Even the floods that have roiled British Columbia in recent weeks haven’t been enough to get the provincial government to tap into Canada’s national emergency communication that can provide updates and warnings directly to the cell phones of those in affected areas, according to The CBC. Known as Alert Ready, the system has remained unused by the province, which has previously indicated they only intend to use it in the event of a tsunami. This caution stands in stark contrast to other provinces with Canada, who have regularly taken advantage of it for events like tornadoes, fires, or Amber alerts.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnsworth has indicated this will change next year, however, as the government has faced growing criticism for its lack of use during the flooding of the City of Abbotsford. Although the province stated that they were ready to use the Alert Ready system to notify those in the area, the city ultimately declined, fearing it would reach too many people outside of the affected area. “That’s how these decisions need to be made: by the experts on the ground. Not by experts on Twitter, but the experts on the ground dealing with the local situation and understanding the local conditions,” said Farnsworth. “We’ve indicated that we want to have a system in place next year … but we have to make sure that it works in compatibility with existing [local] systems that are in place, that you’re not overlapping and that you’re avoiding duplication.”
Various municipalities and regions within the province already have local alert systems available for use. However, these systems are typically opt-in, and cannot cause the receiving phone to ring in response to an incoming text, unlike the Alert Ready system.
Source:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/alert-ready-system-bc-1.6254583
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/chirp-disaster-prepare-app-launch-1.6230162
