Alert Ready Test Helps Prepare Us for the Unexpected

Written by SYLVIA JONES

As the recently appointed Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, ensuring our communities are safe is my top priority. That's why I was pleased that last Wednesday, the Alert Ready system was tested in Ontario and across Canada. The Alert Ready system ensures that Canadians are alerted about emergencies, like the recent tornadoes in Ottawa.

The Alert Ready system sent test messages to phones, radios, and TVs. The messages are accessible to people who are visually impaired by the use of text-to-speech software or by vibration.

Alert Ready will send messages about fires, natural disasters, dangerous substances, explosives, environmental issues, terrorist threats and Amber Alerts. This will ensure that Canadians will be prepared when these emergencies occur.

The federal and provincial governments and radio/wireless/television companies all work together to provide the Alert Ready system across Canada.

People do not have to opt-in to receive Alert Ready messages. Nor can people opt-out.

Didn't receive an Alert Ready message? No worries. This was part of why the test happened, and messages were not sent to every device across Canada.

Right now, the CRTC ensures that half of new devices in Canada must receive Alert Ready messages. The CRTC is ensuring that by April 2019, all new devices will receive them.

Phones need to be connected to an LTE network and the software has to be up-to-date to be sent Alert Ready messages.

Since April 2018, over 100 emergency messages have been sent to Canadians through phones, radio and TV. Alert Ready tests are an important way to find out if people received these emergency messages and test the system.

If you would like to read more about Alert Ready, please visit: https://www.alertready.ca/

If you have any questions, please call my office at 519-941-7751 or email me at

 sylvia.jonesco@pc.ola.org