Province Introduces Test of SaskAlert Emergency System

Released on January 29, 2015

Today Emergency Management and Fire Safety Commissioner Duane McKay announced that testing of an emergency public alerting program known as SaskAlert will begin on February 1, 2015 within the western third of the province. 

“SaskAlert is a valuable tool which will enable participating municipalities, government agencies and other trained stakeholders to share vital information directly with residents when an emergency strikes,” Government Relations Minister Jim Reiter said.  “The upcoming testing phase will be tremendously valuable for program developers to assess the capacity of the SaskAlert program.”

Testing will occur in the western third of the province in communities as far north as Meadow Lake Provincial Park, extending south to the Montana border, west to the Alberta/Saskatchewan border and east to include the cities of Meadow Lake, North Battleford and Swift Current. 

During the test phase, members of the public will see test alerts through The Weather Network’s website, smart phone app, Twitter feed and TV channel.  These will be clearly marked as “test only” messages to ensure against false reporting.  In the event of a real emergency during the testing period, the SaskAlert program will be used to issue actual live alerts.
Once the test phase is completed and an evaluation has occurred, a province-wide implementation of SaskAlert will begin.

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For more information, contact:

Jay Teneycke
Government Relations
Regina
Phone: 306-798-6095
Email: jay.teneycke@gov.sk.ca