Facebook has added a new socially conscience feature to their news feeds.

Canadian Facebook users will now get Amber Alerts in their news feed, in an effort to help in the search for missing children. The social media site is working with police departments across the country to provide the service.

Lena Diab, Nova Scotia’s justice minister, says the best way to ensure you receive these notifications is to like your province’s Amber Alert page.

“That's all they have to do and share it,” says Diab. “In this way, you can share it, you can like it and if and when we ever need to send out an Amber Alert, then you're already on the system and you'll receive all those messages.”

Supt. Ray Oliver, of the RCMP Major Crimes Unit, says time is critical in an Amber Alert and, according to Facebook, more than 13 million Canadians use the network on their mobile phones every day.

“It's getting the information and soliciting citizens of Nova Scotia and throughout Canada to assist the police in tracking and hopefully uncovering who's responsible for such an abduction and bringing the victim in this case, home safely,” says Oliver.

Only the police will be able to put Amber Alert information on the Facebook page and the public won’t be able to leave comments.

“If you have any messages or anything…there will be a phone number. You can always send a text message, you can send a tweet, you can do so many things these days,” says Diab.

The Amber Alert program in Nova Scotia was introduced ten years ago, but in that time, no alerts have been issued.

The head of the province's police chiefs association believes the partnership with Facebook will greatly improve response time, if it's ever needed.

“Traditional media still plays a very important role, and in an abducted child, it would as well. However, Facebook is instant. People have it on their mobile phone and it's a good way to get that information out quickly,” says Chief Dave MacNeil.

If you haven't clicked like on the Amber Alert page, you could still get an Amber Alert on your Facebook account if it's believed the missing child may be in your geographic area. However police do encourage everyone on Facebook to like Amber Alert.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh