Third Session, Thirty-sixth Parliament

SELECT STANDING COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
FOURTH REPORT

Earthquake Preparedness; Performance Audit
(continued)

How do we plan for response to a major earthquake?

THE BRITISH COLUMBIA EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE PLAN

Auditor General Report on Earthquake Preparedness, Strategic Recommendation:

• The PEP should update the British Columbia Earthquake Plan to reflect the current situation, and take steps to have the Emergency Program Management Regulation amended as necessary;

• The PEP should develop a new communication strategy to ensure that the provincial response plan is known and understood by local authorities and response agencies;

• The PEP should identify a number of potential Provincial Field Response Centre sites at strategic locations throughout the province, test them for suitability, and communicate the details to those agencies likely to be involved in the response efforts;

• The PEP should take steps to identify, equip and test an alternative site for its Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre.

The British Columbia Earthquake Response Plan provides a broad operational basis for response to a major earthquake. In particular, it:

• Provides a general assessment of hazards and risks under different magnitudes of earthquake;

• Describes the responsibilities, organization and concept of operations necessary for emergency response to a major earthquake in British Columbia; and

• Identifies the critical emergency response functions and assigns each function to the relevant supporting ministry (the ministry that has the most authorities, resources, capabilities or expertise in that area).

According to the Plan, there is a Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre located in Saanich which allows ministries with emergency response functions to coordinate their efforts. As well, if one or a number of local governments request assistance from the province to respond to an emergency, Provincial Field Response Centres are activated for this purpose.

The Auditor General’s recommendations regarding the British Columbia Earthquake Response Plan received little attention in the submissions heard by your committee.

However, witnesses representing the Provincial Emergency Program did advise your committee that the B.C. Earthquake Response Plan is currently being updated, and is to be issued after the earthquake exercise scheduled to occur March 8th through 11th, 1999.

The committee received no submissions with respect to the Auditor General’s recommendations regarding identification of Provincial Field Response Centre sites and an alternative site for the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre.

11.1 Your committee endorses the recommendations of the Auditor General regarding updating of the British Columbia Earthquake Plan and related regulations, development of a new communication strategy with respect to the plan, and the identification of potential sites for Provincial Field Response Centre and an alternative location for the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre. Your committee encourages the PEP to implement these recommendations.

EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE PLANNING

RESPONSE PLANNING IN SUPPORTING MINISTRIES

Auditor General Report on Earthquake Preparedness, Operational Recommendations:

• The Ministry of Health and the PEP should give immediate attention to reviewing and, where appropriate, strengthening the ability of the health system to respond to a major earthquake.

• All ministries assigned key support functions should complete, without delay, plans detailing how they will carry out their assigned responsibilities after a major earthquake;

• The Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks should develop a response plan, test it and train staff accordingly, in order to be able to meet its responsibilities under the provincial earthquake response plan;

• The PEP should take a stronger, more proactive role than it is now doing, to ensure that supporting ministries keep their earthquake preparedness plans current;

• The PEP should take a leadership role with respect to the development of systems standards, protocols, guidelines and coordination for resource management.

Despite the existence of the British Columbia Earthquake Response Plan, provincial ministries identified as "supporting ministries" are still responsible for detailed planning and earthquake response management regarding their respective designated functions. Supporting ministries and their respective emergency response functions are as follows:

As noted above, the Auditor General’s report made several recommendations regarding earthquake planning in ministries with emergency support functions. The report made specific recommendations regarding the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and also focused upon the Provincial Emergency Program’s role in providing guidance to all supporting ministries in the development of such plans. Submissions received by the committee did not address earthquake response planning in all supporting ministries, but rather dealt particularly with concerns surrounding emergency health care, social services, hazardous materials management, women’s services and school board earthquake response plans.

As well, the committee received a submission generally recommending that not only key supporting provincial ministries, but also every board, commission, Crown corporation, regional district and municipality in British Columbia be required to report annually on the status of their earthquake preparedness plans.

HEALTH CARE

Leah Hollins of the Ministry of Health Acute and Continuing Care Program advised your committee that the 1998 Salmon Arm fire, which required the evacuation of long term care facilities in the area, prompted the ministry to undertake a comprehensive review of its emergency preparedness, and to work more closely with the Provincial Emergency Program in its earthquake response planning. The ministry has retained a consultant to undertake a comprehensive review of health-related disaster preparedness on a province-wide basis, and is currently updating the 1992 Ministry of Health disaster preparedness plan.

Ms. Hollins also assured members of the committee that the Ministry has a small contingency fund for the additional costs associated with emergencies, such as overtime payments to employees. She further advised that the Provincial Emergency Program has a contingency account to cover emergency expenses for most ministries, and that this money can often be claimed back from the federal government pursuant to disaster financial assistance programs. Committee members did not hear submissions regarding whether local governments have similar contingency funds in their operating budgets.

Committee members also heard that B.C. Ambulance Services has worked closely with the Provincial Emergency Program in designating disaster response routes and ensuring priority access to care facilities. On this note, concern was expressed by a former employee of the Provincial Emergency Program that B.C. Ambulance Services’ current ambulance fleet contains ambulances that are designed to accommodate only 2 injured persons at one time. This witness recommended that the government consider obtaining ambulances with a larger capacity.

Although the issue was not specifically addressed in the Ministry of Health’s submission, another witness recommended to the committee that the Ministry of Health give careful consideration in its earthquake response planning to the impact of a major earthquake upon patients living in the community.

Finally, your committee notes that on April 1, 1999, an emergency planning branch was established in the Ministry of Health. The branch has four employees, and will be the facilitator of hazard/risk assessment, emergency response planning, business continuation planning and recovery planning in the ministry. As well, it is expected that the branch will serve as an emergency planning resource for regional health authorities.

SOCIAL SERVICES

The Auditor General’s report commended the Ministry of Human Resources for its well-designed emergency social services planning. As such, the committee did not hear submissions presented to it on behalf of ministries with social services functions. However, committee members did hear submissions from an individual who has been under contract with the provincial government to provide training to emergency social services personnel, and who prepares emergency social services response plans for various municipalities and organizations. This witness advised that, following a major earthquake, only about one-third of employees can be expected to report for duty, leaving emergency social services difficult to deliver due to lack of staff. She urged the government to place a higher priority on emergency social services, and suggested combining the provincial emergency social services plan with a new provincial neighbourhood support program under one provincial ministry to ensure self-sufficiency following an earthquake. It was further suggested that the combined program be clearly focused on the consequences of a major earthquake, yet maintain the capacity to respond effectively to other types of emergencies, and that the new program be given adequate funding to allow the ministry to develop a detailed action plan for the combined program. The subject of neighbourhood programs is discussed in greater detail elsewhere in this report.

With respect to emergency accommodation, Pete Learoyd of B.C. Housing informed committee members that B.C. Housing is an active partner with Emergency Social Services as the province’s designated agency for emergency accommodation.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

The primary supporting ministry for the management of hazardous materials release following an earthquake is the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Environmental Emergency Services Branch. Secondary supporting agencies include municipal/regional fire departments. However, no submissions were presented to your committee on behalf of the Ministry of Environment.

Committee members did receive a submission from Tom Marcinkiewicz, who has conducted a hazardous materials management research project for the City of Victoria fire department. Mr. Marcinkiewicz advised the committee that in October, 1998, a joint "Emergency Preparedness Survey for Hazardous Materials" was conducted by the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, the Provincial Emergency Program, and the Major Industrial Accidents Council of Canada. This survey revealed that most communities have put very little effort into hazardous material prevention and preparedness. Accordingly, Mr. Marcinkiewicz was of the view that the provincial government must provide more funding for local initiatives regarding hazardous materials management. He advised committee members that such local initiatives should include:

• development of ongoing hazardous materials and public education programs;

• creation of residential hazardous materials management programs;

• creation of cross-functional hazardous material management teams, composed of representatives from the insurance industry, business community, Workers Compensation Board, and emergency services, perhaps funded with the assistance of ecoACTION 2000, a federally-funded millenium project, or city emergency program funds;

• establishment of specific criteria to be used in determining the addition of materials to hazardous materials records.

Mr. Marcinkiewicz further recommended to committee members that hazardous material storage be considered in conjunction with soil density and structural seismic evaluations, so that safe reception centre sites may be selected for the provision of emergency social services. This witness was also of the view that the provincial government must adopt the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment legislation as it pertains to underground fuel storage, and enter into partnerships with industry to create hazardous material management teams and standards.

WOMEN'S SERVICES

Extensive submissions were made to the committee on behalf of the B.C. Association of Specialized Victim Assistance and Counselling Programs. Witnesses from the association told members that when natural disasters such as earthquakes occur, women are at increased risk of domestic or sexual violence. For example, there was a marked increase in violence against women following such natural disasters as the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the 1998 ice storm in Quebec and Ontario. Committee members were also informed that violence following a natural disaster is more likely to affect low-income women, single parents, recent immigrants, seniors, the disabled, those in socially-marginalized ethnic or racial groups, and those women already experiencing violence.

It was proposed by the association that women’s special needs be incorporated into community-based earthquake response planning, in order to deal with issues such as cooperation between women’s service providers, mental health centre emergency response counsellors and outreach teams. For example, the witnesses recommended that all earthquake response planning include the participation of women and their advocates, and address such issues as:

• preparing police for an influx of domestic and sexual violence reports;

• ensuring that women who are in transition houses when an earthquake occurs are not evacuated to general relief shelters where their abusers are also sent;

• ensuring the availability of women’s crisis phone lines following an earthquake;

• ensuring the availability of multilingual information;

• providing more training for emergency staff and volunteers on gender relations;

• conducting gender audits in emergency planning agencies to assess the potentially different impact of emergency policy and practice on men and women.

Committee members were also advised that the association would like to see the provincial government encourage mutual agreements with other jurisdictions, so that following an earthquake women have a previously-identified community support network in place.

RESPONSE PLANNING IN SCHOOL BOARDS

Although this issue was not specifically addressed in the Auditor General’s recommendations, witnesses representing the B.C. Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils recommended to committee members that the provincial government enact legislation requiring all school boards to develop district and school-based earthquake response plans. Witnesses felt that such legislation must require school boards’ plans to address:

• staff training in emergency preparedness and response, including first aid, basic search and rescue, emergency care and security training;

• acquisition of emergency equipment;

• the holding of earthquake drills;

• emergency communications;

• student records management.

Finally, it was suggested that the Ministry of Education be directed by the provincial government to carry out earthquake response exercises and plan testing. For example, one witness recommended that the Ministry set standards pertaining specifically to emergency preparedness in schools. In this regard, the witness appearing on behalf of the North East Sector Emergency Program advised your committee that NESEP, in conjunction with the Coquitlam School District, has created a school emergency preparedness program guide. The witness suggested that this guide may serve as a starting point for the Ministry of Education in developing its own guide.

NESEP was also of the view that the Ministry of Education must provide funding for the purchase of emergency supplies, such as small durable sheds to house first aid supplies, food, water, search and rescue supplies, tarps and latrines. It was also suggested that the government could require schools to raise matching funds, and could provide a special tax incentive to encourage private businesses to donate emergency supplies to schools.

12.1 Your committee endorses the Auditor General’s recommendations concerning earthquake response planning in ministries with key support functions and the development of systems standards for resource management, and encourages the provincial government to ensure that steps are taken to implement these recommendations.

12.2 Your committee recommends that the provincial government encourage earthquake response planning and testing in all British Columbia schools, and consider providing funding assistance for emergency supplies in all schools.

12.3 Your committee notes the steps taken by the Ministry of Health to review and strengthen the ability of the health system to respond to a major earthquake, and encourages the ministry to continue its efforts in this regard, and in particular to consider the adequacy of British Columbia’s ambulance services capacity.

12.4 Your committee recommends that the provincial government encourage local government initiatives, as well as cooperation between industry and governments, with respect to hazardous materials planning.

12.5 Your committee recommends that provincial and local governments take steps to ensure adequate consideration is given to women’s services in earthquake response planning.

NEIGHBOURHOOD PROGRAMS

Although the Auditor General’s Earthquake Preparedness report did not discuss this topic, your committee received a number of submissions regarding the role neighbourhood programs can play in earthquake response in British Columbia.

Neighbourhood programs involve the recruitment and training of neighbourhood volunteers in emergency management activities such as personal preparedness, disaster first aid and fire extinguishment. As well, lock boxes containing emergency supplies may be placed in neighbourhoods as part of such programs.

Various witnesses advised the committee that neighbourhood programs serve the important function of drawing upon resources that already exist in the community, by performing the following functions:

• identifying residents with special skills or resources that can be shared with neighbours;

• identifying neighbours with special needs;

• reducing the demands on overstretched first responders such as fire departments, ambulance services and police, and thereby increasing the number of emergency response personnel available to report for duty after an earthquake.

Dick Austin, a witness appearing on behalf of the City of Victoria Neighbourhood Program, advised committee members that close to 30 jurisdictions in British Columbia are actively promoting such programs.

Many witnesses appearing before the committee felt that the provincial government should provide funding for the creation of effective neighbourhood emergency preparedness and response programs, and should make the promotion of such programs a large part of any earthquake preparedness public awareness campaign. One witness recommended that the Provincial Emergency Program form a partnership with the Greater Vancouver Regional Emergency Planning committee, adopt that committee’s regional neighbourhood emergency preparedness guide and training program, and provide ongoing funding and administrative assistance. As discussed in greater detail above in "Social Services", it was also suggested that the provincial emergency social services plan be combined with a new provincial neighbourhood support program under one provincial ministry.

13.1 Your committee recommends that the provincial government recognize the important role neighbourhood programs have to play in earthquake preparedness planning and response, and take steps to promote the development of more such programs in British Columbia.

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION

Auditor General Report on Earthquake Preparedness, Operational Recommendations:

• The PEP should develop a coordinated plan for upgrading the province’s communication equipment to a more reliable system, and update, finalize and distribute its communications plan;

• The PEP should develop and issue a current emergency public information plan as soon as possible, and test the plan on a regular basis;

• Local governments should continue to test their ability to communicate with each other and, where significant problems are identified, take steps to correct the problems;

• Local governments should develop emergency public information plans, and test them on a regular basis.

The Auditor General’s report had noted that neither the provincial Emergency Communications Plan, nor the Emergency Public Information Plan, have been finalized yet.

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

Emergency communications plans address the need for those with emergency management and response functions to communicate with each other following an earthquake or other disaster.

Committee members were assured by representatives of the Provincial Emergency Program that a study of emergency communications requirements has recently been completed, focusing upon new communications technologies, and recommendations arising from that study will lead to the development of a provincial communications plan. However, it was emphasized to your committee that implementation of the study’s recommendations will be highly resource-dependent.

As well, your committee was made aware that amateur radio operators are quite involved in preparing themselves in the event that the province’s communications systems are unable to function following a major earthquake. For example, amateur radio operators go on air and conduct a communications check with the PEP base station on a weekly basis. All of these operators are registered as volunteers with the PEP.

The committee further notes the opening of the "E-Comm Centre" at Pender and Rupert Streets in Vancouver on November 4, 1998. The Centre is to serve as the regional emergency response coordination headquarters for southwest British Columbia in the event of a disaster such as an earthquake occurring. The Centre houses a consolidated police, fire and ambulance 9-1-1 communication centre, the City of Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre, the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre, the Provincial Emergency Program Regional Office, Amateur Radio, Port of Vancouver and Fraser Port authorities. The building is a post-disaster facility containing backup satellite communications system, post-disaster radio system, and an emergency management information software system ("EM – 2000"), which PEP is c onsidering for use in its Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre.

The committee notes that the new E-Comm Centre only serves Greater Vancouver and surrounding area. Therefore, communication links with local governments elsewhere in the province are still a concern, as noted in the Auditor General’s report.

EMERGENCY PUBLIC INFORMATION

Emergency public information plans address the need to disseminate important and timely information to the public following an earthquake or similar disaster. The committee heard concerns expressed by some witnesses regarding the need for a clarified emergency public information plan, and more provincial coordination of local governments’ efforts in this area.

Currently, the responsibility rests with municipal governments to ensure that appropriate information is communicated to citizens in emergency situations. This responsibility arises in the context of the Emergency Program Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 111, and the Local Authority Emergency Management Regulation, B.C. Reg. 380/95. While there have been some initiatives to develop local public information plans (ie. formation of a public information subcommittee within the Joint Emergency Liaison Committee in the Greater Vancouver Regional District), there have been calls for more provincial coordination of local governments’ efforts in this regard. On the other hand, witnesses from the Corporation of Delta urged the provincial government to ensure that when a provincial emergency public information plan is developed, it is done with the cooperation and input of local governments.

In particular, there are clearly concerns about the lack of a coordinated provincial plan designating emergency broadcasters to receive information from PEP and to relay that information to the public in the event of an emergency. A former employee of the Provincial Emergency Program cited the example of the December 1996 Victoria snow storm, when there was considerable confusion surrounding designated emergency broadcasting stations.

In this regard, committee members heard submissions from a broadcasting engineer and former vice-president of engineering at BCTV. This witness advised the committee that, following the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan, time and resources were wasted because there was no formalized emergency broadcasting plan in place. He urged the provincial government to prevent the same thing from occurring in British Columbia by ensuring that the Provincial Emergency Program create such a plan, with the assistance and cooperation of the British Columbia Association of Broadcasters and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.

It was further suggested by this witness that the emergency broadcasting plan ensure that local television and radio stations are assigned specific geographical divisions within which to broadcast following an earthquake, with geographic divisions determined on the basis of location of transmitter sites and coverage patterns. Finally, this witness was of the view that the Provincial Emergency Program must take responsibility for the information which is broadcast. In this regard, he recommended that the PEP provide updated checklists of topics to address during emergency broadcasts, such as evacuation instructions, fire locations, open arterial routes, availability and location of emergency shelter and supplies, and location of message centres for contacting family members.

An alternative proposal was put to the committee by a former Canadian Red Cross Society (Emergency Services) volunteer with considerable experience in ham radio operations. This witness recommended that a formal "Self-Help Radio" plan be developed requiring every commercial radio station in the lower mainland and Vancouver Island to maintain the capability to communicate with the public during an emergency. In terms of jurisdictional questions, this witness felt that local emergency authorities must continue to decide which local station will serve a geographical area. He also recommended that emergency broadcast capabilities must be tested for at least eight consecutive hours each year.

Finally, the committee does note that the Canadian Forces has an updated emergency communications plan in place, which employs means such as high-frequency radio and satellite communications.

14.1 Your committee endorses the recommendations of the Auditor General to the PEP and local governments with respect to updating communications equipment, emergency public information plans and communications plans, and acknowledges the PEP’s efforts to upgrade equipment and update its communications and public information plans.

14.2 Your committee encourages the PEP to complete its upgrading and updating efforts as soon as possible, and to ensure that these plans are updated on a regular basis. Your committee also encourages local governments to implement the Auditor General’s recommendations with respect to emergency communications and public information plans.

INTERJURISDICTIONAL COORDINATION OF PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE PLANNING

Auditor General Report on Earthquake Preparedness, Operational Recommendations:

• The PEP should continue to work with Emergency Preparedness Canada at the national level to develop further heavy urban search and rescue capability;

• The PEP should play a stronger role in providing to local governments advice and assistance regarding response planning, and in monitoring to ensure that all municipalities plan to a certain standard;

• The PEP should review on a regular basis with Emergency Preparedness Canada the status of the National Earthquake Support Plan. As well, the Canada-British Columbia Memorandum of Understanding on Emergency Preparedness should be reviewed and, where appropriate, updated;

• The PEP should continue to work with its counterparts in Alberta to ensure that the Alberta Support Plan is operational for a real event;

• The PEP should remain in contact with the Canadian Forces to ensure that it has current information about the resources and capabilities available, and disseminate this information to municipalities;

• The PEP should discuss with Emergency Preparedness Canada the possibility of conducting regular exercises around the National Earthquake Support Plan and its relationship to British Columbia’s plans;

• The PEP should develop provincial initiatives to encourage municipalities to test key components of their individual plans sufficiently, and to provide more exercises at the province-wide and regional levels to ensure that the liaison between the emergency response efforts of different levels of government works effectively;

• Local governments should ensure they have current, complete earthquake preparedness plans, prepared in accordance with guidelines issued by PEP;

• Local governments should develop schedules for testing their plans and ensuring that recommendations arising from the tests are dealt with.

The importance of interjurisdictional coordination and cooperation in earthquake preparedness and response planning has never been so evident as it was following the January 1999 earthquake in Armenia, Colombia. The failure to address respective responsibilities of the various layers of government and aid groups resulted in mass confusion with respect to the distribution of emergency supplies of clothing, food and water. Unfortunately, the result was widespread looting. It is hoped that such confusion will not prevail following a major earthquake in British Columbia. In this regard, committee members were advised by representatives of the Provincial Emergency Program that steps are being taken to improve the coordination of earthquake preparedness and response planning between various emergency response agencies and levels of government.

LOCAL-PROVINCIAL COOPERATION

Your committee notes the existence of joint provincial – local government organizations which have been created to facilitate improved coordination of emergency planning and response efforts in British Columbia. For example, in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, a Regional Emergency Planning Committee has been formed. This committee is made up of emergency planners from municipalities in the district, Provincial Emergency Program representatives, and members from federal and provincial government ministries and Crown corporations. It provides a forum for the discussion of emergency planning issues. As well, a Joint Emergency Liaison Committee exists in the district, in order to facilitate emergency coordination between municipalities, and between municipalities and the provincial government.

In the Victoria area, the Greater Victoria Emergency Coordination Committee includes provincial government ministries and Crown corporation representatives, as well as emergency program coordinators from municipalities in the area. This committee deals with emergency coordination matters.

FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL COOPERATION

Witnesses from the Provincial Emergency Program told committee members that there is considerable cooperation with the federal government and its emergency response agency, Emergency Preparedness Canada. For example, the PEP regularly participates in mitigation strategy workshops with Emergency Preparedness Canada. Moreover, the PEP has recently participated in a joint exercise with the Canadian Armed Forces, which took place March 8th through 11th, 1999. The "Thunderbird 4 – Cascadia Reponse" exercise involved earthquake response role-playing by provincial ministry representatives, the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre, and Deputy Ministers. The Canadian Forces, testing their recently-updated earthquake response plan entitled "Operation Paladin", tested the deployment of Canadian Armed Forces personnel into British Columbia. Earthquake Preparedness Canada also took part in the exercise, to test its supporting role pursuant to the National Earthquake Support Plan.

However, the committee notes the absence of involvement of any local governments or urban search and rescue teams in the earthquake response exercise.

Bill White, a witness representing the 39th Canadian Brigade Group, also informed committee members that both the Canadian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces Reserve in B.C. have response plans in place in order to provide assistance British Columbia in the event of an earthquake. These plans are respectively entitled the "Paladin Plan" and "Operation Agile".

However, the committee notes that Mr. White expressed concern about recent federal cutbacks which have resulted in a decrease in the number of regular and reserve armed forces members in British Columbia. He believes the cutbacks will have an impact upon the armed forces’ ability to provide earthquake response assistance to British Columbia.

COORDINATED FUNDING OF EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE PROJECTS

With respect to cooperative funding efforts, the committee also notes the existence of the "Joint Emergency Preparedness Program", which was created in 1980. This program enables the federal government to contribute to, or to undertake jointly with the provinces and territories, projects to ensure a reasonably uniform level of emergency preparedness and response across the country. Committee members note that on October 2, 1998 the federal and provincial governments announced federal and provincial support totaling almost $1.2 million for emergency preparedness projects and programs in British Columbia. The funds are for four provincially co-funded projects, and thirty-six projects co-funded by British Columbia communities, including two projects co-funded by First Nations communities. These projects include emergency exercises, earthquake mapping, heavy urban search and rescue equipment and training for Vancouver, upgrading of emergency operations centres and community emergency plans, and are scheduled to be completed by March 31, 1999.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

In terms of search and rescue capability, representatives of the Provincial Emergency Program told members of the committee that a deployment protocol is currently being developed by the PEP in cooperation with the Vancouver heavy urban search-and-rescue team, for use outside the City of Vancouver. As well, a deployment exercise is being planned. However, there were submissions presented by the Corporation of Delta which expressed concern that the government should also focus its attention on building medium urban search-and-rescue capabilities for the satellite municipalities around Vancouver.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Witnesses from the Provincial Emergency Program advised your committee that British Columbia is a member of the Western States Seismic Policy Council, which provides a forum for the sharing of seismic hazard, planning, public education and response information. The Council is composed of geologists and emergency managers from thirteen western American states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming), and three American territories (American Samoa, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands). British Columbia and the Yukon are the only Canadian members.

In addition, your committee notes a mutual assistance agreement is in place between the United States and Canada. This agreement is entitled Cooperation in Comprehensive Civil Emergency Planning and Management and addresses issues such as the movement of goods across the border in times of emergency. Your committee was further advised by PEP representatives that the Canadian Forces, in its planning, coordinates the use of American military resources in the event of a natural disaster.

15.1 Your committee endorses the recommendations of the Auditor General to the PEP and local governments concerning cooperative efforts between the PEP, local governments, other provincial governments, the federal government and the Canadian Forces with respect to earthquake preparedness and response support plans, and encourages the PEP and local governments to implement these recommendations.

15.2 Your committee acknowledges the Provincial Emergency Program’s efforts in coordinating the "Thunderbird 4 – Cascadia Response" exercise in March 1999, and recommends that the provincial government encourage more joint earthquake response exercises by the Provincial Emergency Program, Emergency Preparedness Canada and the Canadian Forces,including regular exercises around the National Earthquake Support Plan and its relationship to British Columbia’s plans.

15.3 Your committee endorses the Auditor General’s recommendations to local governments and the PEP with respect to local government planning and testing, and encourages implementation of these recommendations.

15.4 Your committee recommends that future testing of earthquake response plans involve participation by urban search and rescue teams.

EMERGENCY PLANNING AND RESPONSE TRAINING

Auditor General Report On Earthquake Preparedness, Operational Recommendations:

• The PEP should prepare a matrix of emergency planning and response positions at both provincial and local government levels, and identify the appropriate training regime needed for each position;

• The PEP should obtain from provincial and local government agencies, at least annually, information about the training they have provided to emergency planning and response personnel.

There were few submissions regarding emergency management training. However, some witnesses did express concern to the committee about the adequacy of emergency management training programs in British Columbia. For example, representatives of the Corporation of Delta felt that there should be an accredited emergency management diploma program offered through the Justice Institute, and that there should also be a currency requirement for the various emergency training courses offered throughout British Columbia. These witnesses suggested that these training courses be based upon the United States Red Cross model.

In this regard, representatives of the Provincial Emergency Program advised the committee that the PEP has already undertaken an initiative to provide emergency management training at the Justice Institute. However, a former Provincial Emergency Program trainer noted that this training is provided on a fee-for-services basis, and urged the provincial government to consider offering this training to ministry staff for free. This witness also felt that there should be more training in heavy rescue for ambulance and fire services personnel.

With respect to post-earthquake building inspection, witnesses appearing on behalf of the Provincial Emergency Program informed committee members that the PEP is currently providing training to engineers and municipal building inspectors. The subject of post-earthquake damage assessment is explored in more detail in the next section of this report.

16.1 Your committee endorses the Auditor General’s recommendations to the PEP with respect to training for emergency planning and response positions at the provincial and local government levels, acknowledges the efforts undertaken by the Provincial Emergency Program to develop and offer an emergency management training through the Justice Institute, and encourages the PEP to ensure that the Auditor General’s recommendations with respect to training be implemented.

16.2 Your committee recommends that the provincial government review relevant legislation and policies to ensure that there are no legislative, regulatory or other impediments to the provision of adequate emergency training and certification to emergency medical assistants, in order that they are able to provide effective assistance in the event of a major earthquake.

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