As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

The first 16 recommendations must be implemented in full compliance with all relevant rights instruments, as affirmed in Calls for Justice 1.2, which uphold the right of self-determination and self-governance of Indigenous Peoples, in collaboration and consultation with provinces and territories, and under the direction and leadership of Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people.

Recommendation 1

That the Government of Canada support the success and effectiveness of a Red Dress Alert in Canada by accelerating work in collaboration and consultation with provinces, territories and Indigenous Peoples.

Recommendation 2

That the Government of Canada implement all the Calls for Justice contained in Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, in particular the Calls for Justice that would support the implementation of a Red Dress Alert, including but not limited to: 3.3 and 3.5 (related to health and wellness services); 5.5 and 5.7 (related to justice, police and emergency services, including broadband access); and 7.1 (related to Indigenous-led health and wellness service provision).

Recommendation 3

That the Government of Canada continue to invest in the ongoing co-development of a Red Dress Alert, through inclusive consultations with First Nations, Inuit and Métis led by Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people living on and off reserve, in urban, rural and remote communities; and that these consultations examine key considerations for an effective Red Dress Alert, including but not limited to: alert oversight and management; criteria for issuing alerts; the role of police in the alert system; language of alerts; protection of privacy; and the provision of wraparound, culturally appropriate, trauma-informed, community-based supports and services.

Recommendation 4

That the Government of Canada respect the calls from Indigenous governments, communities, organizations, families, survivors and other individuals, that the management, oversight and issuance of Red Dress Alerts be led by Indigenous women, girls, Two Spirit and gender diverse people, thereby ensuring respect for cultural heritage and community sensitivities, and be established, in collaboration and consultation with Indigenous Peoples who will guide how the police can support the alert system.

Recommendation 5

That the Government of Canada support and fund the creation of a central system led by Indigenous women, girls, Two Spirit and gender diverse people, to coordinate with police, emergency services, women’s shelters and translation services to report missing women, analyze data from applications, provide standardized search training and provide support to the community to immediately begin the search.

Recommendation 6

That the Government of Canada ensure oversight of a Red Dress Alert system is facilitated by family members, advocates, and existing organizations who are already providing services to Indigenous families and women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse individuals.

Recommendation 7

That the Government of Canada, in its implementation of an Red Dress Alert system to notify and ask the public for assistance in finding missing Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people, ensure that efforts are coordinated across emergency services, police services, victim services, and anti-violence services.

Recommendation 8

That the Government of Canada ensure that the procurement process related to the Red Dress Alert system is open, transparent and competitive.

Recommendation 9

That the Government of Canada, at the next Federal-Provincial-Territorial Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety, identify ways to improve police forces’ understanding of the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people, and pursuant to Calls for Justice 9.1 to 9.11, develop best practices for responding to Red Dress Alerts and implement concrete measures to improve the relationship between police and Indigenous Peoples across Canada, for example by co-developing with Indigenous Peoples and implementing:

• cultural sensitivity and unconscious-bias training, including education on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people, for police forces and Crown prosecutors, with the goal of enhancing understanding the role of police and the justice system in colonization, as well as the ways in which inter-generational trauma continues to affect Indigenous Peoples, individuals and communities, including the adverse effects on Indigenous Peoples’ relationships with police and the justice system today;

• Indigenous-led programs and culturally safe supports, to help Indigenous survivors and families navigate the justice system when reporting experiences of violence and/or missing persons, and to improve reporting and data collection for these crimes;

• supports for police forces across Canada to establish positions, such as an Indigenous liaison officer or a community response officer who would be responsible for regularly engaging and working with Indigenous communities and people to improve relationships and trust between police forces and the Indigenous communities and people in each police forces’ jurisdiction;

• measures within the ongoing process of co-development of First Nations Police Services legislation, to ensure that First Nations police forces are recognized as essential services, and as such, are allocated sufficient funding to respond to the needs in their jurisdictions and communities; and

• measures to address anti-Indigenous racism in the delivery of policing services across Canada and to prevent violence against, including the killing of, Indigenous people during mental health and wellness checks, as well as to ensure that police respond appropriately and promptly to reports of missing Indigenous loved ones.

Recommendation 10

That the Government of Canada support the implementation of a tiered and decentralized system for the Red Dress Alert to ensure that this alert is scalable from local to provincial and territorial and national levels, as needed, and that this alert system takes into consideration the importance of privacy for individuals who may not wish to be found for safety reasons.

Recommendation 11

That the Government of Canada ensure that the Red Dress Alert is effective and accessible in urban, rural, remote and Northern regions, by allocating additional resources to accelerate the development of necessary infrastructure to expand the reach of cellular networks, to support equitable access to communication technologies, including wireless Internet and cellular connectivity, in communities across Canada, and that the Minister of Rural Economic Development and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry table regular progress reports in this area.

Recommendation 12

That the Government of Canada provide long term and sustainable funding for equitable access to wraparound, culturally appropriate, trauma-informed, and community-based services for survivors, individuals, families and communities affected by the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people.

Recommendation 13

That the Government of Canada develop and implement an awareness campaign on the Red Dress Alert system, which would deepen Canadian society’s understanding of the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people, intergenerational trauma, and the ongoing effects of colonization on Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Recommendation 14

That the Government of Canada provide services to all Indigenous Peoples to support the development of a national missing Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people database that can be shared throughout Canada.

Recommendation 15

That the Government of Canada support the creation of a downloadable application created and run by Indigenous Peoples which could be used to search for missing loved ones anywhere in Canada, report sightings and relay information about a missing person.

Recommendation 16

That the Government of Canada continue to fund alert systems that are currently in place such as the Unama’ki alert system while a national program is being developed.

Recommendation 17

That the Government of Canada provide support consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other international conventions related to the human rights of Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people.