Posted at 6:00 a.m.
After texts from friends, notifications from the media, and AMBER alerts, now Environment Canada is grabbing my phone to make me vibrate. What is this new intrusion for?
On Saturday, May 21, as thunderstorms swept through Quebec, Environment Canada sent an alert that was to sound the regions affected by the storm. It was the first time that this agency under federal jurisdiction had used this provision. Since April, Environment Canada has been able to issue alerts in the event of winds exceeding 130 km/h, tornadoes or hail exceeding the size of a baseball (7 cm or more).
The goal is obviously to give the population time to take shelter. For example, on that famous May 21, a group of triathletes in training was near Lac Moore, in the Laurentians, when thunderstorms transformed the landscape on May 21. But the alert system is not perfect. Of the 60 people present, some received alerts very quickly, others 30 minutes later, describes Annie-Claude Bédard, president of the Triathlon Laval club. A little more and the athletes found themselves trapped in the lake, in the middle of a swimming session. Thanks to the alerts, they were able to take refuge in time at the Manitonga inn.
Photo provided by Triathlon Laval
The members of Triathlon Laval in Mont-Tremblant, the day after the storms of May 21, 2022
Does my GPS need to be on to receive an alert?
No. “The GPS is not used at all,” explains Jonathan Bonneau, associate professor at the School of Media at the University of Quebec in Montreal. It’s a matter of cellular connection: if you’re able to make emergency calls, you should be able to receive alerts. »
Cell phones are in constant communication with the nearest cell towers, explains Stéphane Hamel, cybermetrics and computer specialist. “In doing so, the identification of the telephone is exchanged (the famous identifier of the SIM card unique to each cellphone and to each provider), he adds. A triangulation of these turns makes it possible to position the cellular quite precisely. »
What does that mean exactly? We are talking about approximately 125 m in urban areas, 300 m in semi-urban areas and up to 4 km in rural areas, replies the specialist. This is the famous GSM geolocation system (for Global System for Mobile communication).
With this triangulation, the provider can know the phone number and send the alert to people within a defined perimeter.
Does this respect my right to privacy?
Your phone number, username and location are protected personal information. However, the Privacy Act of Canada indicates that there is an exception in the event of an “emergency situation endangering the life, health or safety of any individual”, points out Stéphane Hamel.
Why didn’t my phone receive an alarm?
Your phone may not be compatible with Wireless Public Alerting Service (WPAS), which is used by the Canadian service On alert.
Additionally, your phone must be both using an LTE network and connected to an LTE network at the time the alert is issued (some regions or cell towers still use 3G networks, the pre-LTE technology).
In Quebec, it is the Quebec alert system, under the Ministry of Public Security, which issues alerts in the event of an emergency.
Can several people in the same place receive the signal at different times?
Sending alerts is done simultaneously to all mobile devices in a certain area using a method called Cell Broadcast, explains Marc-Étienne Léveillé, a malware researcher.
However, how the alert will be received by each person will vary depending on the type of mobile device and its telephony service provider. Two people in the same place with different devices or providers may therefore receive the alerts at different times.
Under what circumstances do we receive alerts on our cellphones?
The Canadian government was already broadcasting alerts by radio and television. Since April 6, those by cell phone have been added by Alert Ready.
In Quebec, alerts are issued in the event of events that “present a real or imminent threat, such as natural disasters, forest fires, risks of explosion of hazardous materials and Amber alerts”, specifies the Quebec government. .
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault believes that alerts like the May 21 alert should be improved to ensure that they reach the right people at the right time, reported The Canadian Press on May 25.
With the collaboration of Judith Lachapelle, The Press