(August 12, 2021) – Lloyd Parrott, MHA for Terra Nova, says Tuesday evening’s emergency alert raises concerns about Newfoundland and Labrador's emergency alert system.

“We all owe the first responders who assisted with Tuesday evening’s incident a debt of gratitude. The first responders responded to a dangerous situation and were able to avert a crisis. For that, we thank their efforts,” said Parrott.

“But the lack of an emergency alert sent through government channels is alarming. The local RCMP say they requested an alert, but had apprehended the suspect before it was sent. That’s good news, but there was almost an hour between the first notification of the incident and word of the arrest. A lot can happen in that time and the alert was nowhere to be seen.”

Parrott says even had the alert gone out, there’s no guarantee everyone in the area would have received it.

“Cellular service in the area of the incident is notoriously bad. Those who live in the area may have been unaware of the incident as a result. Connectivity is a health and safety issue, especially in the event of an emergency,” said Parrott.

“In 2020, it took two and a half hours for an amber alert to be distributed to the public. Again, that’s a lot of time for things to go right or wrong. We need an emergency alert service that is reliable and these two incidents show a weakness. The Minister need to explain what he will do to make sure this system works.”
 

Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Communications

(p) (709) 769-2216
DavidMaher@gov.nl.ca

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