Conservative MP, Poilievre call for new framework for public alerts after Calgary boy’s death

Conservative MP, Poilievre call for new framework for public alerts after Calgary boy’s death ROB DRINKWATER THE CANADIAN PRESS PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO UPDATED 46 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: Mike Lake and his son Jaden, pictured in this undated photo. Lake says that left on their own, a child with autism can find themselves in serious danger within minutes. MIKE LAKE/THE CANADIAN PRESS 1 COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Whenever Mike Lake hears news that a child with autism is missing, he knows how vulnerable they are. “There’s a need to catch my breath a little bit because it hits close to home right away,” the Conservative MP from Alberta said in a phone interview on Thursday. Lake and his party’s leader, Pierre Poilievre, are both fathers of children with autism. They are calling for a Canada-wide framework for public alerts when vulnerable children go missing, even when abduction or foul play is not suspected. Lake’s son, Jaden, is now 30, but he said a child with autism on their own can be in serious danger within minutes. “He has and has always had a really visual memory. He would know exactly where a swimming pool that he likes is, or a park that he likes is, but the abstract world is a little bit tougher for him to navigate,” Lake said about his son, who is non-verbal. “So things like danger and understanding traffic, and dangers around water and those kind of things for a lot of kids on the autism spectrum – particularly in that range of the autism spectrum – are really difficult.” On July 16, an 11-year-old boy named Parker, who had autism and was non-verbal, wandered from his daycare home in Calgary just before lunchtime. He was found dead in a labyrinth of pipes under the city, police announced Wednesday. Early in the search, Parker’s family described him in a statement as a “loved son, brother and friend.” A massive search galvanized the city, with hundreds of officers and volunteers scouring city blocks, homes, sheds, garages, boats and under patio decks. Calgary police Chief Katie McLellan says an 11-year-old boy who disappeared two weeks ago in a northside neighbourhood has been found dead. McLellan says the boy was discovered in a water pipe underneath Deerfoot Trail, the city's major north-south expressway, after a tip from the public. THE CANADIAN PRESS The search raised questions about how to alert the public…