Study for Red Dress Alert starting at committee in Ottawa

Work is moving forward on the Red Dress Alert — an Amber Alert-like system for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

On Tuesday morning, the House of Commons’ status of women committee started a study looking into the proposal.

Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre Leah Gazan said the study will integrate themes from coast-to-coast community consultations that have been ongoing since December 2023.

“There was a very common sentiment that was expressed by some of the expert witnesses that the oversight of a Red Dress Alert needs to be done by the community, by organizations that have led the charge around addressing the crisis of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls,” Gazan said.

“Although there was an indication that police need to have some sort of involvement, there is a growing call to have the community make decisions when a red dress should be issued.”

A New Democratic Party of Canada press release said funding was secured for consultations in the 2023 federal budget, after Gazan first urged Ottawa to implement the program.

Every province and territory has been consulted so far, Gazan said, but noted there are still efforts being made to meet with representatives in Nunavut.

During a press conference, the MP said communities on the East Coast and several organizations have already put together their own form of Red Dress Alert. Those have been consulted for best practices and lessons learned, she said.

There has also been an opportunity to look at some of the technology around implementing a Red Dress Alert, she said.

The study will take place over the course of five status of women committee meetings, Gazan said, but there is no date for the program to be implemented.

“It’s important that it’s done