New Red Dress Alert system to be developed in Manitoba
A new pilot program which will notify the public of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people is set to be implemented in Manitoba.
It’s called the Red Dress Alert system and it‘s a partnership between Ottawa and the province.
Last year, Winnipeg Centre NDP MP Leah Gazan proposed a motion in the House of Commons declaring the deaths and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls a Canada-wide emergency. The motion called for immediate funding for a new alert system similar to an Amber Alert program, which is an emergency notification people receive via phone, television, and radio, when a child in their region has been abducted or believed to be in danger, and Silver Alerts which are used to locate vulnerable seniors.
The motion was unanimously backed.
In March, according to a release from the NDP, a study into the Red Dress Alert system began at the Status of Women Committee. It heard from family members, survivors and grassroots leaders to provide recommendations on the best ways to implement the alert.
Meantime, similar alert systems have already been implemented south of the border.
Washington State created the first-ever alert system for missing Indigenous people in the United States in 2022. Known as MIPA, it coexists with Amber Alerts and Silver Alerts.
California’s statewide Feather Alert Program also became law in 2022. It’s available to law enforcement investigating the suspicious or unexplainable disappearance of an Indigenous woman or Indigenous person. The alert provides immediate information to the public to aid in a swift recovery.
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.
With files from the Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Foreign Affairs Minister insists there are no ‘traitors’ in Liberal caucus
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly insists there are no "traitors" in the Liberal caucus, after a report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) alleged there are MPs and senators who are “semi-witting or witting participants” in foreign interference efforts.
Your father’s diet before you were born could have affected your health, a new study suggests
Your father's diet before you were born could have played a role in your health, a new study has found.
Global study ranks two Canadians cities high on list of most expensive places to buy a home
As Canadians continue to struggle with the extremely high cost of buying a home in some of the country’s major urban centres, a new global report is underscoring just how expensive some of those markets are.
'They're not human beings, they're animals': Trump blasts immigrants for taking jobs
Donald Trump blamed immigrants for stealing jobs and government resources as he courted separate groups of Black voters and hardcore conservatives in battleground Michigan on Saturday.
Rare surgery in Montreal allows 9-year-old girl to live normal life
A rare surgery at the Montreal Children's Hospital is allowing a nine-year-old girl to keep her adrenal glands and live a normal life.
Trudeau says Russia needs to be accountable for 'genocide' of taking Ukrainian kids
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Russia needs to be accountable for "an element of genocide" he says it's committing by taking thousands of Ukrainian children from their home and by trying to erase their Ukrainian identity.
BREAKING A 'brazen daylight shooting': 16-year-old boy was fatally shot in Scarborough during fight, say police
Toronto police are appealing for witnesses and information as they deploy a “significant amount of resources” into the investigation of the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy in Scarborough on Saturday afternoon.
Shooting at Michigan splash pad leaves 'nine, maybe 10 victims': authorities
Gunfire erupted at a splash pad in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills, leaving as many as 10 people wounded, authorities said.
Video shows northern Ont. storm hammer shoreline, breaking dock
The owner of a northern Ont. camp is continuing to clean up after an intense storm that prompted a tornado warning Thursday ripped through the area breaking his dock and downing trees.