Emergency Preparedness in the Federal Government

Emergency situations may occur at any time and at any place. It is essential that the federal government be prepared to continue to operate effectively during crises and continue to ensure public safety, continue critical services, and maintain uninterrupted direction and control capabilities.

The Emergency Management Act sets out the leadership role and responsibilities of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, including coordinating emergency management activities among government institutions and in cooperation with the provinces and other entities. The federal government, provinces and territories developed An Emergency Management Framework for Canada which establishes a common approach for a range of collaborative emergency management initiatives in support of safe and resilient communities.

Public Safety Canada created the Federal Emergency Response Plan (FERP), a high level plan which organizes all federal response plans. These are designed to ensure emergency response processes are delivered, and that they will be carried out in an effective, coordinated and efficient manner in the event of a national emergency.

The National Energy Board (NEB) is designated as a support agency to Natural Resources Canada in the provision of energy related emergency response activities at a national level.

To this end, the NEB works in collaboration with other federal government institutions, provincial and territorial emergency management organizations, first responders, other stakeholders and communities in support of the overall emergency management system across the country.

The NEB has a Strategic Emergency Management Plan that describes how the NEB prevents, mitigates, prepares, responds and recovers from emergencies or events as a regulatory body, as a federal department, and as a support organization to the whole-of-government response.

For more information on emergency management and the federal government, please visit www.publicsafety.gc.ca.