Proposed legislation to create a national Silver Alert system, like that for Amber Alerts, “is about saving lives using existing technology,” says the Manitoba MP who put forth the private member’s bill in March.
“This is not a political bill. This is not a partisan bill. This is not a right-versus-left issue,” Conservative MP Raquel Dancho, who represents the Manitoba riding of Kildonan-St. Paul, said Wednesday ahead of the second reading in the House of Commons of Bill C-263, the Silver Alert National Framework Act.
“This is very much a human issue. It is about saving lives using existing technology.”
If the bill passes debate on second reading, it will go to committee for “robust discussion with expert testimony,” Dancho said.
“That’s our first hope, that we pass it to committee.”
The legislation was inspired and informed by the experiences of Winnipeg’s Moberg family after the disappearance of 81-year-old Earl Moberg, who had advanced dementia and left his home in the city’s North Kildonan area in December 2023.
“Despite extensive search efforts, he was never found to date and is presumed deceased,” Dancho said.
Bill C-263 would establish a national framework to support rapid public alerts when vulnerable seniors with dementia or other cognitive impairments go missing.
Moberg’s daughter, Britt Moberg, has pushed for years for a better emergency alert system for missing vulnerable adults.
“There’s so much fear and helplessness that happens. In our experience, we weren’t able to reach the public fast enough with the present system,” Britt said, sitting with Dancho on a Zoom call from the MP’s Ottawa office.
A police alert was posted on social media the day after Moberg vanished, but that requires people to find it online, which is far less effective than an alert sent to people’s phones, Britt said.
“And it’s time that we don’t have. In my father’s case, this was a medical emergency.”
Later, as Moberg’s story became widely reported, a woman came forward saying she spoke with a man matching his description. Confused and disoriented, the man was in a Dynacare lab — the one Moberg would have frequented, Dancho said.
“He said that his phone was dead. That’s what he was able to verbalize,” she said.
The encounter took place the day after Moberg walked away from home.
“But of course, this lady had no idea that he was missing, or that it was Earl Moberg, and we’ll never quite be sure,” Dancho said.
Had that woman received a Silver Alert before the encounter, the outcome could have been much different, Dancho said.
“Perhaps, if that was the case, Mr. Moberg would still be with us today.”
There are already national alerts for weather or missing children, so the infrastructure is there, Dancho said.
Her legislation would require the federal government to work with police and emergency management officials, medical caregivers and experts in all provinces to establish a national framework with consistent standards across the country.
Not every missing senior should trigger an alert, she said, citing “alert fatigue.”
That’s the reason for consultation with experts — to determine how and when it should be triggered.
The time is coming when it could be heavily relied upon, she said.
“As Canada’s population ages, more families will face these very dire situations,” Dancho said.
Nearly one million Canadians are projected to be living with dementia by the year 2030, the Alzheimer Society of Canada says. That’s forecast to climb to more than 1.7 million by 2050.
“I really hope there can be many lives that can be saved from this bill,” Britt said.
