'Multiple staff members recognized the post as racist and brought it forward to leadership'
The Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority (IERHA) in Manitoba fired one employee over a “racist” social media post about the landfill search for two murdered Indigenous women.
In the post – referring to the search at Prairie Green Landfill – the Facebook user noted that Premier Wab Kinew should put the money being used in the search toward health care instead, according to a CTV News report.
HRD Canada has not seen the said social media post.
“Multiple staff members recognized the post as racist and brought it forward to leadership,” IERHA said on Facebook.
Two in five Indigenous employees in Canada report having experienced discrimination at work, according to previous data from the Diversity Institute.
The IERHA said it confirmed that the post was from one of its workers, whom they have told to remove the post.
“Posts of this nature are deeply hurtful. We remain committed to reconciliation, anti-racism and to mitigating further harms through swift and decisive action.”
In December, search teams in Manitoba started excavating an area at Prairie Green Landfill in search for the remains of Marcedes Myran, 26, and Morgan Harris, 39, reported CBC.
Both were killed in 2022 by Jeremy Skibicki and left in a dumpster near his apartment in Winnipeg. In August 2024, Skibicki was given four life sentences for the murders of four Indigenous women in Winnipeg that year overall, reported BBC.
The Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU) said that they are also against all forms of racism.
"Like all unions, MGEU has a legal obligation under the Labour Relations Act to provide representation to all members. MGEU cannot comment on any individual’s employment circumstances," said Kehler.
Responding to the social media post, Nahanni Fontaine, minister of families, said: “Even in death, Indigenous women's humanity and worth are questioned, dismissed or erased. The violence we face isn't just physical. It's systemic and it's in the narratives devaluing us at every turn," according to CTV News.
"I genuinely feel sorry for this individual to be so divorced from themselves and from the collective of who we are as Manitobans."
Previously, the government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) announced that the new Indigenous Employment Policy (IEP) will replace the long-standing Affirmative Action Policy on March 31, 2025, marking a pivotal step in the territory's reconciliation efforts.
Set to take effect on April 1, 2025, the IEP prioritizes the recruitment, retention, and career development of Indigenous individuals, aligning with subsection 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982, says the government.
