Indigenous leaders speak at premiers conference in Winnipeg, as protestors call for landfill search

Canada's provincial and territorial leaders welcomed their Indigenous counterparts in Winnipeg today at the first meeting of Canada's Premier conference.

Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders welcomed their Indigenous counterparts in Winnipeg today at the first meeting of Canada’s Premier conference.

The provincial leaders met with Indigenous leaders from across the country at the Leaf in Assiniboine Park to discuss issues facing Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Manitoba Metis Federation President David Chartrand said housing in First Nations Communities was a priority. He felt the premiers listened and were open to a discussion, and he hopes to pool resources to work collaboratively – using healthcare as an example.

“Why would we build a clinic side by side, the province and the Metis government build one clinic across the street from each other, when we should build a clinic together,” he said.

Shortly after the meeting began, protestors from Brady Road Landfill also made an appearance, calling for a commitment to search for missing Indigenous people. This comes after a blockade over the weekend outside the landfill carried into the start of the week, defying a deadline imposed by the city to disperse and remove barricades from the landfill’s main entrance.

The blockade was set up in response to the Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson’s decision not to involve the province in searching the Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women – Marcedes Ryan and Morgan Harris.

At the conference, protestors said government had blood on their hands.

“If you cannot step up, I ask you to step down,” said Cambria Harris, whose mother’s remains are believed to be in Prairie Green Landfill.