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Alberta real-estate sellers get safety app after Calgary agent assaulted

A real estate sign is pictured in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, June, 12, 2018. The Alberta Real Estate Association is providing its members with an emergency response app after a Realtor was sexually assaulted at an open house in Calgary last month. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward

CALGARY — An association representing Alberta real-estate agents is providing its members with an emergency response app to help keep them safe when they’re working alone.

The move comes after a female agent was sexually assaulted by a man at an open house in Calgary last month.

The Alberta Real Estate Association is including a subscription to the LifeLine Response app at no additional cost to its membership dues.

The not-for-profit association has more than 10,500 members.

The app allows Realtors to alert their personal support network or summon emergency responders to their GPS location.

Users can also view threat notifications in their area.

“Realtors love helping their clients with the largest and most important purchases of their lives, but the job requires us to sometimes work alone in unfamiliar locations and with relative strangers,” association chairwoman Jennifer Gilbert said Tuesday.

“The LifeLine Response app is an important tool in improving Realtor safety.”

The Canadian Press