Federal emergency plan needs to be approved and put into action
(Chapter 7—Emergency Management—Public Safety Canada - Fall 2009 Report of the Auditor General)
Ottawa, 3 November 2009—Public Safety Canada needs to ensure that Canada is ready with a coordinated response to large-scale emergencies, whether pandemics, floods, or forest fires, says the Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, in her Report tabled today in the House of Commons.
“The government must be ready to respond quickly and effectively when emergencies arise,” said Ms. Fraser. “Canada needs to have a planned and coordinated approach in place so that federal, provincial, and municipal agencies know what part they will play in managing a crisis.”
Public Safety Canada has developed an interim Federal Emergency Response Plan to coordinate activities in an emergency, but it needs to be assured that other departments are ready to play their part. The audit found that the Plan has not received formal approval by the government or other federal departments. The Report says that until the government fully endorses the plan, elements of the federal response will continue to be managed by individual departments, and it will be difficult for Public Safety Canada to fulfill the role assigned to it by Parliament in 2003.
The audit found that in establishing its Government Operations Centre, Public Safety Canada has made considerable progress toward coordinating response activities. The Centre keeps other departments informed of events in a crisis as they unfold. But there are still obstacles to a coordinated response that may be beyond the control of Public Safety Canada. For example, it is often difficult for firefighters, police officers, and paramedics to communicate with each other in an emergency because their voice communication equipment may not be compatible.
“Until it is clearly established how Public Safety Canada will work with other departments, it will be difficult for it to truly coordinate the federal response to emergency situations,” said Ms. Fraser.
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The chapter “Emergency Management—Public Safety Canada” is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada website.
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