The Manitoba government is considering adding global positioning system technology to garbage trucks in the wake of a serial killer discarding his victims in bins.
A request for proposals seeks a qualified service provider with comprehensive knowledge of the waste management industry and technology solutions to review the feasibility study’s recommendations, a Wednesday news release said. The recommendations include equipping garbage trucks with GPS to track their locations and rear-facing cameras to allow operators to see what is being unloaded, and installing security video at the entrances and exits of landfills.
Jeremy Skibicki was sentenced to life in prison last week after previously being convicted of first-degree murder for the killings of Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris and an unidentified woman who has since been given the name Mashkode-Bizhiki-ikwe (or Buffalo Woman).
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS FILES
A GFL Environmental truck drives at the Brady Road landfill in May.
Skibicki targeted the Indigenous women after meeting them in early 2022. Remains of Contois, Skibicki’s final victim, were found in a garbage bin and later at the Brady Road landfill. Police later learned Harris and Myran’s remains were likely at Prairie Green Landfill north of Winnipeg, and an excavation and manual search is expected to begin there this fall. Police do not have a definite suspected location of Buffalo Woman’s remains.
The review will include working in collaboration with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, the province said.
“Manitobans were devastated by the most disturbing crimes that have ever been committed in our province,” Premier Wab Kinew said in the release.
“In addition to the search preparations underway at the Prairie Green Landfill, our government is committed to taking further action by exploring GPS monitoring to help police investigate crimes, while ensuring Indigenous lives are given the value and dignity they deserve.”
The process is anticipated to be completed by summer 2025, Kinew said.
Cambria Harris and Jorden Myran, relatives of two of the slain women, said their families “are both incredibly grateful to know that our calls have been heard, as we have pushed for this work, endlessly.”
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