Canada's mandated National Alert system has been the centre of much debate here, interrupting every radio and TV station with emergency bulletins ranging from tornado warnings and Amber Alerts to simple test transmissions. It's been criticized for its originally incomprehensible robot voice, which actually pronounced the edict to "call 911" to "call September 2011."

Things have improved since then, but now comes this - the CRTC has ordered the warnings be sent to your cell and smart phones. I'm assuming it will be text only, but can you imagine if it interrupts a call in mid-progress? I suppose it's a good thing in the end, but for some, it will be just another intrusion in their day.

Ready or not, the Commission has ordered it be in place by April 2018, a year from now.

Wireless service providers must join the National Public Alerting System