OTTAWA — Internal emails show the former head of the RCMP believed police are not equipped to handle the complexities of searching a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of slain Indigenous women.
The statement is contained in an email sent last December by then RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki to senior leaders in the departments of Public Safety and Crown-Indigenous Relations.
The privately-owned Prairie Green Landfill north of the city is where police believe the remains of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Buffalo Woman are held.
Jeremy Skibicki faces first-degree murder charges in their deaths as well as for the death of Rebecca Contois, whose partial remains were found last year at the city-owned Brady Road Landill south of Winnipeg.
Ottawa launched a feasibility study in December into searching the Prairie Green Landfill following pleas from the victims' families after the Winnipeg police decided not to do a search.
The Canadian Press obtained the emails through the Access to Information Act, which showed some of the closed-door discussions about the possibilities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2023.
The Canadian Press
