Alberta Emergency Alert
TypeEmergency warning and notification system
Launch date
October 2011 (2011-10)
Official website
www.emergencyalert.alberta.ca
ReplacedEmergency Public Warning System

Alberta Emergency Alert (AEA) is a public warning system in Alberta that warns the public on impending or occurring emergencies affecting an area. The system was implemented in October 2011, replacing the former Alberta Emergency Public Warning System. Alerts are disseminated through various media outlets including television and radio,[1] internet,[2] social media [3][4] mobile apps, and cell broadcast.

Alerts are set into two stages; an "Information Alert", in which the public is advised to be prepared for potentially life-threatening emergencies. Information Alerts do not interrupt TV and radio broadcast. A "Critical Alert" in which potentially life-threatening danger is imminent or present such as a tornado touchdown or civil emergency. All television stations and providers, radio stations, and LTE wireless networks in Alberta must transmit "Critical" messages from Alberta Emergency Alert.

Unlike the previous system (where the alerts were read on-air by a recorded announcer), alerts are read using a text-to-speech system. Initially, the quality of its voice was criticized, with viewers considering it unclear and prone to mispronouncing the names of locations.[5] In 2013, a new, male voice was implemented, which was programmed to have clearer pronunciations of various terms and place names.[6]

Effective March 31, 2015 for television and radio broadcasters, and April 6, 2018 for LTE wireless networks, carriage of AEA "Critical" messages is mandatory under CRTC rules regarding the implementation of Alert Ready, a national emergency notification system developed by Pelmorex that also uses Common Alerting Protocol. As AEA uses its format and distribution system (besides minor differences in AEA's XML schema for Common Alerting Protocol), the CRTC has considered participation in AEA to sufficiently in compliance with the national alerting mandate.[7][8]

In a 30 April 2022 letter from the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) to all Alberta-based broadcasters, the AEMA announced their decision to decommission the Alberta Emergency Alerting (AEA) System and to integrate with and transition to the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination (NAAD) System effective March 2023. The NAAD system is a platform developed and operated by Pelmorex Corporation—the organization that operates Canada’s emergency alert system, and who also owns The Weather Network. Pelmorex plays a crucial role in the National Public Alerting System (NPAS) also known as Alert Ready.[9] The NPAS is a collaborative federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) designed to deliver emergency alerts to the public in Canada.[9]

In the context of Alberta's active public alert system during wildfire season, the integrated provincial and federal alert systems underwent testing on March 1, 2023, at the onset of the wildfire season. An error during the testing led to nine notifications being sent to radios, televisions, and phones of Albertans, resulting in public response, memes on social media, and citizen complaints.[10][11][12] Mike Ellis, Alberta's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, announced an investigation into the incident, emphasizing the importance of the annual evaluation in proactively identifying issues. Premier Danielle Smith initially misattributed the alerts to the national system.[13][12][11] The investigation revealed that the emergency alerts were caused by "old code" in the Alberta Emergency Alert system, which was subsequently resolved, confirming the full functionality of the integrated national system.[11][10] In November 2023, Pelmorex Corporation and Alberta declared that Alberta would not participate in the annual November testing, expressing confidence in the system's functionality. The unique "de-centralized public alerting model" in Alberta, where local authorities have direct access to the public alert system, explained the higher number of alerts received by Albertans compared to other provinces with more centralized systems. As of November, Alberta Emergency Alert had sent 307 of the 1,064 public emergency alert notifications to Canadians.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "AlertSite Alberta Emergency Alert Alerting Partners".
  2. ↑ "Home". emergencyalert.alberta.ca.
  3. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/abemergalert
  4. ↑ "@AB_EmergAlert" on Twitter
  5. ↑ "Digital alert system hard to decipher: critics". CBC News. 3 October 2011.
  6. ↑ "Alberta's emergency broadcast system gets new voice". CBC News.
  7. ↑ "Public Alerting Bulletin to Last Mile Distributors" (PDF). Pelmorex. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2014-444 and Broadcasting Orders CRTC 2014-445, 2014-446, 2014-447 and 2014-448". CRTC. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Decommissioning of the Alberta Emergency Alerting System and transition to the National Alert Aggregation Dissemination System". Government of Canada. Distribution of emergency alert messages. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2023 – via Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
  10. 1 2 3 "Why Alberta didn't take part in test of emergency alert system — and why it sends more alerts than anyone else". Calgary Herald. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 Black, Matthew (15 March 2023). "'Old code' — not federal integration — to blame for barrage of early-March Alberta emergency alerts". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  12. 1 2 Smith, Madeline (28 February 2023). "Did you get the alert? Albertans inundated with emergency alert tests Wednesday". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Lachacz, Adam (1 March 2023). "9 Alberta Emergency Alerts in a row were a testing 'glitch': province". CTV News Edmonton. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
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