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Private Members' Business

Silver Alert National Framework Act

2026-06-05 Sitting 130 Showing 1–1 of 1

A bill to make a national 'Silver Alert' system for missing old people. The Bloc Quebecois said it steps on Quebec's turf and they won't support it. The rest mostly traded sweet time-wasting anecdotes about old people getting lost.

Official Hansard ↗

Ginette Lavack

Liberal 1:45 p.m.

“I want to support this bill because it shows compassion for seniors with dementia. However, I want to make sure it doesn't create too many alerts and overwhelm people. The provinces need to agree to this framework. We are already discussing improvements to the alert system with them. I suggest adding some amendments to the bill to set clear thresholds for when an alert should be sent out.”

Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-263, an act to establish a national framework for silver alerts. I would like to thank the member for Kildonan—St. Paul for bringing this important matter to the House for debate. The safety of our seniors, especially those living with dementia or other cognitive impairments, is a priority for us all. This is a topic that transcends party lines, and it is no exaggeration to say that dementia impacts every community across Canada. The silver alert concept is born from a place of genuine compassion and a desire to protect our most vulnerable citizens. We can all imagine the heartbreak and terror that families must feel when a loved one with a cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer's wanders away from home. It is estimated that nearly one million Canadians will be living with dementia by 2030. We need to make sure that we have the right methods and tools in place to protect vulnerable people who may go missing, people like Earl Moberg, who inspired this bill and who serves as a poignant reminder of the very real consequences if we do not get this right. Bill C-263 proposes a national framework to support a coordinated silver alert system. Among other things, it seeks to use our existing national public alerting system to issue alerts when a vulnerable senior disappears. The federal, provincial and territorial governments already collaborate on Alert Ready, or the national public alerting system. It alerts the public through TV, radio and wireless devices to life-threatening situations, such as tornados, fires and Amber alerts. In 2024 alone, 855 emergency alerts were issued across Canada. These alerts provide life-saving information during extreme weather or other critical events. We need to make sure that any framework is developed in consultation with our provincial and territorial counterparts across the country so that it complements existing local protocols, rather than complicating or duplicating them. This step is crucial, considering that missing persons are an area of provincial and territorial jurisdiction. To date, no preliminary discussions have been held with the provinces and territories to determine whether they would even support such a framework. Search and rescue operations are often led by local police services in coordination with provincial agencies and volunteer organizations. Whether a senior goes missing in a rural township or a dense urban core, the response must be immediate and tailored to that specific area or community. The local authorities are the ones who have the on-the-ground knowledge to respond quickly and effectively. Quebec has implemented a non-intrusive alert program that was announced in February 2026. It is an evidence-based program that alerts the public in non-intrusive ways, on social media, TV or radio, for example. Budget 2025 committed to renewing the national public alerting system model to better support emergency alerting across Canada. Guidance for consistent NPAS alerting, including missing vulnerable people, is already a topic of discussion with provinces and territories, and it is expected to be covered by this work. Bill C-263 could be strengthened by acknowledging this work and collaboration in its preamble. For a notification system to be effective, it must be used judiciously and the parameters must be clear. Canada already has a highly effective system for the direst circumstances, the Amber alert. The power of the Amber alert lies in its rarity. When that sound goes off on Canadians' phones, they know it is a life-or-death emergency involving a child in immediate danger. If we expand the criteria for emergency broadcasts to include every instance of a missing senior when thousands of such incidents occur annually across this country, we run a very real risk of creating alert fatigue. If the public begins to perceive these alerts as routine, they may start to ignore them. By overusing the emergency broadcast system, we would inadvertently weaken its effectiveness for everyone, including the very seniors this bill seeks to protect. We must therefore ensure that alerts are only issued when necessary, in order to maintain the public's high level of responsiveness in the event of an emergency. Clear thresholds must first be established and would have to be met before such alerts are issued. Therefore, the bill would be further strengthened by including these thresholds in the preamble to ensure consistent application across the country. Our government often speaks of its commitment to the safety and dignity of all Canadians, and these are not just empty words. The government is determined to take concrete action to ensure everyone's safety. It is because of our seniors that we have the great communities and country we have today. We owe it to them to keep them safe from danger. In conclusion, the government recognizes the merit in exploring a national approach to silver alerts. However, a national framework must be efficient, clear and non-duplicative. Therefore, with some amendments to streamline the bill and include clear thresholds, the government is prepared to support Bill C‑263.

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