Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 6, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba A YEAR ago on Red Dress Day, Cambria Harris pleaded with the Manitoba government to search the landfill for the remains of her murdered mother. “One year later, I can officially say that we were right,” Harris said Monday afternoon af- ter speaking to a group of about 50 people at the University of Manitoba. “We searched the Prai- rie Green Landfill, and we finally are changing that system.” Harris, 24, delivered a 60-minute keynote that covered a myriad of personal stories about her and Morgan Harris, who was slain by convicted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki. Her remains were found in March after a search at the landfill north of Winnipeg. Harris spoke at length about the difficulties she faced in receiving justice for her mother and three other victims, Ashlee Shin- goose, Marcedes Myran and Rebecca Contois, in- cluding an unsuccessful discussion with former premier Heather Stefan- son about searching the landfill for their remains. The speech was preceded by a traditional Indigenous water and pipe ceremony and was one of several events across Winnipeg for Red Dress Day, held annually across Canada to re- member the lives of murdered and missing In- digenous women and girls. Harris said the landfill fight was an example of collective action, but said there was more work to be done. She mentioned Tanya Nepinak, who disappeared in 2011. Police believe her body was dumped in a garbage bin and taken to the Brady Road landfill. Shawn Lamb was charged with second-de- gree murder in the death of Nepinak and two other women, Lorna Blacksmith and Carolyn Sinclair. He was convicted of manslaughter in the slayings of Blacksmith and Sinclair, but his charges related to Nepinak’s death were stayed. Police searched part of the landfill for Ne- pinak in 2012 but called off the search after a week. No remains have ever been found. Harris said the public needs to continue to pressure authorities to take more action to pro- tect Indigenous women and girls. “We need to keep holding (the government) accountable so there isn’t another Indigen- ous person standing in front of them asking to search the landfill,” Harris said. Premier Wab Kinew has since spoken to Ne- pinak’s family about a possible search for her remains. Also Monday, the Manitoba government an- nounced that a $15-million MMIWG2S+ Heal- ing and Empowerment Endowment Fund it es- tablished last year accrued more than $350,000 and it would be giving the money to five In- digenous organizations to support families of MMIWG. The province will split the funds between Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, the South- ern Chiefs’ Organization, Giganawenimaanaan- ig, the Manitoba Métis Federation Infinity Women’s Secretariat and Tunngasugit. Families can apply to cover a variety of things, including costs related to searching for missing women and girls, funerals, headstones and school tuition for family members. Manitoba is Canada’s only jurisdiction to have an endowment fund operate in perpetuity to support MMIWG families and related organiza- tions, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said. “What that means is that MMIWG2S+ fam- ilies across the country don’t have the means to be able to access dollars that they might need,” she said at the announcement. Elsewhere, hundreds walked from Memorial Park to The Forks as part of the Red Dress Day memorial walk. People dressed in red walked along Broadway to Main Street drumming, singing and holding signs and banners. The walk ended at Oodena Circle at The Forks for more drumming, guest speakers and the opportunity to smudge. Back at the university, Harris said commun- ity events and continuing dialogue surrounding MMIWG is important to address the ongoing crisis. “When we collectively come together and ac- knowledge people such as myself, we’re making that change for our future and younger genera- tions,” she said. nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Washington on Monday ahead of a meeting with Don- ald Trump which could serve to reset the bilateral relationship that’s been upended by the president’s tariffs and claims that Canada should become a U.S. state. Carney, who is in D.C. with Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Af- fairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty, has said he expects “difficult, but construct- ive” conversations with Trump and his administration today at the White House. When asked on Monday what he ex- pects out of the meeting with Carney, Trump said: “I’m not sure what he wants to see me about, but I guess he wants to make a deal.” On March 28, following the first phone call between Trump and Carney, the president posted on Truth Social that they agreed they “will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada.” Throughout the election Carney said he was campaigning to be the person to take that meeting. Carney will be tasked with a difficult balancing act — showing the strength expected by Canadians furious by Trump’s taunts of annexation while also advocating for the removal of tariffs and further trade talks. “It’s really an opportunity for the two men to look each other in the eyes, discuss these issues and kick off the re- lationship in a constructive way,” said Brian Clow, former deputy chief of staff to prime minister Justin Trudeau. Clow worked in the Prime Minister’s Office from 2017 until March of this year. He led the file on Canada-U.S. re- lations under Trudeau and had a front- row seat during the first Trump admin- istration. Trump likes to call his style of speech “the weave.” Clow said the Trump seen in news conferences, that jumps from topic to topic, “is what we experienced in private meetings and on phone calls.” “So you do have to go into these meet- ings with a strong sense of what you are trying to accomplish and construct your argument as simply and clearly as pos- sible,” he said. “Because you just don’t have a lot of time to build out your argu- ments. You’ve got to get clear, clean facts across in a way that the president will be receptive.” Clow said Carney has to maintain a “delicate balance” and “it partly de- pends on the mood of the president and his team.” The goal for Canadian officials should be to lay the groundwork for future talks between the White House and Canadian officials to have the tariffs removed, Clow said, though he doesn’t expect an immediate drop in duties fol- lowing the meeting. Trump went ahead with economy- wide tariffs against Canada in March, only to partially walk back the duties a few days later on imports compliant with CUSMA rules. Canada was also hit by steel, aluminum and automobile tariffs. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA, was negotiat- ed during the first Trump administra- tion. The continental trade pact is up for review next year but Trump has made it clear he doesn’t intend to stick to that timeline. Former U.S. ambassador to Canada Gordon Giffin said the most important thing will be for Carney to establish “his credibility and confidence.” Giffin relayed the old saying that there’s only one opportunity to make a first impres- sion. “I think the new Prime Minister Mark Carney has an opportunity to establish himself as a peer and an equal — as a sovereign leader of our next door neigh- bour — in his first meeting with Presi- dent Trump,” said Giffin, who served under former president Bill Clinton. Trump has described Carney as a “very nice man” and members of his ad- ministration described the prime minis- ter as a serious person. While there are indications that Trump is taking a dif- ferent approach to Carney then he did with Trudeau, pressure on Carney re- mains high both at home and in the U.S. Giffin described it as the Goldilocks Syndrome: some people don’t want Car- ney to be too hot, some don’t want him to be too cold. Everybody wants him to be just right. Giffin said he would advise Carney’s team to go into the meetings with three things they can put on the table. He sug- gested Carney show how Ottawa will meet its defence spending targets, fur- ther measures to boost border security and push back on any efforts by China to dump product in Canada. Those have been included in a list of complaints Trump repeats about Can- ada but experts have said there are signs Trump still values CUSMA. When Trump took his trade war to the world with “reciprocal” tariffs in early April, Canada and Mexico weren’t in- cluded. He also made partial carveouts in his automobile tariffs for vehicles compliant under CUSMA. Trump likes to say that other coun- ties don’t have the cards, but Giffin said “Canada actually does have cards.” “No matter what President Trump says, we do need Canadian energy, we need Canadian heavy oil.” — The Canadian Press TOP NEWS A3 TUESDAY MAY 6, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM Carney arrives in Washington for meeting with Trump KELLY GERALDINE MALONE ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives in Washington Monday for ‘difficult but constructive’ talks. NICOLE BUFFIE Daughter of murder victim praises progress on Red Dress Day while also calling for continued pressure and activism ‘We finally are changing that system’ JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Cambria Harris MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine and community partners provide a one-year update on the MMIWG2S+ Healing and Empowerment Endowment Fund. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS The Red Dress Day memorial walk started at Memorial Park and finished at Oodena Circle at The Forks, where it culminated in drumming, guest speakers and smudging. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS ;