Dignitaries, public sign book of condolences for Cathy Merrick at Manitoba Legislature

September 10, 2024 Canuck

A book of condolences is available for people to pay their respects to the late Grand Chief Cathy Merrick of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

Merrick, 63, died suddenly on Friday. She was speaking to reporters outside Winnipeg’s law courts that afternoon when she collapsed and was rushed to hospital.

The book, on a table next to photographs of Merrick, sits at the foot of the grand staircase in the Manitoba Legislative Building.

A number of dignitaries signed it Tuesday morning, before the public was invited to do so starting at noon. The doors will be open to the public throughout the week from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

A woman wears a First Nations headdress and sits at a table with microphones. — Merrick, seen in a file photo from 2023, died suddenly on Friday. She was 63. (CBC)

Merrick’s body will arrive at the legislative building at 10 a.m. Wednesday, where it will lie in state for public viewing in the ceremonial room on the second floor from noon to 5 p.m. Photography will be prohibited.

“I was very sad to hear of her passing. I thought she was a woman of integrity and honour, and it’s a sad loss. It was an honour to meet her,” said Audrey Khan, who was among the first members of the public to sign the book of condolences on Tuesday.

She met Merrick at the Brady landfill in Winnipeg during one of the gatherings to urge the city and province to search for remains of Indigenous women. A search of the Prairie Green landfill, north of the city, is set to start next month.

“I think lying in state here is a great honour for her and well deserved,” Khan said.

Following the viewing at the legislative building, Merrick’s body will be taken for a wake service from 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the RBC Convention Centre.

It will then be returned to her home community of Pimicikamak Cree Nation (also known as Cross Lake) for a wake service at the arena on Thursday and Friday.

A last viewing will take place on Saturday, ahead of the funeral service interment at the Cross Lake Cemetery.

A bald man in a suit sits at a table and signs the page of a book — Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham signs the book of condolences on Tuesday. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)

Merrick will be the first woman to lie in state in the legislative building and the first person to be given the honour since 2013.

Five others have preceded her, a provincial spokesperson told CBC:

There is no established provincial guideline to decide who receives a provincial lying-in-state — it is at the discretion of the premier of the day, the provincial spokesperson said in an email to CBC News.

Mike Monias, who also signed the book of condolences on Tuesday, said he admired Merrick “for her advocacy for women and for those who did not have a voice.”

He called her a genuine, kind, caring woman who fought for change and the betterment of Indigenous people. As such, he thought it was slightly ironic that she will be lying in state at the legislature.

“This is the very place where things have to change. Hopefully her presence here will influence that change,” he said.

“We can only hope and pray to the Creator that someone like her comes and replaces her, because it’s people like that we need to make progress in this province for justice.”

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