Your phone is about to perform an emergency alert test

In less than an hour, Ontario will broadcast public test messages via Alert Ready, Canada's emergency alert system.

The test message will be broadcast on TV, radio and compatible wireless devices at 13:55 local time.

The first test took place during Emergency Preparedness Week in May 2018.

The purpose of Alert Ready is to allow government agencies to issue emergency alerts to Ontario residents in life-threatening situations. These include fires, natural disasters, releases of hazardous substances, air quality problems, terrorist threats and civil emergencies. These alerts have been broadcast on television and radio since 2015 and on compatible wireless devices since April 2018.

Not all Ontarians will receive the alert test on their wireless devices for reasons such as device compatibility, LTE network connection, cell tower coverage, device settings and software.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has set a target that 50% of new devices currently available for sale in Canada are compatible with Alert Ready. This goal will increase to 100% by April 2019.

For more information, visit http://www.alertready.ca.