Sask. government to cover large portion of Mackenzie Lee Trottier landfill search cost

Saskatchewan Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Paul Merriman said the province will pay $1 million of the $1.5 million spent finding Mackenzie Trottier's remains at Saskatoon's landfill.

"We wanted to step up right away. We wanted to make sure that the police service wasn't in distress from this financial obligation," Merriman said.

"We knew how important it was to the Saskatoon community and we thought as a provincial government that we should step in and do the right thing. And that's that's what we've done."

Trottier went missing in December 2020.Saskatoon police found her remains last week after a 93-day through the city's landfill.

Saskatoon Police Service ChiefCameron McBride said the estimated final cost is about $1.54 million. He said the original estimate was $300,000, but the search ended up needing moretime and resources than expected.

He said the most significant increase was due to human resources and equipment. The department had to rent equipment and hire operators. The search involved dozens of officers sifting through more than 5,000 tonnes of garbage

"One of the second very significant expenses was the excavation of the site. We had to remove a significant amount of material that is referred to as overburden,or extra material, in order to get to the depth that we knew we needed to be at."

Police are also asking for money from Ottawa for the search.