Bill C-263

Silver Alert National Framework Act

An Act to establish a national framework for silver alerts

This enactment provides for the establishment of a national framework to support a coordinated silver alert system across Canada that will help to facilitate timely public notification and ensure the rapid and safe recovery of missing vulnerable older persons.

Silver Alert National Framework Act

[Ginette Lavack, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-263, an act to establish a national framework for silver alerts. I would like to thank the member for Kildonan—St. Paul for bringing this important matter to the House for debate.

The safety of our seniors, especially those living with dementia or other cognitive impairments, is a priority for us all.

This is a topic that transcends party lines, and it is no exaggeration to say that dementia impacts every community across Canada. The silver alert concept is born from a place of genuine compassion and a desire to protect our most vulnerable citizens. We can all imagine the heartbreak and terror that families must feel when a loved one with a cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer's wanders away from home.

It is estimated that nearly one million Canadians will be living with dementia by 2030. We need to make sure that we have the right methods and tools in place to protect vulnerable people who may go missing, people like Earl Moberg, who inspired this bill and who serves as a poignant reminder of the very real consequences if we do not get this right.

Bill C-263 proposes a national framework to support a coordinated silver alert system. Among other things, it seeks to use our existing national public alerting system to issue alerts when a vulnerable senior disappears.

The federal, provincial and territorial governments already collaborate on Alert Ready, or the national public alerting system. It alerts the public through TV, radio and wireless devices to life-threatening situations, such as tornados, fires and Amber alerts. In 2024 alone, 855 emergency alerts were issued across Canada. These alerts provide life-saving information during extreme weather or other critical events.

We need to make sure that any framework is developed in consultation with our provincial and territorial counterparts across the country so that it complements existing local protocols, rather than complicating or duplicating them. This step is crucial, considering that missing persons are an area of provincial and territorial jurisdiction. To date, no preliminary discussions have been held with the provinces and territories to determine whether they would even support such a framework.

Search and rescue operations are often led by local police services in coordination with provincial agencies and volunteer organizations. Whether a senior goes missing in a rural township or a dense urban core, the response must be immediate and tailored to that specific area or community. The local authorities are the ones who have the on-the-ground knowledge to respond quickly and effectively.

Quebec has implemented a non-intrusive alert program that was announced in February 2026. It is an evidence-based program that alerts the public in non-intrusive ways, on social media, TV or radio, for example.

Budget 2025 committed to renewing the national public alerting system model to better support emergency alerting across Canada. Guidance for consistent NPAS alerting, including missing vulnerable people, is already a topic of discussion with provinces and territories, and it is expected to be covered by this work. Bill C-263 could be strengthened by acknowledging this work and collaboration in its preamble.

For a notification system to be effective, it must be used judiciously and the parameters must be clear.

Canada already has a highly effective system for the direst circumstances, the Amber alert. The power of the Amber alert lies in its rarity. When that sound goes off on Canadians' phones, they know it is a life-or-death emergency involving a child in immediate danger. If we expand the criteria for emergency broadcasts to include every instance of a missing senior when thousands of such incidents occur annually across this country, we run a very real risk of creating alert fatigue. If the public begins to perceive these alerts as routine, they may start to ignore them. By overusing the emergency broadcast system, we would inadvertently weaken its effectiveness for everyone, including the very seniors this bill seeks to protect.

We must therefore ensure that alerts are only issued when necessary, in order to maintain the public's high level of responsiveness in the event of an emergency. Clear thresholds must first be established and would have to be met before such alerts are issued.

Therefore, the bill would be further strengthened by including these thresholds in the preamble to ensure consistent application across the country.

Our government often speaks of its commitment to the safety and dignity of all Canadians, and these are not just empty words. The government is determined to take concrete action to ensure everyone's safety.

It is because of our seniors that we have the great communities and country we have today. We owe it to them to keep them safe from danger.

In conclusion, the government recognizes the merit in exploring a national approach to silver alerts. However, a national framework must be efficient, clear and non-duplicative. Therefore, with some amendments to streamline the bill and include clear thresholds, the government is prepared to support Bill C‑263.

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the legislation from my Conservative colleague from Manitoba, Bill C-263, the silver alert national framework act.

I want everyone to imagine a cold winter evening in rural Manitoba. The sun has gone down in early evening yet again, and somewhere between the house and the road, or between a personal care home and the street, a vulnerable senior has gone missing. Maybe it is the father who has farmed the same land for 50 years, or maybe it is the grandmother who has raised children, helped raise grandchildren, volunteers at the church and still knows the names of half the people in town. One day, because of dementia or another vulnerability, that person walks out the door and does not come home when expected.

For the family, the world changes in an instant. The shoes are gone, and the door is unlocked. Someone checks the garage, and someone checks the street. Someone drives the road that they know someone would take into town. Someone phones the RCMP. Neighbours start looking. People shine headlights into ditches, down lanes and around farmyards. In that moment, time is not a number; it is the space between what can still be done and what may never be undone. Hours matter. Minutes matter. That is why this bill matters so much.

Bill C-263 would require the federal government to develop a national framework to support a coordinated silver alert system across the country. A silver alert is an emergency notification used to inform the public when a vulnerable older person, including someone living with dementia, has gone missing and when public assistance may help locate that person as quickly as possible. It is much like an Amber Alert, and having this system in place is common sense. The bill could help save lives. It is the kind of measure the House should be able to support across party lines. It deals with the safety and dignity of vulnerable Canadians and the peace of mind of the families who love them so much.

The bill begins from a reality that every province is facing: Canada's population is aging, and dementia is becoming more common, unfortunately. More families are caring for parents, grandparents, spouses and neighbours who may still live with independence and dignity but who can also face moments of confusion and disorientation. Any of us who has had or currently has family members battling dementia recognizes how important that independence is, and the worry that comes with knowing how difficult it can be for them.

The bill notes that nearly one million Canadians will be living with dementia by 2030, and more than 1.7 million by 2050. Those numbers are large, but behind every number is a family trying to keep someone safe. The bill also points to a rather terrifying fact: If a person living with dementia is not found within 12 hours of going missing, there is a 50% probability that they will be found dead by drowning or will suffer severe or fatal hypothermia or dehydration.

In Manitoba, we understand what the cold can mean. We know what cold weather does to a person. We know how quickly a person can disappear from sight on a gravel road, along a highway, around a farmyard or at the edge of town. In Portage—Lisgar, our communities are unbelievably generous and neighbourly. When someone is in trouble, people will show up. When crisis strikes, they will bring trucks, flashlights, side-by-side, snowmobiles, local knowledge and whatever else is necessary to help. They know the roads. They know which yard has an old shed. They know the area somebody might turn to if confused. That community instinct is one of rural Manitoba's greatest strengths, but instinct needs information.

Good people cannot help find someone if they do not know whom they are looking for, where they were last seen, what they may be wearing and whether or not a vehicle was involved. A silver alert is not a replacement for police. It is not a replacement for family. It is a tool that helps them move faster and together. One of the strengths of the bill is that it does not try to invent a new bureaucracy. It would direct the minister to develop a national framework that uses existing infrastructure for public alerts. Everyone already understands that when an emergency alert comes through their phone, they should pay attention.

The bill says that we should coordinate when a vulnerable senior is missing and when the public can help make a difference. That is just common sense. The clock does not care which level of government owns which responsibility. When the risk is real, the response must be fast and coordinated, without unnecessary delay. The bill also respects the role of provinces. It would require the minister to consult provinces, and with police forces that issue the alerts. That is the right approach.

The people closest to these cases must help shape the system in order to protect the people in need. Police know how missing persons investigations work. Provinces know their own emergency systems. Care providers understand the realities of dementia.

The federal role should be to help coordinate, not dominate, provinces and municipalities. This is an important Conservative principle. We should not pretend every answer can be fixed by the federal government. The best answer here will come from coordination, standards, sharing best practices and respect for the people who are already on the ground doing the work.

The bill also understands the need for safeguards. Public alerts are powerful tools because they are rare, targeted and credible, and Canadians take them seriously. If they are overused, people start tuning them out. If they are poorly designed, they can violate privacy or create confusion.

Bill C-263 would make sure there is one clear, consistent set of rules for deciding when a silver alert should be issued so families and police are not left dealing with a patchwork system. That includes whether there are reasonable grounds to believe the missing person's health or safety is at risk and whether sharing information with the public is likely to help locate them.

Importantly, the bill also calls for geographically targeted alerts as well as interprovincial alerts, because both are necessary. In a large country, a targeted alert can be more effective than a blanketed alert. If someone goes missing in southern Manitoba, the most useful alert may be directed just to a particular region, highway, town or a surrounding area. However, we also know that people do move. Vehicles cross borders and highways connect communities. A person missing in Manitoba could be headed toward Saskatchewan or anywhere along a route familiar to them. A coordinated system must account for that.

The bill would also require privacy guidelines for the personal information that may be disclosed for the duration of the alert. An effective system must disclose enough to assist with the search, but not more than the situation requires. There is also a public education component. An alert is only as effective as the public response it creates.

Canadians need to know what a silver alert means, what to look for, what to do and how to report information. In small communities, this can be especially important, because people notice the little details. They notice a person walking alone in the cold, thinking it is a little strange. They notice a vehicle stopped in an unusual place they would not normally see one parked. They notice when something just simply is not right.

I also want to speak about the seniors at the heart of this bill. They are not just statistics. They are the people who built this country in very practical ways. In Manitoba, they are the people who raised families. They volunteered at legions, churches and community halls and kept our small towns alive. They are the people who showed up for others when it mattered most. When they become vulnerable, we should do our minimum and show up for them.

I know MPs may come at this issue from different perspectives. Some will think of large cities where a person can disappear into crowds, a busy transit station or a bustling hub of the community on the street. Some will think of more northern, remote communities where terrain and weather can be absolutely unforgiving. I think of rural Manitoba, where distance can become a danger very quickly.

The fear of losing a vulnerable parent or grandparent is not partisan, is not urban and is not rural. It is simply human. The bill would give us a chance to do something useful, not just symbolic, but useful. It would require a framework within one year. It would require the framework to be tabled in Parliament and published publicly. It would require a review of the effectiveness within two years.

That would give Parliament a way to hold the government accountable for whether the framework is working, whether it needs updates or whether it is helping in the way it was intended. That accountability matters, because families do not need just another vague promise. They need a system that is well thought out, coordinated and ready for use.

When a vulnerable person disappears, the first question should not be whether the system knows what to do. The first answer should be action.

I will be proudly supporting this bill because it is the right thing to do for vulnerable seniors, for police and for our communities, like the one I represent in Portage—Lisgar. I urge all members across party lines to support this important legislation.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

Is the House ready for the question?

[Some hon. members]

Question.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The question is on the motion.

If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes, ON]

Madam Speaker, we request that it be passed on division.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

(Motion agreed to, bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

It being 2:04 p.m., the House stands adjourned until next Monday at 11 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 2:04 p.m.)