Poilievre calls for changes to public alert system after missing Calgary boy found dead

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for faster public alerts when children with special needs go missing, after an 11-year-old Calgary boy with autism was found dead following a two-week search.

Poilievre and Conservative MP Mike Lake said in a letter to federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski that the search for Parker Wells may have had a happier ending if the public had been notified about his disappearance sooner.

“Parker’s death has … exposed a serious gap in how Canada responds when vulnerable children go missing,” wrote Poilievre and Lake.

Parker, who was autistic and non-speaking, wandered off the grounds of a specialized day home shortly before noon on July 16. Because his disappearance was not a suspected abduction, an Amber Alert only went out when authorities issued a special exemption two days later.

A 13-day search for Parker ended tragically on Wednesday , when his remains were found inside a drainage pipe just a few kilometres away.

“The danger existed from the moment Parker went missing. The alert system should have been able to respond from that moment,” reads the letter.

The letter urges Olszewski to spearhead the creation of a Canada-wide framework for timely alerts when special needs or otherwise vulnerable children go missing, regardless of whether abduction or foul play is suspected.

It also calls for better first-responder and search protocols for missing autistic and intellectually disabled children, and for greater police powers to issue timely alerts when a vulnerable child’s life may be at risk.

Wandering is a common behaviour among children with autism and has been known to lead to traffic incidents and drownings.

Some advocates have called for a special “Indigo Alert” system for vulnerable children who go missing after wandering off or being separated from their caregivers.

Poilievre says the issue is personal to him as the father of a seven-year-old daughter, Valentina, who has autism and is mostly non-speaking.

Lake, whose 30-year-old son Jaden lives with autism, told National Post that he’s had a few close calls over the years.

“(Jaden’s) always had very visual memory. He could decided that he needs to go somewhere and, in his mind, he knows where it is,” said Lake.

Lake said he still vividly remembers when a teenaged Jaden wandered off during a family vacation.

“It took about 15 minutes to locate him, but in that 15 minutes there was a panic that set in,” said Lake.

Lake said he spoke briefly with Olszewski on Thursday and that the two will be meeting again next week.

Olszewski said in a statement that she appreciated Poilievre and Lake raising the issue and looked forward to the meeting with Lake.

She added that she was engaged in “ongoing” work with provincial and territorial counterparts to “strengthen the reliability and consistency of the (alert) system across Canada, informed by the recommendations of Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission .”

“ While provinces and territories are responsible for deciding when and how many types of alerts are issued, we remain committed to working together to ensure Canadians receive timely and reliable emergency alerts when they need them most,” said Olszewski.

National Postrmohamed@postmedia.com

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