The federal minister responsible for emergency preparedness has not ruled out the creation of a national emergency response agency, which at least one expert says Canada desperately needs.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan was asked Thursday whether Canada should establish a federal emergency response organization similar to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Sajjan did not deny that, but said Ottawa has already committed to providing emergency aid to provinces if requested.
“We need to make sure the right resources are being put into the right places,” he said, adding that the federal government is training more firefighters through departments such as Natural Resources Canada.
Sajian was speaking in Edmonton shortly after the wildfires that destroyed a third of the town of Jasper, Alberta.
“Given the severity of the fire, [for assistance] It has been approved,” the minister said.
Currently, Ottawa cannot provide natural disaster aid without a request from the provincial government.
Ali Asghari, a professor of disaster and emergency management at York University in Toronto, said it’s a “no brainer” that Canada should have some kind of comprehensive disaster management agency.
“The system currently in place relies primarily on local, provincial and territorial emergency responses and is not sufficient or able to respond effectively and in a timely manner,” he told CBC News.
Asgharly said the biggest shortcomings of Canada’s current system are the lack of both pre-disaster risk assessment and planning, both of which he said should be able to be carried out by a central agency.
“If we conduct a proper risk assessment across Canada, we can adapt mitigation measures and provide guidelines for their implementation,” he said.
Last year, when Canada was suffering through its worst wildfire season on record, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested his government was considering creating some kind of national disaster response agency.
“We need to do all we can to anticipate, protect and act before more events like this happen in the future,” he said at the time.
“So we continue to discuss and consider new mechanisms and new ways of doing things.”
Troops were sent in to help
Joanna Kanga, a spokesperson for Sajjan, told CBC News the idea of creating a federal disaster response agency “has merit,” but declined to say whether it was actually planned.
“We continue to consider all options proposed and will work with our partners to strengthen our preparedness,” Kanga said in an email.
As with past natural disasters, part of the federal response to the Jasper fire has been to send in the military to help, but military leaders have warned that relying on the military as a disaster response agency is not sustainable.
The House of Commons defence committee has urged Ottawa to consider creating a permanent disaster management workforce that could be mobilised quickly in the event of wildfires, hurricanes or other natural disasters.
The commission’s report, released earlier this summer, stopped short of recommending the creation of a full-fledged federal disaster management agency like FEMA.
But the committee said Ottawa “must work with provinces and territories to invest in emergency management, disaster mitigation and response support, and ensure that reliance on the Canadian Armed Forces is only a last resort.”
Rather than continuing to rely on the military, Asghari said the federal government should consider creating specially trained, specialized teams to intervene during natural disasters that are “ready to mobilize, resourced, and fully trained to carry out the tasks expected of them, not as a secondary or surgical responsibility or function, as is the case currently being undertaken.”
Robin Cox, professor of disaster and emergency management at Royal Roads University in Victoria, said a centralised system may have some drawbacks, such as a lack of local participation, but he said there was always the possibility of striking a balance.
“I think we need to think more about how to combine these two concepts more effectively to address these growing risks,” she said.
Both Cox and Asgary say governments need to take a more proactive stance on disaster preparedness and mitigation.
“I think there’s been a shift in the focus on preparedness over the last 10 years, but we still have a long way to go,” Cox said.
a Recent Federal Reports The law makes specific recommendations for preventing and mitigating wildfires. It encourages “proactive” fire prevention techniques, such as planned burns, removing hazardous fuels like dry brush and grass, and educating the public on how to suppress human-caused wildfires.
Jurisdiction Issues
The Jasper situation offered a glimpse into some of the jurisdictional issues that both Cox and Asgary said could slow emergency responses.
Alberta Premier Daniel Smith noted Thursday that the province needs permission from Ottawa to fly provincial water bombers over federal territory.
“The final say on who can bring in resources rests with Parks Canada, which works under unified command with the City of Jasper,” she said at a news conference.
“You can’t send equipment into federal airspace without coordination.”
Smith said he would like to see states consolidated into a unified command to make state resources more readily available.
At the same meeting, Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis echoed Smith’s sentiments but said he had had constructive discussions with Sajjan on the issue.
Sajjan “recognizes there may be some gaps,” Ellis said.
“There are already conversations happening about how Alberta can participate in the decision-making process.”
Sajjan then said Parks Canada has wildfire response teams that also respond to emergencies that occur off federal land.
But Cox and Asgary say such communication and jurisdictional issues could be addressed with better preparation.
“We need to put more care and intent and more resources into making sure we respond more smoothly when we have a disaster like the Jasper Park Fire,” Cox said.
Asgary said that kind of planning and coordination is exactly what a national emergency management agency can do.
“In a situation like this, there’s really no time to think things through. The fires aren’t waiting for us to make decisions, they’re not waiting for us to make adjustments. The fires are out there,” he said.