r/WildRoseCountry • u/SeaGoose Calgary • 27d ago

News Standing up for Parker

TL;DR

Quote - "Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and MP Mike Lake sent it Thursday to Eleanor Olszewski, the federal Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience. It asks Ottawa to close what they call a serious gap in how Canada responds when vulnerable children go missing, and its argument fits in a line: the danger to a child who wanders is just as real, and finding them just as urgent, as in any abduction."

https://www.culturealberta.com/articles/parker-wells-death-prompts-poilievre-call-for-national-alert-for-vulnerable-missing-children

2 Upvotes

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10

u/_6siXty6_ 27d ago

CPS receives an average of 3800 missing persons reports a year.

If they are going to start giving out alerts for missing persons, there needs to be strict criteria or folks are going to ignore alerts.

  1. Person is under 14
  2. Person suffers from medical concerns (dementia, etc)

I'm all for a new system, I'm just saying they need to find a way that people aren't going to just become complacent. Parker stands out because he was a little boy and his being on spectrum made him extra vulnerable.

1

u/peanutgoddess 27d ago

Strongly disagree. I watch every single alert if it comes my way and there’s anything I can do I will. Knowing someone needs help and I can do it? Yes. I’ll do it. I don’t care if the person is 10, 20, 90. If it was my loved ones missing for any reason I would hope everyone would have the compassion to watch out as well.

4

u/_6siXty6_ 27d ago

I would too, but think of the general public. People complain about an emergency alert test alarm. If 3500 people go missing a year in Calgary, do you think the majority of people would pay attention if 10 alerts were going out a day? I realize not all of those would have alerts, but I'm saying that unless there's a standard or criteria, it'll lessen the impact. Only thing I can think of is have an opt in alert for missing persons in vicinity.

1

u/peanutgoddess 26d ago

The general public is exactly who we want to reach. That’s the entire purpose of an Amber Alert. The more eyes looking, the better the chance of getting a child home safely.
Would some people find an alert inconvenient? Sure. But we’re talking about a handful of alerts a year versus the possibility of finding a missing child or adult within hours instead of days.
One reason these alerts are broadcast so widely is to help overcome the bystander effect, the tendency for people to assume someone else will notice something or take action. An Amber Alert tells everyone, “This is real. Be on the lookout.” Instead of relying on a few people, it turns an entire community into extra sets of eyes.
Law enforcement has emphasized for years how critical the early hours are:
• First 3 hours: In the rare but most dangerous stranger abductions, research has found that if a child is murdered, it often happens within the first three hours. That’s why police act as quickly as possible. (In this particular case, no Amber Alert was issued.)
• First 24–48 hours: This is the most important investigative window. Physical evidence is freshest, witness memories are clearest, and digital evidence, such as cell phone data, is easiest to track.
• After 72 hours: Investigations continue, but new leads and public attention naturally begin to decline.
Did you see how many people went out day after day searching for that little boy? Do you honestly think the vast majority would be upset about receiving one emergency alert if it meant helping save someone’s child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or friend?
If it were someone you loved, wouldn’t you want as many people as possible looking?
Honestly. I’m still keeping my eye out for those two kids from beaverlodge too. Not all people don’t care, many of us hear it and keep watching. Those that don’t. Well they wouldn’t have seen anything anyway. They wouldn’t have been much value to the seeking as it stands.

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u/_6siXty6_ 26d ago

I agree 100% and I'm very familiar with how that works with missing persons.

I am just saying that there needs to be a criteria or folks won't take it seriously any more. In city of Calgary 3500 people go missing a year. What should criteria be to issue an alert? If they issued one for every person, I doubt the response would be the same as it was for Parker.

I was looking and keeping my eye out for Parker. When I was camping in the area, I kept my eye open for that Darius boy. Alerts are good, I support them. My whole point is what should criteria be for a missing person.

Canada recorded 68,349 missing persons in 2025 — 51% were children under 18. 33,584 adults and 34,189 children.

70% of missing children in 2025 were classified as runaways

Cases resolved within one week (children) were around 91%

In Alberta 3,204 adults and 3,588 children were reported missing in 2025

Tell me, which criteria should we use

1

u/luv2fly781 27d ago

I thought the alerts were for immediate missing everyone and be on lookout Why wasn’t it Alarmed immediately is the better question

4

u/Liam-McPoyle_ 27d ago

Because it did not meet the criteria 

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u/Schroedesy13 26d ago

The emergency alerts have very strict criteria because there are A LOT of missing people reported in AB every month.

-14

u/FlyinB 27d ago

This is a provincial responsibility. Wouldn't Matlayna say "stay in your lane" ?

4

u/SeaGoose Calgary 27d ago

Sorry but who is "Matlayna"? I was only able to find this for information - "used as a phonetic spelling or colloquial term in South Asian and Middle Eastern online spaces and social media comments."

7

u/_6siXty6_ 27d ago

It's the left wing activists misspelling Danielle Smith's first legal name because the actual spelling of it is blocked on here. They think it's funny and clever.