First Emergency Wireless Alert Sent Out in Ontario and It’s an Amber Alert [u]

The Alert Ready system went live for wireless emergency alerts went live in early April, and after some failed test alerts nationwide, an alert sent out just this morning has proven the system actually works.

Residents in Ontario received an emergency wireless alert to their smartphones at 11:37AM EDT, regarding an Amber Alert, issued by the Ontario Provincial Police, over a missing child named Gabriel McCallum.

DeanLubaki 2018 May 14

For those who didn’t receive the test alerts, and had their smartphones not on silent, the blaring siren probably freaked you out. Some users on social media were questioning whether an Amber Alert qualifies for emergency wireless alerts, but for any parent out there, you’d probably say ‘yes’.

Are you trying to find out how to opt-out of emergency wireless alerts sent from the Alert Ready system? It’s actually not possible to opt-out, as they are mandatory, according to the CRTC.

CRTC spokeswoman Patricia Valladao told the Canadian Press last month, “People cannot opt out of this,” adding, “There is a high importance that people — want it or not — receive these alerts.”

In order to receive a wireless alert, one must have a smartphone that is wireless public alerting (WPA) compatible and also connected to an LTE network. If you don’t want these alerts, technically you could turn off LTE and fall back to 3G data.

These wireless alerts are managed by Pelmorex Corp., the parent company of The Weather Network.

Did you get this wireless alert in Ontario? Was your phone on silent or did you have the ringer on? How’s your heart rate right now?

Update 12:15PM EDT: Looks like a second alert was sent out–this time in French.

Update 1:30PM EDT: Child found. A third amber alert was sent out to alert mobile users of the news.

Thanks @DeanLubaki

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