Provincial Emergency Plan The Provincial Emergency Plan (PEP) sets out the role of the province in preparing for and responding to major emergencies in Ontario. It outlines the responsibilities of each ministry in an emergency, and describes how a local head of council or the Premier can declare an emergency. If a serious incident occurs, provincial staff may begin responding immediately, even if a formal declaration of an emergency has not been made by a community. Emergency Measures Ontario (EMO), a branch of the Ministry of the Solicitor General, is responsible for maintaining and implementing the PEP on behalf of the Government of Ontario. Under the PEP, eleven Ontario ministers are required to have and keep current emergency plans related to their particular area of responsibility. Depending on the type of emergency, any or all of the 11 ministries may be called upon to respond to a particular aspect of an emergency. The eleven ministries and their corresponding areas of special responsibility are:
Ministry		Special Responsibility Area
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs		Agriculture and food emergencies.
Community and Social Services		Emergency shelter, clothing and food, victim registration and inquiry services and personal services required in support all emergencies.
Energy, Science and Technology		Energy supply matters.
Environment		Spills of pollutants to the natural environment.
Health and Long-Term Care		Large-scale human health emergencies and epidemics. Emergency health services.
Labour		Emergency worker health and safety.
Municipal Affairs and Housing		Coordination of extraordinary provincial expenditures for emergencies.
Natural Resources		Forest fires and floods.
Northern Development and Mines		Abandoned mines hazards.
Solicitor General		Coordination of provincial emergency management. All other peacetime emergencies not listed here. War emergencies.
Transportation		Highway and other transportation services.
Aim of the PEP The aim of the PEP is to establish a framework for a coordinated and effective response to emergencies in Ontario, to protect the health, safety, welfare and property of citizens. This does not include nuclear emergencies, which are addressed by the Provincial Nuclear Emergency Plan. Duty Manager System In order to be alerted to incidents at an early stage, Emergency Measures Ontario maintains a duty manager system. It is accessible to communities in Ontario 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Communities can contact the EMO duty manager to ask for advice and assistance or to inform them of an impending emergency situation. The duty manager system allows for continuous assessment of an incident, and if required, will trigger activation of the Provincial Operations Centre. The Daily Emergency Situation Report provides a summary on incidents or emergencies that may be ongoing in the province. Emergency Measures Ontario issues this report to all ministries with special responsibilities under the PEP. It is also distributed to other organizations or government departments with an interest in public safety. Provincial Operations Centre When a major emergency occurs or is declared, the Provincial Operations Centre (POC) is activated to gather information and notify other groups. The POC is the focal point for emergency response operations. POC staff interact with staff from ministry action groups, community control groups and the federal government. The POC is kept in a state of readiness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In some circumstances, the Provincial Operations Centre may be used to direct and coordinate a provincial response. In other instances, the POC may play a lesser role in managing the emergency by supporting the activities of individual ministries or communities. During regular office hours, the Provincial Operations Centre is staffed by personnel from Emergency Measures Ontario. Depending on the nature of an emergency and its duration and magnitude, staff from other ministries may be required to support a provincial response. Levels of Response The PEP outlines four levels of response to a community emergency, in order of increased provincial activities. These include: ·         Routine Monitoring; ·         Enhanced Monitoring; ·         Partial Activation; and ·         Full Activation. Selection of the most appropriate level of response will be based on the degree of provincial involvement and support.
Routine Monitoring	Whenever an incident is reported to Emergency Measures Ontario, it is monitored through its duty manager system. The duty manager maintains a direct communication link with the affected community or organization by providing advice and assistance. The duty manager will continue to monitor the situation to determine what assistance is required, and if a higher level of response is required.
Enhanced Monitoring	A duty team from Emergency Measures Ontario will continually assess the developing situation from the Provincial Operations Centre. Appropriate provincial ministries and federal departments will be notified, as required. An EMO area officer will likely be deployed to the affected community.
Partial Activation	The Provincial Operations Centre will be staffed as required to carry out assessments of the emergency and initiate emergency response activities. Appropriate ministries and organizations will be notified and called upon as required. The Communications Branch of the Ministry of Solicitor General will direct the communications and issues management response, as required. A group of provincial staff, known as the provincial liaison team, will be deployed to the emergency area to provide on-site assistance. Updates on the emergency will be conveyed to all participating ministries and organizations.
Full Activation	The Provincial Operations Centre will be fully operational and staffed with provincial ministries, federal departments and other organizations, as required, to coordinate a provincial response
Provincial Emergency Information Plan The Provincial Emergency Information Plan is an attachment to the Provincial Emergency Plan. It describes how emergency information is issued to the media, public and others. The aim of the Provincial Emergency Information Plan is to ensure delivery of information on the emergency that is complete, accurate and timely.

Emergency Measures in Ontario

Emergency Management Ontario (EMO) is responsible for maintaining and implementing emergency preparedness arrangements on behalf of the Government of Ontario.

Emergency planning and preparedness in Ontario begins at the local level, with provincial and federal assistance provided only when a community has exhausted local resources and officially requests additional aid. Requests for provincial or federal assistance must be coordinated through Emergency Measures Ontario.

The Emergency Plans Act is the legislative authority for emergency preparedness and response in Ontario. The Act is supplemented by an Order in Council that sets out which provincial ministers have designated emergency planning and preparedness responsibilities.

How Ontario's Response System Works

Most emergencies are dealt with routinely at the community level by local first response organizations, including police, fire and ambulance services and public works. Elected heads of councils (municipalities and First Nations) are responsible for ensuring emergency plans and preparedness programs exist within their jurisdictions.

If a major emergency occurs in a community, the local head of council should implement the community emergency plan and may declare an emergency. The head of council, supported by local officials who come together as the community control group, then work to ensure a controlled and coordinated emergency response.

As part of their emergency planning activities, all communities are encouraged to work out "mutual aid" agreements with neighbouring communities or regions, so that back-up police, fire and other support may be readily available in an emergency. If those resources are exhausted, or the emergency poses a serious immediate threat to public safety, additional resources to deal with the emergency may be requested from the province through Emergency Measures Ontario.

Depending on the nature of the emergency, a provincial minister would then be delegated to act on behalf of the Premier. For example, if an emergency has been declared in a community due to flooding, the Minister of Natural Resources would be called upon to implement that ministry's emergency plan. Likewise, a serious toxic spill in a community would require the involvement of the Ministry of the Environment.

In very serious or widespread major emergencies, or a nuclear emergency, the Solicitor General, through the coordinating efforts of Emergency Measures Ontario, would assume overall control of the situation.

Emergency Measures Ontario would provide advice and assistance to support communities, send staff to the affected area and coordinate provincial emergency management activities according to the:

·         Provincial Emergency Plan, for non-nuclear emergencies;

·         Provincial Nuclear Emergency Plan, for nuclear emergencies; or

·         Provincial Counter-Terrorism Plan, for emergencies relating to terrorist activities.

In the event of a large-scale emergency, the Premier of Ontario may declare a provincial emergency, although, to date, this has never occurred.

If the province requires assistance from the federal government, aid is formally requested through Emergency Measures Ontario. The federal government intervenes only when requested, or when the emergency clearly impacts on areas of federal jurisdiction, such as a war emergency.

Emergency measures in Ontario includes four main activities: mitigation (prevention); preparedness; response; and recovery.  

Mitigation (Prevention): Eliminating or reducing the degree of long-term risk to human life and property from natural and technological hazards. Preventive measures include relevant legislation, regulations and codes.  

Preparedness: Developing operational capabilities for an effective response prior to an emergency. Preparedness measures include hazard identification, risk assessment, planning and preparedness activities, training, exercises and public education.  

Response: Taking immediate action before, during and after an emergency to save lives, minimize damage to property and enhance recovery. Response measures include activating emergency plans and providing staff and additional resources.  

Recovery: Restoring critical public safety systems and essential services to minimum operating levels following an emergency. Recovery measures include damage assessment, counselling, debris clearance and decontamination.  

 

Overview of Emergency Preparedness and Response

 Emergency response planning is concerned about the control before, during, and after the disaster.  Therefore, a main principle of emergency planning and operations is that someone be in charge.  This principle should be fulfilled through the master plan or umbrella plan.  The umbrella plan describes the coordinating or general plan for the company and details the links between the company, its departments, and other relevant organizations.  The organization of the umbrella plan and the specific plans or sub-plans, should be the same to make training and information access easier.  Even though the contents of each plan will be different, it is most important to be logical when formatting the different elements of the plan. 

The Master Plan should contain a number of components.

The Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis section identifies the potential hazards, evaluates the risks, examines the vulnerabilities of the company and gives a priority to the hazards and areas of concern.  Definition of a Hazard would include anything that either threatens the company and its employees, or the things the company and it employees value.  There are natural hazards such as tornadoes, earthquakes and windstorms.  Examples of Person-induced hazards are toxic chemical spills, explosions, and power failures.  Diseases like typhoid, hepatitis, hoof and mouth disease is included.  War is the fourth category.

The examination of hazards within the company (internal) and hazards that could occur outside the company (external) is important.

The three steps in Risk Analysis are:

1)  determine the frequency of different types of disasters;

2)  assign a value for the risk by determining the differences in internal and external changes;

3)  total the values: the value for the historical analysis, the value for the degree of risk for internal considerations and the value for the degree of risk for external considerations. 

Through Vulnerability Analysis, the company analyzes the four aspects of concern which are social, environmental, economic, and political.  The first step is to examine the company profile and to list specific functional areas.  The second step is to list the hazards included in the risk analysis and to calculate the vulnerability of each function in each specified location.  The third step is comparisons of each total to give a sense of which areas or functions are particularly vulnerable and which hazards will have the greatest impact. 

The final phase in this section is the comparison between the rankings in the risk analysis and the rankings in the vulnerability assessment which gives the company a chance to assess degree of risk and possible consequences, henceforth the Establishment of Priorities

 The Mitigation Strategy determines how the risks and vulnerabilities will be addressed and what steps will be taken in order to reduce the risks to the company's staff and other assets.  The hierarchy for mitigative strategies are to eliminate the hazard,  reduce the risk,  reduce the consequences, and spread the risk.

 The Evacuation Plan includes analysis of the existing hazards and their warning times.  The plan provides for the quick evacuation of staff during hazards such as fire and provides for the protection of other assets during extended warning periods such as those which may occur in a flood warning.

 The Emergency Response Plan deals with the immediate post-impact phase, the rescue phase and the integration with recovery planning. 

The Business Resumption Plan is concerned with the economic recovery of the business.  Its mainly thrust is providing essentisial services; those services which are critical to the operation of the company during which an integrated phased in recovery to return to normal operating procedures.

 The Critical Incident Plan is comprised of  critical incidents which may not necessarily cause any property damage, but are incidents which affect the ability of the staff to function because of an emotional and perhaps physical trauma.  The planning for the emotional recovery of staff after a disturbing trauma incident is just as important as rebuilding or repairing material assets.

 The Crisis Management Plan is critical for dealing with political and/or natural crises.  It is paramount to the ability of a company to withstand public and media scrutiny and, in many cases, avoid bankruptcy.

 The Public Relations Plan enables the company to communicate with the public and its own staff no matter what the emergency, whether it be a disaster such as an earthquake or a criminal prosecution of the CEO.

 The Training and Education Plan outlines how the staff and other personnel will be trained to meet their responsibilities as identified in the preceding plans.

 Plans are not worth their weight in paper unless the plans and the trained staff are tested.  The Exercise Design Plan ensures that the staff and the Emergency Response Plan are tested in an on-going fashion.  Tested plans improve on their content, serve to correct mistakes, and keep staff aware, confident and motivated to continue to plan for emergencies.

 Disasters are inevitable and they happen when the internal resources of the company are incapable of adequately handling the situation.  The key to being prepared and to reducing the potential damage and saving lives is to implement an emergency planning process.

  

 

Reference:  British Columbia Institute of Technology Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Response OCHS 5109, September 1994

 

***  This is a bare bones, thumb nail sketch, not a comprehensive review of the information necessary to develop such plans.  ***