This petition calls on the federal government to work with provinces, territories, and disability organizations to create national standards for public alerts when people with autism, intellectual disabilities, or non-speaking individuals go missing.

People with autism, non-speaking individuals, and people with intellectual or developmental disabilities can face immediate, life-threatening risk when they go missing, whether or not abduction is suspected;

These risks can be especially urgent when a missing person may have difficulty communicating, recognizing danger, seeking help, or finding their way to safety;

Existing missing-person public alert frameworks can rely on criteria such as age or suspected abduction, which may leave gaps when a vulnerable person faces immediate danger but does not meet those criteria;

Authority over alert criteria rests with each province and territory, and consistent national standards, including how alerts are distributed and reported, would help ensure new alert frameworks have real world impact rather than existing only on paper; and

Families, advocacy organizations, and communities have called for a coordinated national approach to public alerts and use of voluntary location finding technology for vulnerable people.

We, the undersigned,citizens and residents of Canada, call upon theGovernment of Canadato convene provinces, territories, law enforcement, autism and disability organizations, and affected families to develop shared national standards for a vulnerable missing persons alert framework to better protect people with autism, non-speaking individuals, and people with intellectual or developmental disabilities who wander or go missing, including geo-targeted alert distribution based on the missing person's likely location, use of voluntary location finding technology, clear authority and appropriate tools for law enforcement to act quickly, annual public reporting on number of alerts requested and issued in each jurisdiction, and dedicated public awareness and first responder training so that any new framework has real world impact.