The Métis Nation–Saskatchewan is calling on the provincial government to consider creating a new emergency alert system for missing vulnerable people who may not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert.
The proposed Indigo Alert was brought forward in Alberta following the death of 11-year-old Parker Wells. The autistic Calgary boy was reported missing from his daycare home on July 16 and was found dead in a culvert following a 13-day search. His disappearance did not meet Amber Alert criteria.
MN–S Health and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Beverly Fullerton says the issue hits close to home because her son Weston is autistic, non-speaking and lives with a severe intellectual developmental disability.
“For families like mine, this issue is not theoretical. It is a fear we carry every day, and it can become a life-or-death emergency within minutes,” Fullerton said. “A new system needs to be put in place to close those gaps.”
Fullerton, Child and Family Services Minister Loretta King and Justice Minister Brennan Merasty have written their Saskatchewan government counterparts asking for a cooperative approach to exploring a new alert system, including Indigenous involvement in its development.
King said the issue is also personal for her after her niece Adyson went missing near Meadow Lake last year. King said her family and community organized an intensive ground search that ultimately located her.
“We need an inclusive alert system that carries the same weight as an Amber Alert, no matter who the missing individual is,” King said.
MN–S says an Indigo Alert could cover people with autism, dementia, mental or physical challenges and others considered vulnerable.
Alberta has said it will look at expanding its emergency alert protocols for missing vulnerable or neurodivergent children. MN–S wants Saskatchewan to consider going further by developing a system that could include missing people of all ages.