table 2023 federal budget March 28

Breach of trust case dropped against ex-Liberal MP

Breach of trust case dropped against ex-Liberal MP
Grewal left the federal Liberal caucus in 2018 after his gambling problem came to light and a public outcry ensued. He chose not to run for re-election in 2019. In 2020, the RCMP charged him with four counts of breach of trust and one count of fraud over $5,000.

Breach of trust case dropped against ex-Liberal MP

Turpel-Lafond 'satisfied' with identity, past work

Turpel-Lafond 'satisfied' with identity, past work
In her most expansive recent remarks since a CBC investigation last fall raised questions about her claim of Cree heritage, Turpel-Lafond said it's "liberating" to be freed of honours because it permits her to "focus on what really matters" in her life.

Turpel-Lafond 'satisfied' with identity, past work

Experts warn of 'recovery scam' after sextortion

Experts warn of 'recovery scam' after sextortion
Darren Laur, chief training officer at White Hatter, an internet safety and digital literacy education company based in Victoria said the teen's family reached out to him with their story after the other firm told them there was nothing that could be done.

Experts warn of 'recovery scam' after sextortion

Window platform stuck on Vancouver highrise

Window platform stuck on Vancouver highrise
Several fire trucks snarled Georgia Street's eastbound lanes near the main library as firefighters worked to free the pair, who had been replacing glass on the Deloitte Summit tower when the platform refused to move Thursday morning.

Window platform stuck on Vancouver highrise

Court approves $2.8B class-action settlement

Court approves $2.8B class-action settlement
A Federal Court judge has approved a $2.8 billion settlement agreement between the Canadian government and plaintiffs representing 325 First Nations whose members went to residential day schools. Those members were ineligible for the 2006 settlement reached between Canada and full-time students at the schools.

Court approves $2.8B class-action settlement