Send this page to someone via email Residents in most of the country’s provinces and territories will receive an audible alarm on their compatible cell phone, television or radio on Wednesday, as Canada’s Alert Ready system performs a test. According to the Alert Ready website, the system provides “critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians,” about situations considered a “threat-to-life.” System operators are mandated to conduct nationwide testing of the service twice annually, blasting out distinctive electronic tones to LTE-enabled wireless devices that have their speakers turned on, and through television and radio. “While more than 120 emergency alerts have been successfully transmitted to Canadians over television, radio and wireless devices since April 2018, having regular tests allows us to better educate Canadians about Alert Ready and provide an opportunity to validate and improve the end to end performance and reliability of the system,” Martin Belanger, Director of Public Alerting at Pelmorex and operator of the technical infrastructure of Alert Ready, said in a news release. Story continues below advertisement WATCH: National emergency alert system test run (May, 2018) 2:02 National emergency alert system test run National emergency alert system test run – May 9, 2018 Alerts are issued by government agencies and notify residents of a number of threats including fires, natural disasters, biological or chemical emergencies, environmental emergencies, terrorist threats or civil emergencies, including Amber Alerts or animal danger. Test alerts demonstrate what an emergency alert will look and sound like in the event of a life-threatening situation. Here is a schedule of when you can expect to receive the alert: Alberta 1:55 p.m. MDT. British Columbia 1:55 p.m. PDT. Manitoba 1:55 p.m. CDT New Brunswick 10:55 a.m. ADT Newfoundland & Labrador 10:55 a.m. NDT, 10:25 a.m. ADT in Labrador Northwest Territories 1:55 p.m. MDT Nova Scotia 1:55 p.m. ADT Nunavut 1:55 p.m. EDT Prince Edward Island 12:55 p.m. ADT Saskatchewan 1:55 p.m. CST Yukon 1:55 p.m. PDT Story continues below advertisement Public Safety Canada says it received notifications last week from Ontario and Quebec that the provinces would be opting out of the testing because neither wants to send unnecessary alert tones to residents dealing with historic flooding.<doc-sep>An emergency alerting system will be tested across Canada, including in B.C., on Wednesday. Each province is responsible for issuing a test alert. Emergency Management BC will test Alert Ready at 1:55 p.m. During the test, the public will hear an alert tone and hear or see the following message on TV screens, radio, and compatible cellphones. This is a TEST of the British Columbia Emergency Alerting System, issued by Emergency Management British Columbia. This is ONLY a TEST. If this had been an actual emergency or threat, you would now hear instructions that would assist you to protect you and your family. For further information go to www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca. This is ONLY a TEST, no action is required. The test will determine if the system is fully functional for an actual emergency. The public is asked not to call 911 for additional information. According to the Alert Ready website, it delivers "critical and potentially life-saving alerts to Canadians." Each province is conducting the test at different times. You can find the schedule here.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email B.C. residents are being advised not to panic when they see or hear an emergency alert pop up on their phones on Wednesday. The province is testing its emergency alert system at 1:55 p.m. PT. The system is also being tested in other Canadian provinces on Wednesday. READ MORE: Test emergency alert to be sent out across almost all of Canada on Wednesday That test will include an alert tone and push notification being sent to most mobile phones in the province. WATCH (Nov. 28, 2018): Alert Ready testing still hit and miss 1:25 Alert Ready testing still hit and miss Alert Ready testing still hit and miss – Nov 28, 2018 The public will also hear and see a test alert on radio, television and compatible wireless devices. Story continues below advertisement Members of the public are being reminded not to call 911 for information about the alert. READ MORE: Ontario and Quebec opt out of alert system test, citing concerns for flood victims The province says the test is necessary to determine the system’s readiness for a real emergency and to identify any bugs ahead of a formal rollout. WATCH (May 9, 2018): Emergency alert texts tested in most of Canada 1:34 Emergency alert texts tested in most of Canada Emergency alert texts tested in most of Canada – May 9, 2018 Upon initial deployment, the system will only be used in B.C. to warn of impending tsunamis and Amber Alerts. However, it could be expanded in the future to include notifications for emergencies such as wildfires or floods. You can find out more about the Alert Ready emergency alert system here. Advertisement<doc-sep>Emergency officials will run another test of Canada's emergency alert system later today. If all goes according to plan, the emergency notification system called Alert Ready will interrupt TV and radio broadcasts and send test notifications to compatible mobile devices. All provinces and territories except Quebec and Ontario will be part of the test. The two provinces are opting out because officials don't want to send unnecessary alerts to residents still trying to cope with historic flooding. According to the Alert Ready website, the notifications will roll out at the following times: (alertready.ca) Alert Ready aims to provide rapid information on issues ranging from Amber Alerts to natural disasters. Previous tests of the system, however, have revealed some issues with the system. Not all devices work In May 2018, authorities tested the system over multiple days but many Canadians reported they didn't get the notifications on their devices. A second round of testing took place in November 2018. The Alert Ready website notes not all devices will receive notifications. "Device compatibility, software version, phone settings and connection to an LTE network can impact whether the alert is received," the organization says. According to Alert Ready's website only phones on an LTE network at the time the alert is issued will receive it. (Aaron Amat/Shutterstock) Canadians who don't receive the test notification are advised to check the settings on their phones, update operating system software and make sure they are connected to an LTE network. Phones not on an LTE mobile network when the alert is issued will not receive it, the Alert Ready website says. Better information B.C. MLA Jennifer Rice, who serves as the province's parliamentary secretary for emergency preparedness, said the test will hopefully provide a progress update on Alert Ready. She said compatibility issues have not all been worked out but the system is getting better. "We've made improvements and we've learned about problems," Rice said. "We're continuously improving and it's getting better and better and more people are receiving the notification. "It'll be a good test for us to see where we're at tomorrow." Rice said B.C. 's tsunami warning in 2018 is a good example of how a system like Alert Ready could help. It was a scary situation, she said, and many people didn't have accurate information about where to go. If Alert Ready had been in place, people could have been directed to information from local authorities, Rice said. "All emergencies start local," she said. "So the best source of information is from your local government or local representation."<doc-sep>
Get ready to hear or see an alert on your cellphone at 1:55 p.m. Canada’s emergency notification system, called Alert Ready, will be interrupting TV and radio broadcasts and sending test notifications to compatible cellphones. All provinces and territories except Ontario and Quebec will be part of the test. Ontario and Quebec have decided it would be too disruptive to send unnecessary alert tones to people dealing with historic flooding in those provinces. In British Columbia, the notifications will roll out at 1:55 p.m. During the test, the public will hear this alert tone and hear or see the following message on radio, TV, and compatible wireless devices: This is a TEST of the British Columbia Emergency Alerting System, issued by Emergency Management British Columbia. This is ONLY a TEST. If this had been an actual emergency or threat, you would now hear instructions that would assist you to protect you and your family. For further information go to www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca. This is ONLY a TEST, no action is required. In order to receive emergency alerts on a cellphone it must be a smartphone that is able to use the LTE (or 4G) network for high-speed wireless communication, wireless public alerting compatible, have up-to-date software, be connected to an LTE cellular network at the time the emergency alert is issued and within the emergency alert area. CHEK Newsletter Sign up for our newsletter to get breaking news and daily digests sent to your email. Email Address Sign Up The public is asked not to call 911 for additional information about the test. If a cellphone is set to silent, there will usually be no sound with the emergency alert message. However, sometimes an alert sound can override user settings depending on the service provider. Alert Ready is designed to warn about natural disasters, biological and terrorist threats and civil emergencies, as well as localized Amber Alerts. In May 2018, authorities tested the system over multiple days but many Canadians reported they didn’t get the notifications on their devices. The second round of testing took place in November 2018. For more information and to see if your cellphone is compatiblevisit the Alert Ready website here. With files from The Canadian Press and CBC