Winnipeg police and city officials dismantled protest barricades that blocked the main access road to the Brady Road landfill on Tuesday morning. They are protesting the Manitoba government’s decision not to fund excavation at another landfill where the remains of murdered Indigenous women may be found.
Two officers arrived at the scene around 9:15 a.m. with the aim of proceeding peacefully, Winnipeg Police Inspector Gord Spado said.
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City officials are clearing the street from the Brady Road landfill, which is blocked by protesters.
Photo: Radio Canada / Anne-Louise Michel
The evacuation went smoothly, a Radio-Canada journalist on the scene noted. The demonstrators were very cooperative, the police officer emphasized, and there were no arrests.
We came today to chat. We have a liaison team that has been in constant contact with the protesters since the camp was set up last December.
City teams are on their way to clean up
Camp director Joseph Munro said earlier this weekend that if police intervened, the protesters would not resist.
According to Gord Spado, emergency services from the City of Winnipeg were due to arrive around noon to clean up the street. He pointed out that there were nails on the pavement that could damage tires.
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Police speak to protesters as the city takes down barricades.
Photo: Radio Canada / Anne-Louise Michel
He also insisted the camp could remain and there was no reason to remove it, as stipulated in a restraining order from the city of Winnipeg last Friday.
The document, issued by a court, says protesters are allowed to remain near the road and have the right to distribute leaflets to motorists.
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A group of protesters burn the restraining order posted at the Brady Road entrance on Friday.
Photo: Radio Canada / Anne-Louise Michel
On Sunday, Joseph Munro, the leader of the camp near the Brady Road landfill, said two teepees and a wigwam would remain in place to remind people of the importance of this site to the protesters.
Protesters also plan to set up another camp in front of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights beginning Tuesday to meet their calls for excavation at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg.
Almost two weeks of lockdown
Demonstrators have blocked access to the landfill for about two weeks. They erected barricades on July 6 after the Manitoba government announced it would not fund excavation at the Prairie Green landfill site to search for the remains of two missing Aboriginal women.
According to the provincial government, these excavations could pose health risks to those involved in this research. Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson has repeatedly defended her administration’s decision.
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The Prairie Green landfill is north of Winnipeg.
Photo: Radio Canada / Jaison Empson
Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unknown woman named Mashkode Bizihiki’kwe, or Buffalo Woman, are the victims of a suspected serial killer. The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are believed to be at the Prairie Green landfill.
In June 2022, the remains of Rebecca Contois, another victim of the alleged serial killer, were found at the Brady Road landfill. Police do not know the whereabouts of Mashkode Bizihiki’kwe’s remains.
With information from Anne-Louise Michel