In May 2023, the House of Commons declared that the continued loss of Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people is a Canada-wide emergency and called on the government to provide an “immediate and substantial investment, including in a Red Dress Alert System, to help alert the public when an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing.” Shortly thereafter, the process to develop and implement a Red Dress Alert for missing Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people was launched.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women (the Committee) decided to conduct a study on the most effective and efficient manner to operate, administer, and control a Red Dress Alert system in Canada, to contribute to this important work. The Committee received testimony and written submissions from families and survivors, community-level and national organizations, as well as representatives from the federal government. In its report, the Committee describes existing federal initiatives, including ongoing consultations and work on implementing a Red Dress Alert, related to addressing the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls (MMIWG) and Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and/or gender diverse or non-binary (2SLGBTQQIA+) people. In addition, some existing public alerting systems in Canada are described.

The report provides an overview of the key considerations identified for implementing a Red Dress Alert that meet the needs of Indigenous individuals, families and communities across Canada, including for those on and off-reserve and in urban and rural or remote settings. These considerations include: inclusivity in the development process; ensuring ongoing consultation and co-development with Indigenous partners; jurisdictional challenges; oversight and alert management, including the role of police in a Red Dress Alert; access to broadband and connectivity; privacy and safety for women fleeing violence; languages of Red Dress Alerts; and the provision of wraparound, culturally sensitive and trauma-informed support services.

The Committee provides 17 recommendations to the federal government, with the goal of ensuring that the implementation of a Red Dress Alert is effective, Indigenous-led, and meets the needs of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, their families and their communities across Canada.