WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government says the landfill search that succeeded in finding the remains of two slain First Nations women cost $18 million, with $2 million more expected in the coming weeks to clear the site and move equipment.
The total is far below previous estimates, which ran as high as $184 million.
Premier Wab Kinew says the search was done in a safe and fiscally responsible manner but, more importantly, it brought Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris home.
Harris, Myran and two other First Nations women were killed in 2022 by Jeremy Skibicki, who was given a life sentence last year on four counts of first-degree murder.
The remains of Harris and Myran were found at the Prairie Green landfill, a private operation north of Winnipeg.
Search efforts have begun to shift to the Brady Road landfill in Winnipeg, where the remains of Ashlee Shingoose are believed to be.
The remains of Rebecca Contois were found there in 2022.
Police rejected calls that year to search the Prairie Green landfill, citing safety concerns.
A feasibility study done in conjunction with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs the following year warned there were risks due to exposure to toxic chemicals and asbestos but said a search would be doable.
The report estimated a search could take up to three years and cost as much as $184 million with no guarantee of success
The Progressive Conservative government at the time rejected calls for a search and later touted its refusal in election campaign ads that were widely criticized. A followup feasibility study lowered the expected cost to $90 million.
Kinew promised a search before winning the 2023 election, and his NDP government later partnered with the federal government to jointly commit $40 million. An environmental licence was issued that laid out guidelines for dealing with cancer-causing asbestos and other material.
The search got underway in December 2024, and the remains of Harris and Myran were found within a few months.
Kinew was not made available for an interview Thursday. His office issued a prepared statement.
"We told the people of Manitoba that we would search the landfill and we would do so in a fiscally responsible way and we delivered on that by completing the search for $18 million," said the statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2025.
Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
