Flat River woman gets Nova Scotia's emergency alerts, but not P.E.I.'s

Maggie Morrison knew a test of P.E.I.'s emergency alert system was coming up. 

She was at her cottage in Flat River on May 10, cleaning up some of the piles of debris left by post-tropical storm Fiona.

Morrison spends a lot of time walking the back roads and wooded areas near her cottage, so she wanted to make sure she would receive an alert on her cellphone if a real one were sent out someday.  

She waited and waited. Nothing.

"I was aware that there was going to be the alert so I had my phone, I was listening for it, waiting," Morrison said from her tree-surrounded cottage in southeastern P.E.I. 

She called not ever getting the alert "a little disconcerting, you know… My mind always goes back to Nova Scotia and the active shooter situation" in the spring of 2020.

'It's not a very effective system'

On May 10 at 12:55 p.m. AT, Prince Edward Island's EMO conducted a test of the Alert Ready system, the same system used by all Canadian provinces and territories.

For most Islanders, the loud alarm went off on compatible wireless phones and on radio and television.

While Morrison didn't get the P.E.I. alert, she did get an alert later the same day from Nova Scotia's EMO.

I guess it really hit home talking about the [Nova Scotia] fires, where people had like 10 minutes to react.— Maggie Morrison

Island EMO officials believe Morrison's phone may be picking up a signal from a Nova Scotia cell tower, given her close proximity to the Northumberland Strait.

"It's not a very effective system if it's not going to hit me here," said Morrison.

"If you're going to do a test, you need to make sure it's effective, because how many other people are going to be in the same situation? I guess it really hit home talking about the [Nova Scotia] fires, where people had like 10 minutes to react." 

'It's really up to the provider' 

P.E.I. has issued only three emergency alerts since the system was launched. 

One was on behalf of Summerside police, after reports of a potential abduction that turned out to be unfounded, and two were related to post-tropical storm Fiona last September. 

Tanya Mullally, P.E.I.'s emergency management co-ordinator, said if somebody didn't get the May 10 alert, or the Fiona alerts, they should reach out to their cellphone service provider. Provincial officials have no way of knowing how many P.E.I. residents actually receive the alerts, she said. 

"If you haven't gotten the alert and you think that your phone is compatible… you can go to the AlertReady.ca website to determine if your phone is compatible. And if it is, you should be reaching out to your provider to say, 'What happened?'" said Mullally. 

"They can provide some guidance around the coverage area in their particular area. But all that we know is that… we inputted it, [the system] pushed it out, and it was received by providers. After that, it's really up to the provider."  

Changing signal sources 

Bell Aliant, one of the province's largest cellphone service providers, said its system automatically connects customers to the strongest cellular signal, and that can change multiple times a day. 

"When it comes to receiving emergency alerts by text, customers must be connected to a signal in the affected area at some point during the length of the alert," Bell Aliant said in a statement to CBC News.

"Most alerts last for several hours. However, test alerts are programmed for shorter periods (e.g. 15 minutes in P.E.I.), leaving a small window for customers to receive the alert."

'Probably always going to miss somebody'

P.E.I. EMO officials say they were "in contact with the few people" who reached out saying they live in areas that are frequently connected to N.B. or N.S. cell towers, to ensure they have a secondary plan for receiving emergency alerts. That could be either through their TV or a radio or through the province's social media channels. 

Mullally said in an actual emergency, officials might also go door-to-door to ensure people in a particular area were aware of the immediate threat. 

After weeks of back and forth, Morrison said P.E.I. EMO's response to her concerns was "less than satisfying." 

She said if they're going to run a test of the Alert Ready system, they should want to know whether the test is effective. She said she's surprised to learn EMO has no idea how many people actually receive the alerts. 

"I think you have to kind of cover the lowest common denominator and you have to put it out in as many ways possible," said Morrison. "You're probably always going to miss somebody, but you have to make sure that you're getting the majority."  

IS YOUR PHONE COMPATIBLE? 

For emergency alerts to be received on a wireless device, P.E.I. EMO says three conditions must be met. The wireless device must be:

• A wireless public alerting (WPA) compatible device, like a smartphone, capable of connecting to an LTE network. (LTE is commonly referred to as "4G LTE".)
• Equipped with the latest version of its operating software.
• Connected to an LTE cellular network at the time the emergency alert is issued or join it while the alert is still active.