Quebec to test its public emergency alert system tomorrow

Quebec’s public alerting tests will once again take place.

According to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC),
all provincial and territorial emergency management organizations will conduct public alerting tests across the country, except for Nunavut, tomorrow afternoon.

As per the CRTC, test alerts should appear on every updated and compatible mobile device connected to an LTE (long-term evolution) wireless network, television, radio, its website and social media accounts.

Quebec’s alert will sound off tomorrow at 1:55 pm.

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“Ongoing testing of the National Public Alerting System provides an opportunity for stakeholders to validate and improve the system’s performance and reliability to ensure it operates as intended in the event of a life-threatening situation,” said the CRTC in a release.

“The messages will be identified as test alerts and will not require Canadians to take action.”

For a wireless device to receive a test alert it must be:

• Connected to an LTE wireless network at the time the test alert is issued (LTE is commonly referred to as “4G LTE”) ;
• Wireless public alerting compatible
• Updated with the wireless service provider’s latest software.

The National Public Alerting System (NPAS), publicly branded as Alert Ready, is a collaborative initiative between Federal-Provincial-Territorial governments and industry partners.

Examples of the types of alerts that are issued through the Alert Ready system include natural disasters like tornados and earthquakes or a civil emergency like Amber Alerts.

Since January 2019, the CRTC said that more than 125 emergency alert messages have been successfully transmitted by emergency management officials to warn Canadians of a potentially life-threatening situation.

Depending on the service provider, phones will either sound off or buzz for eight seconds during the testing. For more information about Alert Ready and to hear the alert click here.

To learn more about test alerts and to find out if a cellphone is capable of receiving emergency alerts, visit the Alert Ready website.