Public Test of the Alert Ready Emergency Alert System Being Held Tomorrow May 15th

Brockville – This Wednesday, May 15th there will be a test of the Alert Ready system in Ontario. It will be tested at 12:55 pm (ET).

Canadians in participating provinces and territories will receive one text message from their respective provincial or territorial emergency management organization over television, radio and compatible wireless devices.

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecom (CRTC) requires wireless service providers and broadcasters to send at least one test alert per year, either in May during Emergency Preparedness Week and/or in November. Participation in the testing of Alert Ready is at the sole discretion of each provincial and territorial emergency management organization (EMO).

The test message will simulate an emergency alert, beginning with the alert tone, known as the Canadian Alert Attention Signal. The message will indicate that it is a test and does not require action from the public.

Testing of the Alert Ready system provides the opportunity to:

• Increase public awareness about the system and spark emergency preparedness conversations, so that Canadians can be ready and prepared in the event of an actual emergency
• Validate the effectiveness and reliability of the system to ensure it operates as intended from end to end
• Provides an opportunity for Emergency Management officials to practice sending alerts to the public

The test alert will be distributed on TV, radio and wireless. However, not all Canadians will receive the test alert on their mobile device. This may occur for a variety of reasons – device compatibility, connection to an LTE network, cell tower coverage and device software and settings.