Poilievre demands Canada-wide alert system after autistic Calgary boy found dead
Conservatives say missing vulnerable children shouldn't have to wait for suspected foul play before emergency alerts are issued.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a Canada-wide emergency alert system for missing autistic and other vulnerable children after an 11-year-old non-verbal Calgary boy was found dead following a week-long search.
In a letter to Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski, Poilievre and Conservative MP Mike Lake say Canada’s emergency alert system should be triggered by a child’s vulnerability—not whether police suspect an abduction or other crime.
“The danger existed from the moment Parker went missing,” the pair wrote. “The alert system should have been able to respond from that moment.”
Parker, an 11-year-old boy with autism who was non-verbal, wandered away from his Calgary daycare home on Jul. 16. After an extensive search involving hundreds of police officers and volunteers, his body was found in an underground network of pipes beneath the city.
An Amber Alert was not issued until the second day of the search under a special exemption because Canada’s existing Amber Alert system is generally reserved for suspected child abductions.
