Claims that safe landfill search isn't possible 'aren't necessarily based in fact': committee chair

Concerns the Manitoba government highlighted as its reasons for not helping pay to search a Winnipeg-area landfill for two women's remains were already addressed by the final report of the committee that studied whether a search would be feasible, the group's chairs say.

That report outlines how a search could be done safely and what method would bring the highest chance of success, co-chairs Kris Dueck and Emily Holland said at a Monday afternoon news conference held by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC).

"It's pretty clear to most who have read the study that risks can be mitigated and the search can be conducted safely," said Dueck, who works with Rocky Mountain Forensic Consulting and spoke via video conference alongside several other experts who echoed his position.

"Any argument, I guess, that would oppose those findings, in our opinion, aren't necessarily based in fact."

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said earlier this month her government's decision not to help pay to search the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran was based on safety concerns for those who would be sifting through the materials.

The province said in a statement a day earlier it could not "knowingly risk Manitoba workers' health and safety for a search without a guarantee" of finding remains.

Co-chair Holland, a forensic anthropologist at Brandon University, said the search strategy the committee recommended — using a conveyor belt to sift through landfill materials — was identified as having the best chance of finding remains, based on its success in similar searches.

That kind of system "gives you the opportunity to look at everything that's coming out of that area, so that you can say with confidence that you looked at everything," she said.

Holland added no one from the province has reached out to her with questions about the report's recommendations.

The feasibility study also responded to health and safety issues, recommending on-site hazardous materials teams to monitor air quality, act as safety officers and perform decontamination of personnel who work closely with evacuated materials.

Premier Stefanson continues to face criticism over the report from victims' family members and First Nations leadership, who say the premier hasn't actually read the 55-page document.

"It's very easy to say that a search cannot be done if you haven't read the report. And that is exactly what happened with Premier Stefanson," Kyra Wilson — chief of Long Plain First Nation, where Harris and Myran were members — said at the news conference.

WATCH | Chief says premier hasn't read feasibility report:

A spokesperson for the premier said Stefanson is "familiar with the entirety of the report" through "extensive briefings and her own review."