Devices to sound off as Alert Ready issues next test

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 that will be distributed over television, radio, and compatible wireless devices.

“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.

“Testing the Alert Ready system across the country also allows us to verify that the system is working end to end.”

WHY ARE TESTS DISTRIBUTED?

Alert Ready was designed to deliver critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians. It was developed with many partners including federal, provincial, and territorial government agencies, Pelmorex, the broadcasting industry and wireless service providers. It has enabled government authorities to deliver more than 130 emergency alerts since January 1, 2019 and 1413 since its creation in 2010.

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.

WIRELESS DEVICE COMPATIBILITY

Device compatibility, software version, phone settings and connection to an LTE network can impact whether the alert is received. As more compatible wireless devices are sold in Canada, more Canadians will be able to receive emergency alerts on their wireless device.

You can check with your wireless carrier to see if your phone is compatible. And for more information, including the exact time the test alert will be distributed in your area, head to alertready.ca.

TEST TIMES