Red Dress Alert program must be in place by May 2026, says report from organization leading project

CBC

2 days ago

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All levels of government must act quickly to establish a notification system within the next year that would help find missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Manitoba, the organization spearheading the project says.
A Red Dress Alert would prompt notifications to the public whenever an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing, as an Amber Alert does now for missing children.
Giganawenimaanaanig, the Manitoba committee implementing calls for justice from the national MMIWG inquiry, released an interim report on Tuesday detailing the development of the program, which started after Manitoba MP Leah Gazan put forth a motion in Parliament in 2023 to fund an alert system.
Survivors and family members, along with leadership and representatives from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, attended 29 engagement sessions held as of January throughout the province, in both rural and urban communities, the report says.
Participants in the engagement sessions stressed the "extreme urgency" of establishing an effective notification system, the report says, and Giganawenimaanaanig is now calling on all three levels of government to get the program running by May 2026 at the latest.
"Every day that the Red Dress Alert is not implemented is a day that someone could go missing," project lead Denise Cook said at a Tuesday news conference.
A public survey is currently being conducted for those who were unable to attend the engagement sessions, with over 1,000 responses received in the month of May alone, said Sandra DeLaronde, the chair of Giganawenimaanaanig.
The program will differ from existing notification systems, since it will be guided by those families and communities, DeLaronde said.
"This alert is really going to be built on their words," she said at the news conference. "When a Red Dress Alert saves a life, it's because of all the people who provided their ideas, thoughts and opinions on how this should be done in a good way."
The alert system will also need a co-operative and co-ordinated effort across jurisdictions and agencies to keep tabs on youth who've run away from foster care, as well as those experiencing gender-based violence, housing insecurity and/or human trafficking, the report says.
The next steps are to meet with those agencies, said Cook.
Participants in the engagement sessions overwhelmingly said that they are "not being listened to, not being taken seriously, not being given the resources or the time that they need from those service providers that are there — that are supposed to be there but are not there," said Cook.
"There are gaps, and we recognize that individuals and systems do not necessarily … perform in the way that they should be, but it's so significant in the Indigenous community," she said. "A lot of communities have been left to do what they can with what they have."
The alert system's success will depend on all Manitobans, said Cook.
Evacuees 'vulnerable and targeted'
The program is also making considerations for people who go missing after travelling to an urban centre from a remote or northern community, and those who may be vulnerable after leaving a hospital or other institution that's far from their home, the report says.
It's something that hits close to home, said DeLaronde, as thousands are currently evacuated from northern Manitoba communities due to wildfires.
"People told us that when they were evacuated, they were in fact vulnerable and targeted" in larger urban centres, DeLaronde said.
While planning for the alert system continues, DeLaronde said more patrols in and around hotels and evacuation sites, as well as a response line to call if someone goes missing, are ways to help keep those fleeing fires safe.
At a separate news conference, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said her organization is looking at addressing safety concerns in spaces where displaced people are staying, and is working to bring in wraparound support for those forced from their homes.
"We know that these sites are now a target for predators, for human traffickers, for drug dealers," she said.
Participants said there's no single technique or technology for an alert system to reach everyone, but they'd want it to be more than just a way to distribute missing persons reports, which can desensitize the public with frequent use, the Giganawenimaanaanig interim report says.
Clear criteria for the notification system must be widely publicized, participants said, and expectations of how police and other government agencies should respond to cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, must also be written into law to ensure accountability, it says.
A final report on the Red Dress Alert program's engagement sessions, with recommendations, is expected to be released in October.
Extreme urgency' for MMIWG alerts: report
1 hour ago
Duration 2:03
The Manitoba team working on a provincewide Red Dress Alert system will meet with police, child welfare agencies and sports groups. The Red Dress Alert would prompt notifications to the public whenever an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing, as an Amber Alert does now for missing children.