Bill C-263: Silver Alert National Framework Act

Kildonan – St. Paul

When a vulnerable senior goes missing, every minute counts.

Two years ago, Earl Moberg, a beloved father, grandfather, and educator from North Kildonan who was living with dementia, went missing. Despite extensive search efforts by family, volunteers, and law enforcement, Earl was never found and is presumed deceased.

Following his disappearance, the Moberg family launched a petition calling for a national Silver Alert system, which I was honoured to sponsor in Parliament. Signed by more than 7,300 Canadians from every province and territory, the petition demonstrated strong national support for action to protect vulnerable seniors. I am honoured to now bring forward legislation to establish a national Silver Alert framework in Canada.

In March, I introduced Bill C-263 in the House of Commons: the Silver Alert National Framework Act. If passed, this bill will establish a national framework to quickly alert the public when a vulnerable senior – such as someone living with dementia or another cognitive impairment, goes missing. The federal government would be required to work with provinces, territories, and law enforcement to establish coordinated national standards for issuing Silver Alerts. Using Canada’s existing national public alerting system, alerts could be geo-targeted to nearby areas, similar to Amber Alerts used for children, in the area where a missing senior is most likely to be found.

This would allow authorities to quickly notify the public with an alert to their cellphones and enable neighbours and communities to act as extra eyes and ears in the early hours immediately after a senior goes missing. When a person living with Alzheimer’s goes missing, time is critical. If they are not found within 12 hours, there is about a 50 per cent chance they will be found injured or deceased.

I would like to thank Brenda Moberg, Earl’s wife, and Britt Moberg, his daughter, for their tireless advocacy, and for bringing national attention to the need for better tools to locate missing vulnerable seniors, as well as all the Canadians who signed the petition and helped raise awareness.

A national Silver Alert framework is a matter of public safety, compassion, and common sense. I hope colleagues across party lines will join me in bringing this life-saving tool to communities across Canada.