The opposition critic for Women and Gender Equality is calling on the federal government to set up a “Red Dress Alert” to notify the public when an Indigenous woman, girl, or Two-Spirit person goes missing.
“We don’t have time to wait, every moment we wait, another woman goes missing or murdered,” said NDP MP Leah Gazan (Winnipeg-Centre) at a news conference Wednesday.
Gazan said response times to reports of a missing Indigenous woman, girl or Two-Spirit persons are far too slow and a Red Dress Alert similar to an Amber Alert would make a difference.
“Eighty per cent of children that are reported missing through Amber Alerts are found,” said Gazan. “We deserve that, we deserve that care. We are sacred, we’re valuable, and we deserve justice.”
Gazan said people continue to go missing or be murdered at an alarming rate four years after the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Winnipeg MMIWG2S advocate, Sandra Delaronde, said people might finally recognize the depth of the crisis once alerts start going out.
“In one week, we had 10 people, 10 Indigenous women, go missing (in Winnipeg). That’s two a day, and it’s very hard for families and for advocates to see that and to feel alone,” Delaronde said.
“Will it change the circumstances? It might, if we start looking at safety measures and prevention, maybe the number of alerts will go down. That’s our hope.”
Gazan said she’s asking the federal government to provide money to establish a Red Dress Alert program in light of the murders of four women last year by an alleged Winnipeg serial killer. She said families, survivors and grassroots activists all support the call for an alert.
The office of Marc Miller, minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, didn’t answer questions from APTN News about whether it will fund a red alert program.
“Addressing the Calls for Justice (CFJs) is not a linear process. Ending this crisis and getting to the root cause to ensure safety for generations to come requires ongoing work and commitment,” said a statement in part provided by Miller’s office.
The statement also outlined the effort made by the federal government to tackle the crisis including the creation of an Indigenous and Human Rights Ombudsperson, and money for various cultural centres across the country.
Gazan said a Red Dress Alert would be a tangible step for the federal government to take to end the ongoing genocide of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people.
She says the feds announced $724.1 million dollars for gender-based violence issues and only five per cent of that has been spent.
The office of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino didn’t reply to requests from APTN.
