(Ottawa) A Manitoba MP is calling for an AMBER-style alert system to be implemented to quickly notify the public when Indigenous women go missing – an initiative she hopes will make searches easier and reduce deaths. death.
NDP MP Leah Gazan, who represents the Winnipeg Center riding, says this is a crucial initiative that will save lives. She defended her idea last month before a Commons committee which began studying her proposal for a “Red Dress Alert” in Canada.
Members of the Commons already unanimously supported last year his motion declaring the deaths and disappearances of indigenous women and girls a Canada-wide emergency. The motion also called for funding for a new alert system similar to those that exist for missing children and seniors.
MPs on the Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women are now talking with experts and stakeholders about how to implement such a system across the country.
A 2019 report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls found that deliberate rights violations were at the heart of violence against women, girls and gender-diverse Indigenous people.
The final report resulted in 231 “calls for justice” addressed to governments, social service providers, industry and Canadians. But relatively little progress has been made so far, particularly on the federal side.
Between 2009 and 2021, the homicide rate among Indigenous women and girls was six times higher than among their non-Indigenous counterparts, Statistics Canada concluded in a report released last year. This report also finds that homicides involving Indigenous women and girls are less likely to result in the most serious murder charges.
Sheila North, former grand chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak and ex-journalist, said she often witnessed police inaction when reporting on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
“There has always been a rejection, even a lack of respect and indifference, towards families and friends” when a disappearance was reported, said Mme North in interview. “Often the policeman would say, ‘Let’s wait a minute, she’s probably drunk, probably partying.’
“Or ‘They have the right to leave, they can go on vacation’ – knowing very well that many of these families cannot even afford to go on vacation. »
Indigenous leadership
The Gaza MP’s “red dress alert” proposal is currently being studied by the Status of Women Committee, which has already heard testimony from a number of experts calling for the program to be led by Indigenous people.
Such a model, they say, would alleviate the problem of police inaction, as well as red tape, to better ensure that the public is informed of a disappearance quickly and efficiently.
Jennifer Jesty, who is the resilience lead for the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Union, spoke to MPs about her own efforts to establish an emergency alert system in her communities and her attempts to minimize police interference.
Mme Jesty told the committee that since September 2020, she has sent 183 alerts and reunited 67 people with their families – 96% of whom were reunited within an hour of the alert being raised.
Community members then shared the alert online through their own social networks, further expanding its reach and helping to prevent further recruitment efforts in neighboring areas, she testified.
“As this system was designed by us, for us, we were able to create our own protocols indicating when, how and why an alert should or should not be sent,” explained M.me Jesty. No alert request was refused, and each alert was sent within minutes of receiving the information. »
M’s alert systemme Jesty, powered by Everbridge software, allows you to send messages via text, call and email. The system can even alert people via landline, an especially important mode for older citizens or those with unreliable cell service in remote communities.
Even if Mme Jesty said her alert system cuts down on red tape, she always makes sure relatives contact police to ensure a case is opened.
Getting police buy-in took time, she admitted, “and what I heard wasn’t always the most pleasant.” But once police saw the value of using the alerts to help with their own investigations, they began calling Mme Jesty.
“In my ideal world, I would love to expand this alert system to every Indigenous community across the country,” said Ms.me Jesty to MPs, who wondered how a similar alert system could be implemented across Canada.
“Would this save lives? I think it’s already done. »
Other jurisdictions in North America already have similar alert systems, including Washington State’s Missing Indigenous Persons system, which coexists with AMBER alerts for children and SILVER alerts for seniors.
While experts say the alerts are necessary to keep Indigenous women and girls safe, Sheila North dreams of a time when they will no longer be necessary.
But substantive changes must happen first, she said, including removing barriers that Indigenous women and girls face in employment, social services and law enforcement. Indigenous women, girls, transgender and two-spirit people could then better protect themselves and their livelihoods.
“So that predators have less power over us,” she said.
In the meantime, however, Mme North believes that “red dress alerts” would be able to educate people about the scale of the problem, showing the faces behind the statistics in a way that is hard to avoid.
“I hope it reminds us that this problem still exists,” she said. It’s a stark reminder of the reality of what’s happening to Canada’s first peoples. »