Members of the Harris family and Manitoba Chiefs speak to the media on July 11 in Montreal.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Leaders from First Nations across the country are calling for an independent inquiry into the murders of four Indigenous women after a serial killer was found guilty by a Manitoba superior court judge.
In an interview Friday, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said the murders of 39-year-old Morgan Harris, 26-year-old Marcedes Myran, 24-year-old Rebecca Contois and a yet-to-be-identified woman who Indigenous elders have named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, meaning Buffalo Woman, were top of mind at the AFN annual general assembly this week.
Ms. Woodhouse Nepinak said representatives from more than 600 First Nations at the AFN have been worried about the “persistent failures within the criminal justice system to investigate and prosecute this case, and a lack of sensitivity for the healing process that the women’s families deserve.”
The AFN is now urging the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba to establish an independent commission that will probe how police and provincial officials handled their investigations into the women’s killings, Ms. Woodhouse Nepinak said.
“An inquiry led by First Nations will be essential in addressing gaps where the justice system has proven inadequate and lacked sensitivity,” she said. “Further details about this case are still coming to light, so it’s critical that First Nations laws and protocols guide the way to restoration for those who are grieving their loved ones.”
Kate Gameiro, executive director in the office of Lieutenant-Governor Anita Neville, said in e-mail Friday that the Lieutenant-Governor will not be making any comments at this time.
Jeremy Skibicki, 37, was convicted Thursday as a judge in Winnipeg rejected his defence that he was not criminally responsible for the killings. Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Glenn Joyal told a packed room filled with the women’s families and friends the case is “emblematic of much that is associated with the tragedy and very grave reality of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.”
In an interview shortly after the verdict was delivered, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew told The Globe and Mail that the court ruling marks a pivotal moment in the national conversation around reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
Asked about the calls for an independent inquiry, Mr. Kinew said he would do whatever it takes to put the women’s families first but did not answer the question directly.
In his conversations with the families, the Premier said, he has always expressed the importance of primarily respecting the court process before being able to adequately address other matters, such as his government’s commitment to search for three of the women – Ms. Harris, Ms. Myran and Buffalo Woman – that have yet to be found.
“Now that the justice system has done its part, we’re going to do our part to return the remains of their loved ones so that they can move on with their healing journey,” Mr. Kinew said.
Winnipeg police found some of Ms. Contois’s remains at the Brady Road landfill in the southern outskirts of the city in 2022, the month after Mr. Skibicki’s arrest. But while police had determined two of the other victims – Ms. Harris and Ms. Myran – are buried in the separate Prairie Green landfill north of the city, they did not search for them because of apparent dangers associated with hazardous chemicals and waste.
That search for Ms. Harris and Ms. Myran is now under way, Mr. Kinew said. As the province laid out plans for the multiyear operation last month, after closing arguments in Mr. Skibicki’s trial, Mr. Kinew had said Winnipeg police will not be involved directly with the search of Prairie Green.
Morgan Harris’s daughter, Cambria Harris, who was in Montreal attending the AFN general assembly, said the independent inquiry is a necessary step she has been fighting for.
“The police should have done its job back then, two years ago, when it was time to search the landfills for my mom,” she said Friday. “We need to get justice and hold people accountable. Otherwise, it sets a very dangerous precedent for any other Indigenous woman that goes missing or is murdered.”
Winnipeg police declined to comment on the matter of an inquiry, stating Friday in an unattributed e-mail from its public information office that the service will need to carefully review Justice Joyal’s verdict before addressing any questions.
“We recognize this case has been extremely difficult and has had a tremendous impact on the families, friends and loved ones,” wrote the police spokesperson, who refused to provide their name.