MasoniCh.I.P. Ontario: A sigh of relief for Ontario parents

Bill Bowick | Apr 08, 2010

What could Masons and the Amber Alert possibly have in common? At MasoniCh.I.P. taking place on Saturday, April 24, at Sharbot Lake High School, 14358 Road #38, Masons in partnership with the Sharbot Lake Lions Club, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 425 and the OPP will be on hand to further the safety of area children.

No parent wants to believe that the unimaginable could happen to them, though nearly 55 children are reported missing to Police in Ontario every day (164 every day in Canada). According to Canada's "Our Missing Children" network and "Ontario Child Find", a current good quality photo is the single most effective tool in locating a missing child. Parents are encouraged to be prepared by assembling their child's photos and vital information ahead of time. Enter MasoniCh.I.P. Ontario (Child Identification Program) - deemed "one of the most comprehensive child recovery and identification programs in the nation" by The National Center for Exploited and Missing Children, and brought exclusively to Ontario families by dedicated Masons free of charge.

Sponsored-by the Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Canada in the Province of Ontario, the MasoniCh.I.P. program consists of five major components - digital photographs; digital video; digital fingerprints; vital child information; and a dental bite impression or Infra Oral Swab for DNA. The photographs, video, fingerprints, and child data are burned onto a C.D. that is compatible with Amber Alert. The dental impression provides a virtual diagram of the child's biting surface, which, like fingerprints, are unique to each individual, and further supplies saliva to provide a DNA sample. Combined, this five-part process provides a dramatic, time-sensitive recovery tool for authorities.

Parents are urged to gather pertinent information about their child prior to the event such as, an emergency contact name, address and phone numbers, distinguishing marks and scars, allergies, medications, and parents work, cell, and other phone numbers, and the child's height and weight. Security and privacy are of utmost importance. All information and specimens are collected on site, processed, and provided to the parent or guardian in an envelope—along with the sentiment of all the Masonic volunteers - "We hope you never need to use it." After each child is processed, the data is deleted and erased from the computer using state-of-the-art software. The only item retained by MasoniCh.I.P. Ontario is the signed permission slip.

This will be one of many MasoniCh.I.P. Ontario child identification clinics offered in our area. The Masonic brethren of Ontario, and their volunteers, are pleased to offer this program to our communities. The sponsoring lodge is Frontenac No. 621, the event on Saturday, April 24, at 11AM to 4PM at Sharbot Lake High School, 14358 Road 38, Sharbot Lake. For further information, on MasoniCh.I.P. Ontario or future MasoniCh.I.P. events, please contact District Coordinator Doug Scott at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 613-354-2211.