NDP MP urges feds to create 'Red Dress Alert' for missing Indigenous women
Ottawa should establish a system that would send the public a phone notification when an Indigenous woman goes missing to ensure that their disappearances stop being "normalized," says an NDP member of Parliament.
Leah Gazan penned a letter to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino on Friday urging the government to fund what she and other advocates call a "Red Dress Alert" program. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gazan says that while details of the program would have to be negotiated, she imagines it would operate similarly to the Amber Alert, which is an emergency notification people receive on their phones when a child in their region has been abducted or is believed to be in danger.
"We shouldn't have to beg for our safety," Gazan said in an interview Wednesday. "In Canada, we are still begging for safety and to live in dignity as Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people."
Research from across the country, including the 2019 final report from the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, shows that Indigenous people, and women in particular, disappear at a higher rate than people who are not Indigenous.
Gazan said that for years, advocates and the families of missing and murdered women and girls have said there needs to be a faster response by police and other authorities in their cases.
And because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has recognized the crisis in missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls as a genocide, he must act urgently to better protect them, Gazan said.
It's "almost as if our disappearances (have) become so normalized that nobody looks for us," she added.Setting up a specialized alert system, she said, "acknowledges the urgency."
The Winnipeg MP said that if the public is better informed when Indigenous women and girls disappear, it will increase the likelihood that they are found.
"We know that the sooner cases start, the sooner searches start when somebody goes missing, the more likely they are to be found," she said, pointing to the success of emergency notification programs for children.
Calls to set up a "Red Dress Alert" in Canada are not new, and some advocates have established grassroots-led efforts on their own, such as the Aboriginal Alert website, which publishes timely information and photos of Indigenous people who are missing.
Last year, Washington state established the "Missing Indigenous Person Alert System," adding it to an existing alert system in place to broadcast the disappearances of children and seniors.
While its state patrol says that not every Indigenous person who is missing will qualify for the program, those that do are individuals who go missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances and appear to be vulnerable due to reasons such as age and health.
In her letter sent last week, Gazan pointed to the disappearances and deaths of at least four First Nations women who Winnipeg police believe were murdered by the same man.
Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and an unidentified woman whom local Indigenous leaders have been referring to as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates: 'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Milton brings high winds, destructive waves
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
Emotions boiled over after a judge acquitted two out of three defendants in a manslaughter case, while the third accused has since died.
Baby Boomers are living longer than previous generations but have worse health, study finds
Baby Boomers may be expected to live longer than their predecessors, but a recent study has found that they are more likely to suffer from worse health than previous generations.
Is it safe to buy from Temu and Shein? Here's what Canada says it's doing to try to protect consumers
As U.S. regulators push for an investigation into what they call 'deadly baby and toddler products' from foreign e-commerce sites, health officials in Canada say they haven't determined whether any laws or regulations have been broken.
A Toronto senior says she can鈥檛 believe that two roofers took advantage of her, despite knowing she was recently widowed and suffering from a painful disability.
Is Disney World still open as Hurricane Milton strengthens to a Category 5?
Despite Hurricane Milton evolving into a Category 5 storm, Walt Disney World Resort remains open to the public and will operate as normal. However, the park announced a few closures in an abundance of caution.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.
Elevator mechanic mistakes artwork for trash, throws it out
An elevator mechanic mistakenly threw out a piece of artwork, made to look like empty beer cans, assuming it was litter, a Dutch museum revealed earlier this month.
Kathy Bates shocked she forgot this moment in her 1991 Oscars speech
For years, Kathy Bates has believed she missed thanking someone pivotal during her acceptance speech after she won the Oscar for best actress in 1991 for her performance in 'Misery.'
Local Spotlight
A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.
Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.
Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.
A gargantuan gourd 鈥 affectionately named 鈥極rangina鈥 by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home 鈥 earned the massive honour of being named B.C.鈥檚 heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.