I was hired right in the middle of a pandemic and literally had nothing to do. I couldn't go into the community. I couldn't visit. I couldn't even introduce myself. I sat there and thought to myself, “What can I do?” We were right on the heels of the Portapique incident in Nova Scotia, which was the largest mass shooting in Canadian history. I started to think, “What if?” What if somebody walked into one of our communities and opened fire? What are we going to do? Well, what's the first thing we need to do? We need to tell everybody. How are we going to do that? The Unama'ki emergency alert system was born.
I don't think it needs to be a one-person event. What needs to be done is this: You need to do something. I didn't get it right, right out of the gate. We made some mistakes in the very beginning. I believe the red dress alert won't be perfect right out of the gate, either. However, it's time to do something.
I did this all on my own. I came up with the idea. I presented it to my superior and said, “Can I do this?” She said, “Yes”. Away I went. I didn't ask for anybody's permission. I didn't ask for anybody's help. I just did it. I think that partly goes to its success. Sometimes, when there are so many voices telling their own opinions and giving their own ideas, things don't get done.
I think we're in a position right now where we just need to do something.