(Ottawa) Canada and the United States intend to further strengthen their cooperation in emergency management in the face of the multiplication of natural disasters caused by climate change affecting both countries.
For example, civil protection officials on both sides of the border intend to conduct an increasing number of joint exercises in order to be able to respond adequately and quickly to natural disasters such as forest fires, floods and hurricanes.
The Minister of Civil Protection, Bill Blair, met the United States Ambassador to Ottawa, David Cohen, last October, to discuss this file considered a priority by the Trudeau government, according to our information.
The Minister also had talks on this subject with the heads of Homeland Security in Washington and of the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), the American government organization which ensures the arrival of help in an emergency situation. .
The severe flooding in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley in November 2021 demonstrated the importance of close collaboration between the two countries to build response capacity across North America, said Mr. Blair in an interview with The Press.
PHOTO PATRICK DOYLE, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair
These floods led to landslides and road closures between Vancouver and Kelowna, cutting the province in two and crippling the supply chain. At least 20 separate sections of the Coquihalla Highway were destroyed or damaged by flooding, including seven bridges.
Trucks carrying basic necessities such as medicine, food or even gasoline were forced to go through the United States to be able to deliver their goods to British Columbia or Alberta.
More recently, hurricane Fiona which hit eastern Quebec and the Atlantic provinces hard, causing major damage to critical infrastructure and destroying many buildings, demonstrated that Canada is hardly immune to such extreme weather events which are commonplace in the United States.
Climate change “changes the game”
“We have always had good collaboration between the two countries and the emergency services. But the issue of climate change changes the situation. The best example of this is the flooding that happened in British Columbia. Alarms were sounding from the side of Washington State. The people of British Columbia could hear them. But we didn’t have a comparable alarm system on the Canadian side,” said Mr. Blair.
It was the overflow of the Nooksack River in Washington State that caused the flooding in British Columbia. This highlighted the importance of greater collaboration.
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair
He recalled that the CP and CN rail lines were unusable for several weeks, in addition to the highways which were closed.
“Our critical infrastructure has been hit hard. The Port of Vancouver was isolated from the rest of North America. Alberta was cut off from the West Coast. But within hours, through our relationship with the United States, all rail transport and trucks were redirected to Washington State highways. The Port of Vancouver is the fourth largest in North America. This port was able to be operational again within hours,” he said.
At the time, federal authorities feared the worst. It was estimated that it could take up to six months to rebuild the roads and bridges demolished by the floods in British Columbia.
“By a miracle, we were able to reopen the vast majority of roads in six weeks. But these floods had a major impact. This is an example that I discussed with Ambassador Cohen,” said the Minister.
In 2008, the Harper government and the Obama administration decided to establish the Emergency Management Advisory Group (EMAG). This group, which meets sporadically, has a mandate to support common emergency management activities. But at the time of climate change, greater collaboration is required, believes the Minister of Civil Protection.
Blair, who led the Toronto Police Service for several years before making the leap to federal politics in 2015, said Americans often have to deal with devastating natural disasters like hurricanes or fires in California. “We can certainly learn a lot from the Americans. We share a long border and our economies are highly integrated. »
New era, new ministry
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to make emergency preparedness a department in its own right, instead of including it in the Department of Public Safety.
“It was no coincidence. We must transform the way governments respond to multiple forms of emergency, which can also include earthquakes, but also cyberattacks,” he stressed.
One thing is certain, the multiplication of natural disasters entails a significant cost.
In the past 18 months alone, the federal government has disbursed $7 billion through Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements, the same amount it had disbursed for the previous 50 years.
Mr. Blair also stressed the importance of working with the provinces to strengthen emergency management across the country. This was also on the agenda at the meeting of ministers responsible for emergency management last December.