The Issue

Before an Amber Alert can be issued anywhere in Canada, police must have confirmation that an abduction has occurred. In many of the most dangerous disappearances, that certainty does not exist in the critical first hours—when a child could be lost, in danger, or taken, and investigators are still trying to determine what happened.

Those first hours are when public awareness, rapid mobilization, and every available resource matter most.

Six-year-old Darius MacDougall disappeared on September 21 near Tent Mountain and Island Lake Campground, just kilometres from the Alberta–British Columbia border and the busy Crowsnest Highway corridor. Search dogs were deployed. Helicopters took to the skies. Drones, law enforcement officers, Search and Rescue teams, and volunteers searched tirelessly.

But because there was no confirmed evidence of an abduction, an Amber Alert could not be issued.

Nobody could say with certainty what had happened to him. And that uncertainty — not a lack of danger, not a lack of urgency — was enough on its own to keep an Amber Alert off the table.

A six-year-old child vanished near a major transportation route and provincial border, triggering one of the largest search efforts in the region's history.

Yet the public was never alerted.

Darius is not alone.

Parker Wells in Calgary.

Lilly and Jack Sullivan in Nova Scotia.

Dylan Ehler in Truro.

And many, many, more..

Different families. Different circumstances. The same heartbreaking reality.

No Amber Alert.

Not because there wasn't concern.

Not because there wasn't risk.

But because the legal threshold for an Amber Alert required proof a confirmed abduction.

That is the gap Darius's Law seeks to close.

Because when a vulnerable person disappears, the first few hours are the most important. Every minute that passes reduces the chances of a successful outcome. Mobilizing the public when needed is both cost effective, and practical however

The public cannot help if the public is never told.

Today, Canada's alert system is built around proving an abduction has occurred.

But many disappearances don't begin with proof.

They begin with uncertainty.

And so the clock keeps ticking.

The United States and Mexico already allow law enforcement greater discretion to issue alerts based on credible risk rather than waiting for proof of an abduction. We need give our police the power to issue an alert based on credible risk and bring our policies in line with best practices already used across North America, Australia, and much of Europe. 

Because Amber Alert criteria are set province by province, closing this gap for good means the federal government must work with every province and territory to harmonize the standard — exactly the kind of coordinating role Ottawa is positioned to play.

Closing this gap would strengthen public safety for every Canadian family, while providing greater protection for children and vulnerable persons — including Indigenous communities, who are already disproportionately represented among Canada's missing persons cases.

We call on Prime Minister Mark Carney, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, Premier Danielle Smith, Premier David Eby, and all Provincial leaders across Canada to support Darius's Law and modernize Canada's emergency alert framework.

If your child disappeared tomorrow, would you want police to act immediately using every tool available to bring them home—or would you want them forced to wait for proof of an abduction before an Amber Alert could be issued?

Please sign, share, and advocate to your local, provincial, and federal representatives. 
 
Because the next family doesn't have time to wait.