A Winnipeg Member of Parliament is pushing for a national alert system to help find missing seniors.
Raquel Dancho has introduced legislation that would create a national framework for Silver Alerts across Canada. Silver Alerts are issued when a vulnerable adult goes missing.
Bill C-263 was created after the tragic disappearance of Earl Moberg, a Winnipeg senior living with dementia who went missing in 2023 and was never found.
“Earl Moberg was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather from our community,” said Raquel Dancho. “Despite an exhaustive search, he was never found. Cases like this remind us that every minute matters when a vulnerable senior goes missing.”
An e-petition launched by the Moberg family and sponsored by Dancho gathered more than 7,300 signatures from Canadians across the country, calling for the creation of a national Silver Alert system.
Dancho says in Moberg’s case, it is believed that he may have been spotted after his disappearance, but those who saw him weren’t aware that he was missing.
According to Dancho, by 2030, nearly one million Canadians are expected to be living with dementia, and she says many will go missing at some point.
“When someone living with dementia goes missing, minutes and hours can mean the difference between life and death,” said Britt Moberg, daughter of Earl Moberg. “Even months into the search, we continued to meet people in the area who had no idea he was missing.”
The hope is that this new bill will help prevent any further similar situations.
“If the public is alerted quickly, someone who sees a missing person may recognize them and contact authorities,” said Dancho.
The Silver Alert National Framework Act would require the federal government to work with provinces, territories, and law enforcement to establish coordinated national standards for issuing rapid public alerts when vulnerable adults with dementia or other cognitive impairments go missing.
“A Silver Alert sent to mobile devices could quickly reach people in the local community, helping locate missing older adults faster and saving lives. The tools already exist, and now we need to use them,” added Moberg.
The bill is expected to be debated in the House of Commons later this year.