In the 2019 National Inquiry into MMIWG Report titled Reclaiming Power and Place, the report listed 232 "Calls to Justice." The calls "represent important ways to end the genocide and to transform systemic and societal values that have worked to maintain colonial violence."
One of those Calls to Justice was to eliminate the "blind spots" along Highway 16 (the "Highway of Tears") where cell service is nonexistent.
This is especially important, as this stretch of highway in northern British Columbia (which starts in Masset, Haida Gwaii and reaches all the way to the Alberta border) is known as a high traffic area where Indigenous women, girls and kin go missing.
Each village, town, or city along the highway has a billboard encouraging people not to hitchhike and red dresses appear in trees and along fences every 20 kilometres to serve as a reminder of live's lost.
After 10 years of discussions and logistics, a number of Indigenous Friendship Centres and First Nation associations have partnered with Telus to create a solution to these blind spots.
In partnership and consultation with four Indigenous-led organizations in British Columbia and Alberta — Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association (ANFCA), BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC), Prince George Native Friendship Centre (PGNFC), and Native Court worker and Counselling Association of British Columbia (NCCABC) — and Telus, Mobility for Good for Indigenous Women at Risk gives women a critical lifeline to timely emergency services, reliable access to virtual healthcare and wellness resources, and the ability to stay connected to their friends, family, and support networks.
The National Action Plan which states these Calls to Justice says: "we call upon all governments to ensure that equitable access to basic rights such as employment, housing, education, safety, and health care is recognized as a fundamental means of protecting Indigenous and human rights, resourced and supported as rights-based programs founded on substantive equality. All programs must be no-barrier, and must apply regardless of Status or location."
Read more details about the program here.