The head of the Native Women害羞草研究所檚 Association of Canada says it害羞草研究所檚 clear there害羞草研究所檚 an ongoing emergency nearly four years after the final report into missing and murdered Indigenous woman and girls was released.

害羞草研究所淲e are in a crisis,害羞草研究所� said Carol McBride.

Red dresses are set to be on display across the country Friday to recognize the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People. It has become known as Red Dress Day and the empty garments serve as a symbol of lives that have been lost.

Each year there are more events, rallies and art displays. Despite the increased awareness and an extensive national inquiry, McBride said the situation that Indigenous girls and women face has not substantially changed.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 a mother. I害羞草研究所檓 a sister. I害羞草研究所檓 an aunt,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淎nd I害羞草研究所檓 just imagining some of our families and our women are suffering right now.害羞草研究所�

The inquiry害羞草研究所檚 final report was released in 2019 and included sweeping calls for change. It found Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or go missing than any other group in Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accepted the findings of the inquiry, which said the crisis amounted to genocide.

Sixty-three per cent of Indigenous women have experienced violence and nearly half have experienced sexual assault, Statistics Canada said in a report last year.

Winnipeg has been called ground zero.

At least 28 Indigenous women in Manitoba have died due to violence since May 2020, said Sandra DeLaronde, team lead for the Manitoba MMIWG2S+ implementation team. The majority were in Winnipeg.

A group hung 101 red dresses along a chain-link fence outside a landfill in the Manitoba capital over the winter. Winnipeg police have said the bodies of four Indigenous women were disposed of in landfills last year.

The remains of three of the women have not been found. A man has been charged with first-degree murder in the killings of the four women.

The remains of another Indigenous woman were also found in a landfill earlier this year. Police said her death is not a homicide.

害羞草研究所淲hen I think (about it), I cry,害羞草研究所� DeLaronde said. 害羞草研究所淚 have to focus on the thousands of women and girls that are still here and how we can keep them safe.害羞草研究所�

DeLaronde said it害羞草研究所檚 important to recognize that Indigenous people are sacred, and they should not only be honoured when they are gone.

The House of Commons unanimously backed a motion Tuesday declaring the deaths and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls a Canada-wide emergency. It also called for funding a new system to alert the public when someone goes missing.

害羞草研究所淭he truth is the truth,害羞草研究所� said Leah Gazan, the Winnipeg member of Parliament who presented the motion. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 one thing to acknowledge truth. It害羞草研究所檚 another thing to act on it.害羞草研究所�

The Native Women害羞草研究所檚 Association of Canada has criticized the federal government for not doing more or acting fast enough. McBride said Tuesday害羞草研究所檚 motion was an important step, but there is more to do.

Most of the money announced to fulfil the inquiry害羞草研究所檚 231 calls to justice became stuck in government bureaucracy, DeLaronde said, and it has not made it to the front lines and the Indigenous women and families who need it.

DeLaronde added that all Canadians should use Red Dress Day to reflect on what they can do to create change.

害羞草研究所淩ed Dress is a movement that people can get behind, because it害羞草研究所檚 an opportunity to transform the very fabric of this country.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所擪elly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

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