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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Conference Board fiscal outlook report ‘pretty optimistic for Manitoba'
In the short-term, Manitoba will face economic strain and a historically high deficit, a new Conference Board of Canada report projects. However, Manitoba's situation is more favourable than other provinces — and long-term, the deficit will shrink, per the forecast. 'We are pretty optimistic for Manitoba,' said Richard Forbes, a Conference Board of Canada principal economist. The non-profit released its annual provincial fiscal outlook this morning. A sluggish economy will be a drag on provincial government revenues across Canada, the paper reads. Manitoba's net debt-to-GDP ratio may reach 33 per cent this year. It's high for the province but will be middling compared to other jurisdictions, the Conference Board predicted. 'A lot of the debt is still lingering from a few years ago,' Forbes said, citing spending during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'It could start to improve longer term as the province gets closer to a balanced budget.' He doesn't expect a balanced budget in the next five years, but maybe within a decade. The Conference Board projects Manitoba's deficit to shrink to $540 million in 2029-30 from $1.2 billion in 2024. Government revenues could rise by 6.3 per cent this year, partly because of the end of the NDP's gas tax holiday in January, the Conference Board said. It believes revenue growth will moderate next year through 2030, with average annual gains of 2.9 per cent. Manitoba has a young population, which is good for both the labour force and less stress on the health-care system, Forbes said. He highlighted construction at the CentrePort Canada Rail Park. The 665-acre development lands inside the trimodal inland port, which connects businesses with highways, rail lines and air travel. 'Strong investments' in the Winnipeg-area park could boost corporate taxes and job creation, leading to consumer spending and income tax revenue, Forbes said. The forecast doesn't account for a prolonged trade war with the United States. It assumes tariff action will peak during 2025's second quarter, with uncertainty subsiding later in the year. Manitoba has tabbed up to $485 million in tariff relief for affected businesses and families, should the United States implement sweeping 25 per cent levies on imports. Such spending would push the deficit deeper, Forbes noted. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
17-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Complex emotions for victims' families as landfill search in Winnipeg officially ends
The search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of First Nations women slain by a convicted serial killer has officially ended, leaving the victims' families feeling a mix of loss and hope. Relatives of Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26, confirmed searchers finished working at the Prairie Green Landfill, located just north of the city in the Rural Municipality of Rosser, on July 9. The search effort began Dec. 2 and turned up partial remains of both victims within a few months. Jeremy Skibicki killed the women, and two others, between March and May 2022. NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS FILES Donna Bartlett, grandmother of Marcedes Myran 'I don't know if we will have complete closure, but we will have some type of closure,' Donna Bartlett, Myran's grandmother, said in a phone interview. 'I haven't decided exactly what to think about it. It's hard.' Bartlett said searchers were able to recover about 85 per cent of Harris' remains, but only 15 per cent of her granddaughter's remains. She tried to convince officials to expand the search beyond a specific cell within the landfill, which officials determined was the most likely place to find remains, she said. Bartlett said her daughter, Myran's mother, is struggling with the result. 'I know my daughter is not happy, but she is trying to accept the fact they found some of her, not all of her,' Bartlett said. 'Am I satisfied? I don't know. I'm happy I've got some of her, but I still would have liked more.' Melissa Robinson, a cousin of Morgan Harris, said those involved in the search are now turning their attention to Winnipeg's Brady Road Landfill. Victims of admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki (left to right): Morgan Beatrice Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois. The remains of Skibicki victim Ashlee Shingoose, 30, are believed to be buried there. Partial remains of Contois were found in a garbage bin near Skibicki's North Kildonan apartment in May 2022. A subsequent search of the Brady landfill recovered further remains. Skibicki was arrested on May 17, 2022 and confessed that he killed four women and disposed of them in garbage bins in Winnipeg. 'We finished what we set out to do and there is really nothing more to say about that… We're happy with the findings, we're happy with the end result,' Robinson said by phone Thursday. Premier Wab Kinew pledged to search the Brady landfill after Shingoose was formally named as a victim. She was previously known only as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe (Buffalo Woman). Shingoose's identity, which wasn't known for years, was confirmed in March, after Winnipeg Police Service investigators interviewed Skibicki in prison and he provided information that led to further DNA testing of pants seized from his apartment. Albert Shingoose, her father, declined to comment Thursday. In a news release Thursday afternoon, the province confirmed the search had ended. Relevant specialized equipment and personnel will soon transition to the Brady Road landfill to look for Shingoose, it said. FACEBOOK The remains of Ashlee Shingoose are believed to in Brady Road landfill 'The Manitoba government remains committed to supporting the families and will ensure the search at the Brady Road Landfill is conducted with care, dignity and respect,' the statement said. 'We thank the people of Manitoba. Together, we have brought Morgan and Marcedes home.' Specific details of the Brady search, including a timeline and estimated cost, have not been released. The provincial and federal governments each put up $20 million for the search of the Prairie Green site. The money was used, in part, to build a large steel Quonset which functioned as the primary search facility on site. Excavated material was transferred into the building and spread out on the floor, where searchers sifted through the waste with gloved hands and rakes. Electrical infrastructure and an access road were also constructed at Prairie Green to assist in the search. 'Everyone was there for us, supported us, ensured that this was going to get done, and we got it done,' Robinson said. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES The search at Prairie Green began Dec. 2 and turned up partial remains of both victims within a few months. Kinew visited the Prairie Green site this week, where the victims' families, supporters and people involved in the search gathered to mark its closure, the province said. 'They did a smudge, a pipe ceremony and I asked someone to say a prayer for me,' said Bartlett. Cambria Harris, Morgan Harris' daughter, acknowledged the end of the search in a statement on social media. She did not respond to a request for comment. 'I have been struggling to gather the words on how immense this feeling is for me,' the statement said. She thanked the workers, family members, officials and Indigenous leaders who participated in the search, and others who advocated for it to take place. Nearly 200 people applied to be part of the recovery. There were 45 search team members, the Free Press reported previously. 'It takes an incredibly courageous but also empathetic person to be able to commit for something more than a search: a need for justice, closure, ending to the families' grief within a landfill, holding up the right to a human burial, human rights and more,' Cambria Harris said in her statement. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Cambria Harris (left) and Melissa Robinson The question of whether to search the landfill became a political issue during the 2023 provincial election after the Winnipeg Police Service said it was not feasible and the former Progressive Conservative government campaigned on its opposition to the search. The remains of Tanya Nepinak, who investigators believe was slain by a different serial killer, could also be at the Brady site. Police searched a small portion of the landfill for Nepinak in 2012 but were unsuccessful and halted operations after a week. Indigenous leaders, including the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, have called for searches for Nepinak's remains to continue. Tyler SearleReporter Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler. Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Toronto Sun
17-07-2025
- Toronto Sun
Search of Manitoba landfill for more remains of slain women concludes
Published Jul 17, 2025 • 1 minute read A sign at the Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg. Photo by file photo / Postmedia Network WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government says a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer has finished. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The province began searching the Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg, in December for the remains of First Nations women Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, who were killed in 2022. Some of their remains were first found at the site in February. The province said at the time it would continue searching the area to recover as much of their remains as possible. The government says the search ended last week and private ceremonies with the victims' families, members of the search team and Premier Wab Kinew were held Monday and Tuesday. It says a search would soon begin at another landfill for the remains of a third victim. 'Relevant specialized equipment and personnel will soon transition to the Brady Road landfill to continue the search for Ashlee Shingoose (Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe or Buffalo Woman),' the province said in a statement Thursday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It's believed the remains of Harris and Myran ended up at the privately run Prairie Green Landfill after they were killed by Jeremy Skibicki. He was convicted last year of first-degree murder in the killings of four women: Harris, Myran, Shingoose and Rebecca Contois. A trial heard Skibicki targeted the women at Winnipeg homeless shelters and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins in his neighbourhood. The remains of Contois were found in a garbage bin and at a different landfill. Earlier this year, police identified Shingoose, who had not been named during the trial. She was referred to as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, a name gifted to her by Indigenous grassroots community members. Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA Tennis MMA Editorials
Global News
17-07-2025
- Global News
Manitoba landfill search for more remains of slain women concludes
The Manitoba government says a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer has finished. The province began searching the Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg, in December for the remains of First Nations women Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, who were killed in 2022. Some of their remains were first found at the site in February. The province said at the time it would continue searching the area to recover as much of their remains as possible. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The government says the search ended last week and private ceremonies with the victims' families, members of the search team and Premier Wab Kinew were held Monday and Tuesday. It says a search would soon begin at another landfill for the remains of a third victim. Story continues below advertisement 'Relevant specialized equipment and personnel will soon transition to the Brady Road landfill to continue the search for Ashlee Shingoose (Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe or Buffalo Woman),' the province said in a statement Thursday. It's believed the remains of Harris and Myran ended up at the privately run Prairie Green Landfill after they were killed by Jeremy Skibicki. He was convicted last year of first-degree murder in the killings of four women: Harris, Myran, Shingoose and Rebecca Contois. A trial heard Skibicki targeted the women at Winnipeg homeless shelters and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins in his neighbourhood. The remains of Contois were found in a garbage bin and at a different landfill. Earlier this year, police identified Shingoose, who had not been named during the trial. She was referred to as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, a name gifted to her by Indigenous grassroots community members.
Toronto Star
17-07-2025
- Toronto Star
CP NewsAlert: Search of Manitoba landfill for more remains of slain women concludes
WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government says a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations women killed in 2022 has finished. The province began searching the Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg, in December for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran.
