Chilliwack-Hope MP Mark Strahl is asking people to sign an e-petition on the Government of Canada’s website, calling for the expansion of Canada’s Amber Alert system to include adults who go missing under suspicious circumstances.
The petition, which went live on Jan. 23, comes two months after he introduced private member’s motion M-89 which “calls on the government to work with the provinces and territories to expand protections for victims of crime over the age of 18 by amending the criteria for the activation of an Amber Alert for missing persons,” Strahl stated in a press release.
The motion supports the work of Alina Durham, mother of Shaelene Keeler Bell, a 23-year-old Chilliwack woman who went missing on Jan. 30, 2021. Bell was later found dead on June 2, 2021 in the Fraser River near Coquitlam.
The petition, initiated by Durham, calls upon the House of Commons to support motion M-89.
READ MORE: Chilliwack-Hope MP Mark Strahl calls for creation of adult Amber Alert
“Alina has used her personal tragedy to draw attention to a gap in Canada’s missing persons protocols. Right now, Amber Alerts are only issued if the victim is under the age of 18. There is no Amber Alert system for adults,” he said.
Alina Durham holds a photo of her daughter Shaelene Bell in her home on Jan. 12, 2023. Bell went missing on Jan. 30, 2021 and her body was found on June 2, 2021 in the Fraser River near Coquitlam. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress file)
Durham has been trying for two and a half years to get the criteria changed in the Amber Alert to include adults who go missing under suspicious circumstances and are at risk of imminent danger or death.
According to the e-petition, the adult Amber Alert would be issued when all of the following are met:
(a) police have reasonable grounds to believe that the victim has been abducted;
(b) police have reasonable grounds to believe victim is in imminent danger;
(c) police have obtained enough descriptive information about the victim, abductor or the vehicle involved; and
(d) police believe that the alert can be issued in a time frame that will provide a reasonable expectation that the victim can be returned or the abductor apprehended.
“In Canada, we need to do better when it comes to finding missing persons. I hope that my motion M-89 will start an important conversation in addressing this problem. If you support my motion, consider signing Alina’s online petition,” Strahl said. “Thank you to Alina for her advocacy for missing adults and I hope that people across Chilliwack-Hope and across Canada will join me in supporting my private member’s motion and Alina’s petition in honour of Shaelene.”
To sign the petition, go to ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4767
The petition is open for four months and closes at 10:08 a.m. on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.
