The Ontario Provincial Police are reminding the public that calling 911 or any emergency service communication centre is not an appropriate venue to complain about Amber Alerts.
The system was put into use early Thursday morning after two young boys were reported missing. The children were found in good health, along with their grandfather at around 5 a.m.
York Regional Police said that the Amber Alert was directly responsible for the boys being located.
"The Ontario Amber Alert program continues to be an instrumental tool in assisting both the public and police with locating an abducted child who may be in danger," said the OPP in a news release.
"The decision to utilize the Ontario Amber Alert is based on established criteria, and is not taken lightly."
In 2019, there have been five Amber Alerts activated. As a direct result of these alerts, four assisted in the safe return of the child/children and one with the apprehension of a suspect.
"The OPP recognizes the inconvenience the alert may have caused, but will not apologize for using all of the tools available to help locate a child," said the OPP.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) mandated the broadcasting industry to distribute emergency alert messages, which includes Amber Alerts.
As of April 2018, compatible wireless networks (wireless public alerting) were included in this mandate. The only option to not receive these alerts to a mobile device is to have your device turned off.
However, if your device is turned off you will be unable to receive any emergency alert that may contain information of imminent danger in your area.
For more information regarding Canada's emergency alerting system visit the Alert Ready website.
