Test Alerts will be issued on Television, Radio and Compatible Wireless Devices in most provinces and territories.
Oakville, Ontario, November 25, 2019 – On November 27, 2019, a public test message will be issued through Alert Ready, Canada’s emergency alerting system, by most provincial and territorial emergency management organizations. Each participating province and territory will issue one test message to be distributed over television, radio and compatible wireless devices at the times indicated below.
The Alert Ready system has been used to issue emergency alerts over radio and televisions since 2010, and via compatible wireless devices since 2018. As of November 20th, Alert Ready has enabled government authorities to deliver 130 emergency alerts since January 1, 2019 and 1,413 since its creation in 2010. Testing of all components across the country, and on a regular basis, is an important and necessary part of any public alerting system. It provides an opportunity to validate and improve the performance and reliability of the system and to ensure it operates as it is intended in the event of an imminent life-threatening situation.
“Not all provinces and territories have had the need to issue an actual alert. Test alerts educate Canadians on what an emergency alert will look and sound like in the event of a life-threatening situation; across television, radio and compatible wireless devices,” says Martin Belanger, Director of Public Alerting at Pelmorex, operator of the technical infrastructure of Alert Ready, known as the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination System (NAAD).
Since April 6, 2019, all new phones sold in Canada are Wireless Public Alerting (WPA) compatible. As more compatible wireless devices replace older ones, more Canadians will be able to receive emergency alerts on their wireless device. In addition to being WPA compatible, the wireless device must also have the most recent software version, correct phone settings and be connected to an LTE network in order to receive an emergency alert.
Alert Ready is designed to deliver critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians. It was developed in collaboration with the federal, provincial, and territorial government agencies, Pelmorex, the broadcasting industry and wireless service providers.
Given the importance of warning Canadians of imminent threat to the safety of life and property, Canadians do not have the option to opt-out of this essential life-saving service.
Alert Ready Test Times – November 27, 2019 |
|
Province/Territory |
Test Time |
| Alberta | 1:55 PM MST |
| British Columbia | 1:55 PM PST |
| Manitoba | 1:55 PM CST |
| New Brunswick | 10:55 AM AST |
| Newfoundland & Labrador | 10:55 AM NST |
| Northwest Territories | 9:55 AM MST |
| Nova Scotia | 1:55 PM AST |
| Nunavut | No test scheduled |
| Ontario | 2:55 PM EST |
| Prince Edward Island | 12:55 PM AST |
| Quebec | 1:55 PM EST |
| Saskatchewan | 1:55 PM CST |
| Yukon | 1:55 PM PST |
For more information, visit alertready.ca.
