Manitoba partners with federal government on Red Dress Alert for missing Indigenous women and girls

Canada and Manitoba are partnering to launch an alert system that would inform the public when an Indigenous woman or girl goes missing, they announced Friday in Winnipeg, ahead of a national day to mark the crisis.

The long-awaited Red Dress Alert system is a bid to prevent deaths and increase safe reunions with loved ones.

Statistics Canada concluded in a report last year that the homicide rate for Indigenous women and girls was six times higher than the rate for their non-Indigenous counterparts.

A national inquiry concluded five years ago that they are 12 times more likely to go missing or murdered.

"This is a historic moment, and a major step toward ending the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse peoples," said NDP MP Leah Gazan, who has led federal advocacy on the alert.

"And while we celebrate this historic moment, it is critical to remember that we are not done until a Red Dress Alert is no longer needed."

The Manitoba pilot is to be designed with and led by Indigenous Peoples, and is expected to help inform an eventual national alert system.

It will be funded through moneyset aside in this year's federal and provincial budgets.

Nahanni Fontaine, Manitoba's minister for women and gender equity, said she has heard from community members who believe the alert system could help put Indigenous women and girls at less risk.

"We look forward to working inclusively with Indigenous partners in Manitoba to find the best path forward as we build this pilot project."

'A critical starting point'

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Winnipeg and Manitoba at large is the epicentre of the crisis, and launching the Red Dress Alert there will bring forward solutions that can be implemented across the country.

"It's not the only solution, but it's a critical starting point for us to address the immediate crisis that exists."

Gazan's efforts on the file led a House of Commons committee to study the prospect for a national alert system.

Her fellow MPs unanimously backed her motion in the House of Commons last year declaring the deaths and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls a Canada-wide emergency.

The motion also called on the federal government to fund a new alert system similar to Amber Alerts.

Other North American jurisdictions already have similar alert systems, including Washington state's Missing Indigenous Person system.

The national inquiry's 2019 final report found deliberate rights violations were at the heart of violence against Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people.

With the final report came 231 calls to justice directed toward governments, social service providers, industry and Canadians, but relatively little progress has been made to date.