The federal government has begun consultations on a public notification system for missing Indigenous women and girls.
The motion to create the system, coined the Red Dress Alert, was put forward by Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan, and was passed in the spring.
“We had unanimous consent across all party lines,” Gazan told CTV News Winnipeg.
“This tells me that every Member of Parliament in the House recognizes that this is an emergency, and there’s an urgent need to implement a Red Dress Alert.”
Gazan says the consultations are still preliminary, but include discussions with frontline workers, community organizations, and families.
She imagines the Red Dress Alert system operating like an Amber Alert, and would send a phone notification when an Indigenous woman disappears.
Gazan is also calling on the public to contact their MPs, MLAs and city councillors about the system.
“Let them know that this is a key issue and that they expect a Red Dress Alert system to be implemented as quickly as possible.”
