Silver Alert National Framework Act

This bill directs the federal Minister of Public Safety to create a national framework supporting a coordinated "silver alert" system across Canada — a public emergency notification used when a vulnerable older person, such as someone living with dementia, goes missing. The goal is to help find these individuals quickly and safely by making better use of Canada's existing public alerting infrastructure, including wireless emergency alerts sent to cell phones.

In developing this framework, the Minister must consult with provincial and territorial governments, police forces, alert-issuing organizations, and care providers for older adults. The framework itself must address several specific issues: making alert systems more consistent and coordinated nationally, setting common criteria for when an alert should be issued (such as evidence the person's safety is at risk), reducing the chances of unnecessary or inappropriate alerts, allowing for both local and cross-provincial alerts, protecting personal privacy in what information is shared and for how long, and promoting public education about the system. The Minister is also given authority to make agreements with provinces and territories on shared standards and practices for running silver alert systems.

The bill does not create the alert system itself or force any province to adopt one; it only requires the federal government to design and propose a framework. Within one year of the law taking effect, the Minister must table a report describing the framework in Parliament and publish it online. Two years after that, the Minister must review how well the framework is working and report back to Parliament with conclusions and any recommended updates.

This bill requires the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to develop a national framework for coordinating silver alerts for missing vulnerable older persons, and allows the Minister to make agreements with provinces and territories to implement it.

• Who holds the power — the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness must develop the framework, in consultation with provincial/territorial public safety representatives, police forces, alert-issuing organizations, and care providers.
• Agreements with provinces/territories — the Minister may (discretionary) enter into agreements on standards, guidelines and codes of practice for administering a silver alert system; the bill does not require these agreements or set their content.
• Content left undefined — the bill lists topics the framework "must include" (risk thresholds, privacy guidelines, geographic and inter-provincial alert design, public education), but does not specify what those thresholds, guidelines or criteria actually are — this is left to the Minister to determine when drafting the framework.
• Obligations and penalties — the Act creates no penalties or enforcement mechanisms for anyone; it imposes only reporting and consultation duties on the Minister.
• Oversight — the Minister must table a report setting out the framework within one year of the Act coming into force, publish it online within 10 days of tabling, and complete a review of its effectiveness within two years after tabling, with conclusions and recommended updates; there is no sunset clause and no requirement that Parliament vote on or approve the framework or any later revisions.