Accepted Solutions
As stated by @Meowmix , in Canada you cannot turn off these alerts. These alerts also include real emergencies.
Here's a thread discussing these alerts and the fact that some people don't like the way they are currently implemented:
Here's a link to the Emergency Alert system with lots of FAQs answered:
https://www.alertready.ca/#faq
The first dropdown, item 3 talks to the fact that you cannot opt out:
Given the importance of warning Canadians of imminent threats to the safety of life and property, the CRTC requires wireless service providers to distribute alerts on all compatible wireless devices connected to an LTE network in the target area. Therefore, it is not possible to opt out of receiving the alerts. Unlike radio and television broadcasting, which often has broad areas of coverage, wireless public alerting is geo-targeted and can be very specific to a limited area of coverage. As a result, if an emergency alert reaches your wireless device, you are located in an area where there is an imminent danger. Consult this webpage for more information.
Please feel free to contact the CRTC, your MP, or Alert Ready with your concerns.
All Replies
As stated by @Meowmix , in Canada you cannot turn off these alerts. These alerts also include real emergencies.
Here's a thread discussing these alerts and the fact that some people don't like the way they are currently implemented:
Here's a link to the Emergency Alert system with lots of FAQs answered:
https://www.alertready.ca/#faq
The first dropdown, item 3 talks to the fact that you cannot opt out:
Given the importance of warning Canadians of imminent threats to the safety of life and property, the CRTC requires wireless service providers to distribute alerts on all compatible wireless devices connected to an LTE network in the target area. Therefore, it is not possible to opt out of receiving the alerts. Unlike radio and television broadcasting, which often has broad areas of coverage, wireless public alerting is geo-targeted and can be very specific to a limited area of coverage. As a result, if an emergency alert reaches your wireless device, you are located in an area where there is an imminent danger. Consult this webpage for more information.
Please feel free to contact the CRTC, your MP, or Alert Ready with your concerns.
There was another Amber Alert this morning from Newmarket, however, it was not a real abduction, rather a lost grandfather - see additional information in link below...
I have the following comments regarding this alert:
1. This is misuse of the Amber Alert system since all the criteria for such an alert were not met.
2. My phone had two alerts on it - one issued at 3:06AM and one at 3:45AM, so that anyone able to get back to sleep was awakened a second time. (my phone is on silent and not in my bedroom, so it didn't bother me, however, how many people did this bother, twice?)
3. There was no abduction, so, if they wanted to use the Amber Alert system, they should at least tell the truth in the "text". In light of the incorrect information, a civilian may have reacted in an inappropriate (vigilante?) manner if they had seen the van.
4. There was no cancellation issued. Why do they never send a followup alert when the situation is resolved?
5. People should complain about this misuse of the system, to the appropriate channels - not to 9-1-1.
6. The grandfather acted irresponsibly by not contacting anyone after a certain period of time. Being "lost" for over 12 hours with children in the van suggests perhaps appropriate actions need to be taken with the grandfather - like reviewing his driver's licence, or not leaving him alone with children, etc.
The children were not abducted. It was a "missing persons" case. Nothing more. The use of the Amber Alert in this instance was "stretching the facts" at a minimum, and a misuse of the system as I see it.
Were the children (and grandfather) missing? Yes
Were the children abducted? No
Were they in imminent danger? No
Every time a child goes missing are we now going to get an Amber Alert? That's not what the Amber Alert system was designed for. The rules were not followed in this instance.
The option to disable certain (Amber) Alerts in your cell phone should be available in Canada as it is in other countries (the US for example). The problem with turning off your phone at night, putting it in silent mode, or putting it in airplane mode is that you will then miss a real emergency, like a tornado, fire, hazardous spill, terrorist event, family emergency, etc.
In addition, I don't appreciate the police lying about the effectiveness of the Amber Alert in this (and some other) instances. They found the grandfather and children without any input from civilians (the public). The Amber Alert did nothing in this instance but bother millions of people, twice, in the middle of the night.
Please don't label me as uncaring. I simply want a better system so that people don't start ignoring (or turning off) real emergencies. The system could be easily modified to allow for this.
@Meowmix wrote:
1. As for @57 . You label the grandfather as a " irresponsible". You have NO right to label him as that. Just like you dont like being labeled.
2. The police NEVER lied about anything.
3. If you got hurt over losing some sleep? So be it. I rather have those alerts coming to know then lose 5-10 minutes of sleep coming online to complain. Sorry it's the truth.
4. I see so many complaining it's ridiculous. If it was one of their family members however, they would be crying all over.
1. If the grandfather was not acting irresponsibly, then the parent were, by leaving the children in his care.
2. Actually the police did lie. They made it sound like the Amber Alert helped find the grandfather and children, when, in fact, the police found them on their own, without public assistance.
3. I'd rather have the system work properly, like it does in other countries, where people who don't wish to receive certain alerts at certain times of the day can do that. As I stated earlier, I don't lose any sleep because my phone is on silent in another area of my house.
4. When there are this many people complaining, it means that the alert system is not working properly and needs to be modified. There's nothing wrong with complaining to the appropriate people (not 9-1-1) to make the system better and to change away from the "Cry Wolf" problems that come into play when the system is not working properly.
The current recommendation is to turn off your phone at night if you don't wish to hear these alerts. Doing this circumvents the very reason for the alert system in the first place - real emergencies like a tornado, etc.
It is possible to implement a system that will have many fewer complaints and work better for us all. I'm not saying "get rid of the system". I'm saying make it better. How?
1. Allow people to turn off certain alerts at certain times, if they want to do so.
2. Province-wide alerts could be avoided in some instances. The "default" should not be province-wide every time.
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