David A. Robertson is a Swampy Cree author and graphic novelist based in Winnipeg.
If you were surprised that Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson announced that a search of the Prairie Green landfill for the bodies of at least two Indigenous women would not be conducted, you haven’t been paying attention. The Progressive Conservative government, including under former premier Brian Pallister, has a less-than-stellar track record on Indigenous relations.
It was a little over a year ago that Wab Kinew, the leader of the Opposition NDP, questioned Ms. Stefanson directly over the death of Krystal Mousseau, a 31-year-old Anishinaabe woman from Ebb and Flow First Nation who died during a medical transfer. Ms. Stefanson completely ignored Mr. Kinew’s question, opting instead to laud her son for winning the provincial high-school hockey championship with the St. Paul’s Crusaders, a private Catholic school. When called out for this blatant dismissal of a young Indigenous woman’s life, Ms. Stefanson defended herself before growing visibly angry and agitated, effectively throwing a parliamentary hissy fit.
Earlier this month, Ms. Stefanson stated that a landfill search wasn’t possible due to health risks for workers. However, Kris Dueck, the co-chair of a committee that studied the issue, said risks could be mitigated and the search could be conducted safely: “Any arguments that would oppose those findings, in our opinion, aren’t necessarily based in fact.”
What is Ms. Stefanson’s reasoning based on, if not fact? I’ve learned there’s a lot of truth in fiction, and would suggest there’s truth in Ms. Stefanson’s. While the landfill issue in Winnipeg is new, the lack of justice and consideration when it comes to Indigenous lives is not. It’s a problem we are far from solving, and poor governmental response leads to deeper issues – the empowerment of racist ideology and behaviour.
One case in point: In early July, at a blockade of a landfill in Winnipeg calling for a search for the bodies, a white man shovelled a truckload of dirt onto a mural painted in honour of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
“Take care of your own people!” the man said.
When a protester replied that they were, the man asked: “Then why are they dead?”
That man is responsible for his actions, but Ms. Stefanson enabled the incident. Responsibility is accepting that you are the cause and the solution of the matter. If you’re fed a lie, eventually fiction becomes fact, and we act on what we believe is true (i.e. violence against Indigenous women is caused by Indigenous men; actually, U.S. research clearly shows the vast majority of perpetrators are white men, even on reserve, so who’s not taking care of whom, exactly?).
In October, 2019, federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh promised to end boil-water advisories in First Nations communities. At the time, a reporter challenged Mr. Singh: “Are you just writing a blank cheque for all problems for all Indigenous communities across the country?” Mr. Singh asked if the reporter would ask the same question if Toronto did not have clean drinking water.
There are standards that we don’t want to talk about, where the amount we are willing to spend on a person reflects the value we place on them. If Toronto didn’t have clean drinking water, the problem wouldn’t last, no matter the price tag.
I’ve heard Mr. Singh’s rebuttal echoed in Winnipeg, where people are asking: if that was your kid, would we even be talking about the estimated $184-million cost to search the landfill? Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen stated that if it were his son, he would advocate for him, but the government has to consider all families. Mr. Goertzen’s statement is as insulting as it is ignorant. His son, as a white male, is unlikely to be in the same situation as an Indigenous woman or girl. I have three Cree/Métis daughters. The issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls is something I think about daily.
If the women believed to be in the landfill were members of prominent white families, I have no doubt that the search would have already begun. If we are in the business of reconciliation, we can’t value one life over another, and we certainly can’t hide behind safety concerns when facts say otherwise.
Ms. Stefanson will change her decision with applied pressure. Get on the phone, send an e-mail, show up to a blockade or at the legislature and don’t stop until the right decision is made. This is a Canadian concern, not an Indigenous one. If you are Canadian, you have a responsibility to play a role.
This is not a guilt trip; I am not saying that you are the cause. But I believe you can be part of the solution.