Jaime Black-Morsette, a Métis artist, created The REDress Project with the goal of honouring and bringing awareness to the thousands of Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people who have been murdered and gone missing. Black-Morsette's inspiration came from a group of women in Bogotá, Colombia who had gathered for a demonstration to raise awareness about their family members who had gone missing without any recourse. Many of the women speaking out were wearing red dresses.

Within the first year of the REDress Project, 300 dresses were donated by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people demonstrating their support for the families and communities of MMIWG2S. As a result, Red Dress installations continue to be displayed across Canada as a reminder of the ongoing gender and racial nature of violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people.

When interviewed about The REDress Project, Black-Morsette explained that the installation is intended to evoke a presence through the marking of absence, creating space for women to tell their stories and take meaningful action to prevent future violence.

"The chances are that if you know an Indigenous person, they're related to someone who's gone missing or murdered, that's how common this is." - Lori Campbell, Associate Vice-President for Indigenous Engagement at the University of Regina​

In 2019, the City of Brampton passed a motion which endorsed:

• The Calls to Action in the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report
• The Calls to Justice in the 2019 National Inquiry into MMIWG final report.

This motion also includes the development of a meaningful engagement strategy, working closely with The Indigenous Network, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Region of Peel and the Peel District School Board.

Learning from the findings and recommendations of national reports on MMIWG2S, the City will use them as frameworks to encourage important conversations, educate the community and take meaningful action to address these forms of ongoing violence.

Since 2020, the City of Brampton has been taking action on these Calls to Justice, which also align with other initiatives focused on gender equity such as the declaration of gender-based and intimate partner violence as an epidemic in 2023.

By displaying red dresses each year, the City is calling attention to the impacts of colonization, racism, and violence on Indigenous women, girls and Two-spirit people, their families and their communities.