The Current - Families who fought for landfill search showed unwavering bravery: minister

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

Partial remains of two Indigenous women were found at the Prairie Green Landfill near Winnipeg earlier this month, in a search the victim’s families pressured all levels of government to undertake for years. Manitoba’s Minister of Families, Nahanni Fontaine, says the commitment to bringing their loved ones home is a testament to the families’ strength and dedication. But “savage levels of violence” against Indigenous women and girls persist across Canada, she adds.

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This is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. Yesterday when I left the landfill, I felt like I was abandoning her again. I felt like I was abandoning her again. I felt like I was leaving her. No family, no person should go through what we went through. And again, to every one of you that said no, to every one of you that didn't believe in us. Do better.

That's Elle Harris. Earlier this month, the partial remains of her mother, Morgan Harris, were found in the Prairie Green landfill near Winnipeg. Since December, workers have been looking for both Morgan Harris and 26-year-old Mercedes Myron. Myron's partial remains have now also been identified. Both women were originally from Long Plain First Nation

and are the victims of a Winnipeg serial killer. Nahani Fontaine is the Minister of Families in Manitoba and a long-time advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. She is in Winnipeg. Minister Fontaine, good morning. Good morning. We just heard a little bit of Al Harris

from a media conference a few weeks ago. As you understand it, I mean, this is such a difficult thing to go through. How are the families holding up? Yeah, I mean, I'm sure that folks can appreciate, or maybe not in some respects, actually, like how traumatizing it is to have a loved one who is missing or murdered. And so that is incredibly there is a movement to not search that. And so that is incredibly traumatizing and hurtful. And I would submit probably one of the most traumatizing things that folks can go through.

And yet in that the families never wavered in their dedication and their courage to bring their loved ones home, right? They never, ever wavered. In the midst of the previous government, a whole government framing their political campaign against their loved ones. I mean, I don't know if people can really appreciate how how grotesque that truly is. And yet they never wavered. And so in the midst of that

dedication and that courage and that resilience, you know, they have some semblance of closure. And it is the best of what is the worst situation that any family can go through. And so, you know, I chat with the families all the time and they are resilient. They are resilient and they wanted to bring their loved ones home and now they have the opportunity to do so. Part of the story, ones home, and now they have the opportunity to do so.

Part of the story, I mean, and maybe it speaks to the resilience, but also just the levels of anguish, is that some of those searchers were family members as well, right? Mm-hmm. And that is a testament to Indigenous peoples, Indigenous families' love. Like that, that I always share this

with folks is that our families, you know, juxtapose what is, you know, stereotypes or biased about indigenous people. We love fiercely. We are so incredibly loyal to our families and to our sacred circle, so much so that you have family members that have stood up to be able to be among those that are actually searching. That is incredible, and that's a quintessential example of Indigenous people's love for one another. In that comment, we heard Elle Harris

ask people to do better. I want to play a little bit more of what she said. Have a listen. For every one of single view who said no to the police system, to the government, you sit there and think about this. Think about how disgustingly you treated us. Look where we made it. Look where we are now and we're not done. What do you make of that? I she's absolutely right. She's absolutely right again There was a whole government. I mean imagine for a second There was a whole government that targeted

government that targeted families of loved ones who were killed by a serial killer and based their whole political campaign on the murders of Indigenous women. People may not remember that, I mean, the signs during the election campaign for the conservative, progressive conservative government featuring the former leader said, and these are billboards that were through at Winnipeg, said, stand firm for health and safety reasons. The answer on the landfill dig just has to be no. Yeah, exactly. How do you, how do you understand what that was about?

Because at the end of the day, the Manitoba PCs thought that Manitobans would join them in what is really hate and targeted racism towards a family. But actually what Manitobans showed and proved is that we are not that. We stand together as a

province, as a people, as a family. We're all family. And Manitobans rejected that. And so whereas the people We stand together as a province, as a people, as a family. We're all family. And Manitobans rejected that. And so whereas the PCs calculated that folks would stand with them, in fact, those Indigenous women, those two Indigenous women helped to change a government because Manitobans rejected that hate and rejected that hate specifically towards Indigenous

women. We have a crisis across our territories in violence that's exacted against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirited bodies. Manitobans rejected that, and the PCs were on the wrong side of history. We should say that the new party leader has since apologized for the way that the party treated this issue.

I just wonder, this goes back to a little bit of what Al Harris said, what are the lessons that you hope are learned, not just by government, but by law enforcement for how this unfolded. I want to just clarify the interim leader's apology and in quotations, apology on this. It came 17 months after all of, well, several years, but certainly 17 months since we've been in government, two years after, and only, that apology only came when the remains of Morgan Harris was found. So to me and to families and community, it's a little bit too late.

They never reached out to the families to have that one-on-one apology. They didn't do it in a good way. So I would disabuse them in their apology that it's anywhere actually sincere. I've spoken with you a couple of times about this last year when we were in Winnipeg, but also before you entered government. You've been, as I said in our introduction, a long-time advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. It's been a decade since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, more than five years since the National Inquiry

into murdered and missing Indigenous women. What does what the families went through tell you about what has not come out of the commission and the inquiry? There was a lot of talk, there was a lot of good momentum, people feeling like this was a moment. I just wonder what hasn't been achieved. Yeah. Let me just say this.

I've been working on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls since about 1999. And that was, it really started my dedication after the killing of Connie and Tide Jacobs from the Tsutsuna First Nation. And in that 26 years, I have seen, I've had the opportunity, and I've been on the front lines of seeing the progression of change and action and work on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. If you go back 26 years ago, it wasn't on the radar of anybody, no government, no police officials,

like nowhere. The communities knew, the families knew. And so 10 years from the Truth and Reconciliation and five years from the National Inquiry, there is change. And I can point, is it enough? No, certainly not because women and girls and gender diverse folks continue to be murdered or stolen.

But I can say that there are substantial changes. And I will give you the example here in Manitoba. When we won government, I had a commitment from the premier to do a variety of different things in respect of MMIWG to us. When we won government after a couple of months, he and I met and we decided that we needed to be the government that was going to put substantial work into this issue,

but also upstream to ensure that we are empowering Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit. To make sure they have the net that they need into this issue, but also upstream to ensure that we're empowering Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited to make sure that they've got the net that they need to be able to live their best

lives. But we also put money behind that. We put $20 million behind the work that we're doing. That's transitional housing, that's economic development, that's, you know, restoring matriarchy. I just introduced a bill just two days ago about establishing in government in legislation a matriarch circle we are decolonizing the way that

government is done and Prioritizing the protections of indigenous women girls and two-spirited And yet yet commissioners of the report from the the inquiry say that there isn't they don't see political will to implement real action on this issue that there are more than 200 recommendations that came out of the inquiry and they don't see they don't see political will if I can put it that way and I'm not sure again which levels of government everybody's involved in this but when you hear that they're the the the will is there, I just wonder what goes to your mind. Yeah, and I would say that, you know, I don't disabuse what they're saying about potentially across the country, but I will say this, in Manitoba, we are doing the work and prioritizing

that work in a very tangible, dedicated and concerted way. But also, I would also point to the Yukon. The Yukon government was actually the first to come out with a strategy as well, I think in 2020. And they've also ensured that they're prioritizing the protections of indigenous women within their territories. Now, what I will say is this, is that if you do an environmental scan across the country, you're absolutely right.

There are some governments that they don't even have a position that is dedicated to this. There's no dollars dedicated to this. They need to do better. What is that about do you think? Why do you think that's the case now in 2025? Yeah, I mean, I can't speak on behalf of other governments. What I can say is this, is that there is the demand from community and families to do better. And I think that Elle said it best in her press conference when she said, do better.

Not only was that a message for folks here in Manitoba that said no, but I would actually venture, I would submit that that's a message to all governments across the province of this country. I'm not asking you to speak on behalf of other governments, but as somebody who has been, as you said, an activist in this file for a long time, and it's not just a file, it's people's lives.

How do you understand a lack of action on something that we broadly seem to think was incredibly important and we're going to be seized by? Yeah. Again, I would say that there are still, and I spoke earlier in the beginning of our interview that we're going to be able to do that. Yeah. Again I would say that there you know there are still and I spoke earlier

in the beginning of our interview about some of those stereotypes and those anti indigenous understandings of indigenous women, girls and two spirited, but indigenous peoples in general now, whether or not

that informs the way that different levels of government prioritize or see folks within their territories, perhaps. What we know to be true with this is that there is still savage levels of violence that are perpetrated against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited across our territories, across this country from coast to coast to coast. And people need to do better. And I know that from here in Manitoba, as the minister responsible, and by our premier, we are setting the way forward on how governments and provinces and citizens can do better. The premier has said, and I've spoken with him about this,

that this is an issue that he is seized by. He has also said that the search in the landfill has come in, in his words, under budget, less than 40 million dollars. It is believed that there's another unidentified victim in that landfill known as Buffalo Woman. Will that search at Perry Green continue? That search is ongoing right now and as the Premier has said and you know what was our commitment was to search and bring home Morgan and Mercedes and as we speak right now that search is ongoing. The man who's sentenced to life in prison for the murders of Morgan Harris and Mercedes Myron was also convicted for the murder of Rebecca Contwa and the

as-yet-to-be-identified woman who as I say First Nations elders have named and was also convicted for the murder of Rebecca Contwa, and the as yet to be identified woman, who, as I say, First Nations elders have named Buffalo Woman. The partial remains of Rebecca Contwa have been found in a different landfill from the one that Morgan and Mercedes were found, and there have been calls to search that second landfill as well.

Will that happen? You know, what I can tell you is that right now, you know, the search at the Prairie Green landfill is going on, it's ongoing, I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do. But what I can tell you is that right now, the search at the Prairie Green landfill is going on, it's ongoing. And I think that our premier and our government has been very clear that we stand with families

and we stand with the families and their call to bring their loved ones home. And we're doing just that. So if those families call for that second landfill to be searched, will the government do that? Again, right now, our priority is the search at the Prairie Green landfill, which is still ongoing, right? I remind folks that, you know, this has only been in the last couple of weeks that we have found the remains

of Morgan and Mercedes, and there's still a lot of work to be done there. Can I just ask just finally, when we spoke before, one of the things you talked about was going in your capacity in government, but also just as a human being to vigils and memorials for slain and missing women and speaking with young girls there.

What do you hope, this is a story in part about action that's been taken, but also to your point, families having an opportunity to bring their loved ones home. What do you hope people who are listening to this, especially those family members in those vigils who are still missing, what do you want them to take from what your government is doing? You know, fundamentally, you know, I want families to know and I want community to know that this government stands with families, that we see families and that, you know, some of us that are in these positions in cabinet have been doing this work for a long, long

time. You know, I have a colleague, Minister Bernadette Smith. She's an MMIWG family member. Her sister has been missing since 2008. Our government and our people in government understand this issue and some of our members actually live this issue. And so, you know, it's not just words for our government when we say that we support or we stand with families. We live that. We live that.

We live that. We live that. We live that. We live that. We live that. issue. And so, you know, it's not just words for our government when we say that we support or we stand with families. We live that. Who do you think about when you do this work and when you speak about this work? Yeah, you know, I often say to people, it's so unfortunate that a lot of folks never get an opportunity to know or spend time within the indigenous community or indigenous peoples in general. And, you know, what I take from all of this is what I know to be true as an indigenous woman,

put aside being the minister, but as an indigenous woman, and how fierce and genuine and generous and courageous and loving our people are. And this is one of those examples of just how powerful our people are rather than the narrative that is peddled about indigenous people. And I would hope that more people would come to see that and understand that.

And maybe if they can come to see that and understand it from this one scenario that we've all been going through for the last couple of years, I hope that there's some opportunities for healing and for connection. Nahane Fontaine, I'm glad to speak with you again. Thank you for your time. Miigwech for having me.

Nahane Fontaine is the Minister of Families in Manitoba.