British Columbia Emergency Program Act Under Review — Why You Need to Participate
At CCEM Strategies, our mission is to effectively manage emergencies for organizations
by ensuring well-defined strategies are in place. Enhanced legislation will help us prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies better.
In January 2016, the Honourable Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of State for Emergency Preparedness, launched a consultation initiative to revise the BC Emergency Program Act. With catastrophes on the rise, there’s no better time than now, to offer your recommendations for improving the legislation.
Feedback is being requested from emergency management professionals on Prepared and Resilient: A Discussion Paper on the Legislative Framework for Emergency Management in British Columbia.
To generate a positive change for our industry, please read this paper. The Minister’s goal is to ensure British Columbia is prepared and resilient. This is your opportunity to influence the update of the Act to support all phases of your entity’s emergency management – prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.
The proposed changes have the potential to alter the course, authority and actions for emergency management activities. Commentary on how to enhance and meet the resiliency goals is required to ensure all perspectives are reviewed and analyzed to create an Act that is functional and effective.
Here we explore key areas where you and other emergency managers can share their perspectives on both the opportunities and risks of the proposed changes:
- Expedition of accreditation and licensing for essential personnel during an emergency, providing opportunities for national mutual assistance
- Expansion of the legislation to include private sector and non-government organizations such that “critical services” would be prescribed by regulation to undertake business continuity planning
- Define “critical services” and “critical infrastructure assets”
- Role and responsibilities of the Minister, including the potential broadening of the authority to assign and direct emergency planning
- Additional authority granted to Police during evacuations, which supports the priority of first responder safety by ensuring compliance to evacuation orders
Please join CCEM Strategies in sharing your recommendations for an improved BC Emergency Program Act. Updating the Act is an opportunity to recognize the maturity of emergency management in British Columbia — don’t miss your chance to be part of the consultation.
The deadline for submissions has been extended to April 22, 2016. For more information click here.
Stay tuned as we continue to post insightful articles, industry news and explore various themes in emergency preparedness, management and critical continuity on our Emergency Management Matters blog.