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Red Dress Day
To learn more about CUPE Ontario’s Indigenous Council, please visit
cupe.on.ca/committees/indigenous-council/
Photo: Human Rights Museum, Winnipeg Manitoba – taken during CUPE National Sector Conference Oct 2024.
On May 5, Red Dress Day, and every day, CUPE honours missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S). Red dresses are hung to symbolize the lives lost.
At CUPE’s National Convention in October 2023, CUPE adopted Strategic Directions for 2023-2025 containing a set of commitments toward truth and reconciliation which build upon years of CUPE’s support to organizing efforts by members. Our union’s Strategic Directions advocate for the creation of a Red Dress Alert System, that would urgently notify the public when an Indigenous woman, girl or Two-Spirit person goes missing, similar to the current National Amber Alert System for children.
NDP MP Leah Gazan has championed the creation of a Red Dress Alert System in the House of Commons with co-lead, Liberal MP Pam Damoff. Work began in earnest on this project in December 2023. The House of Commons’ Standing Committee on the Status of Women launched a study looking into the proposal for a Red Dress Alert in March 2024 and the Federal Budget 2024 has committed to providing $1.3 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, toward co-developing a regional Red Dress System with Indigenous partners.
It is important to note that the recommendations of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls were released back in 2019. The Final Report of the Inquiry advocated for a national hotline to report MMIWG2S essentially a National Red Dress Alert System, and this is the first tangible funding commitment from the government toward that in 5 years.
Today, we also recognize the organizing efforts of Indigenous activists and CUPE members across the country toward the search of the Prairie Green Landfill in Winnipeg. The remains of an Indigenous woman, Rebecca Contois, were found in the Brady Landfill in June 2022, followed by a call to search both the Brady Landfill and the Prairie Green Landfill for further victims of a serial killer. The remains of two women, Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, are believed to be in the Prairie Green Landfill, and the remains of a fourth unidentified woman, who has been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, are also still missing. Initially, the Manitoba government refused to search the Prairie Green Landfill, and families and many Indigenous people in Winnipeg and across the country began to organize to raise awareness.
In July 2023, CUPE 500, representing municipal staff at the Brady Road Resource Management Facility, sent a letter of support and a joint statement including the landfill and 4R Winnipeg Depot in Winnipeg. The letter provided support to the organizers and families who were calling for the search. Following ongoing substantial organizing efforts throughout 2022 and 2023, the federal government announced a commitment of $20 million in 2024-25 toward efforts to search the landfill, in partnership with the Manitoba government, Indigenous partners, and impacted families. This builds on the $1.2 million provided by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to support feasibility and planning assessments.
CUPE will continue to track progress toward not only the search of landfills across the country and a National Red Dress Alert System, but to the implementation of all 231 Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We won’t stop organizing until all of us are safe.
Cornwall Labour Council – What is Happening in Education
Cornwall & District Labour Council is hosting a Free event – What is really happening in Education.
There should be lots of good information shared with a Question & Answer period.
2024 Provincial Budget Breakdown: Let’s Talk Funding!
Are you wondering how the provincial 2024 budget affects you? Us too! That’s why we’re hosting a financial literacy webinar to break down the 2024 budget in a way that matters to YOU, YOUR LOCAL, AND YOUR MEMBERS.
We’ve all seen headlines about the deficit, but what about the impact on public services? Our analysis shows the Ford government will spend $1,390 LESS per person on the public services we all rely on by 2026!
Join us on April 11 at 6PM to dig deeper into the budget and see how it affects your everyday life, bargaining, and more!
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- What the budget means for YOU
- How it impacts public services
- Bargaining trends in light of the budget
Ready to take control of your financial knowledge? Register for the Zoom webinar here.
See you online!
P.S. Spread the word! The more members who join, the stronger our voice.
Walk into retirement with a plan!
Best Western Cornwall
1515 Vincent Massey Drive
REGISTER: Free retirement workshop: Walk into Retirement | OTIP RAEO
Walk into retirement with a plan!
Holiday Inn Express
7815 Kent Blvd, Brockville
REGISTER: Free retirement workshop: Walk into Retirement | OTIP RAEO
General Membership Meeting
Virtual – email to CUPE email to join via TEAMS
In Person – Carleton Place High School, 215 Lake Avenue West, Carleton Place ON K7C 1M3
Provincial Budgets, Ontario’s Economy, and You
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