OTTAWA — Canada and Manitoba are partnering to launch an alert system that would inform the public when an Indigenous woman or girl goes missing.

The federal and provincial governments made the announcement in Winnipeg today.

Statistics Canada concluded in a report last year that the homicide rate for Indigenous women and girls was six times higher than the rate for their non-Indigenous counterparts.

A national inquiry concluded five years ago that they are 12 times more likely to go missing or murdered.

The pilot project for what’s dubbed the Red Dress Alert is expected to inform an eventual national alert system.

Both governments set money aside for the program in their latest annual budgets.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2024.

The Canadian Press