Feds in dark on Ottawa's emergency response plans
Patrick Dare, Canwest News Service · Jan. 29, 2008 | Last Updated: Jan. 29, 2008 10:00 AM ET
The federal government needs to come up with money and some direct agreements with the City of Ottawa to ensure emergency preparedness in its own back yard, the Senate committee on national security and defence was told yesterday.
Four of Ottawa's key emergency managers appearing before the committee yesterday said the relationship between the federal government and Ottawa officials is not defined and the ground rules are not set, which could spell trouble in a serious emergency.
If there were to be a biological or chemical dirty bomb attack on Ottawa, the federal government might expect that MPs and senators would get preferred first treatment by Ottawa's emergency staff, but there's no such agreement, said John Ash, manager of Ottawa's emergency management office.
The federal government's emergency preparedness plans are worked out by individual departments, some of which have sophisticated, advanced plans and some of which are just starting to plan.
Mr. Ash said he spent two years trying to find out who he should be talking to in the federal government about emergency preparedness.
He finally found the key contact recently, in the Privy Council Office, and said there have been preliminary discussions.
A senior federal government official responsible for emergency preparedness made it clear in later testimony before the committee yesterday that the federal government has little operational knowledge of what cities are doing on the emergency measures front.
Under questioning by senators, Scott Broughton, senior assistant deputy minister, emergency management and national security branch, said he didn't know if the various emergency units in Ottawa and Gatineau have the ability to communicate with one another by radio.
And he said his branch doesn't deal with cities like Ottawa directly because the provinces and territorial governments prefer that the federal government deals with them instead.
But the City of Ottawa emergency managers -- Mr. Ash, Fire Chief Rick Larabie, Deputy Police Chief Sue O'Sullivan and Paramedic Service Chief Anthony DiMonte -- made it clear that they need direct contact with the federal government if they are to protect it in a natural disaster or terrorist attack.
Deputy Chief O'Sullivan said there have been big improvements in recent years in communication between police, fire and paramedic services in Ottawa and Gatineau, with regular meetings and tabletop practice runs for emergencies.
But the Ottawa managers said the federal government hasn't been there to see what will happen in the capital region in the event of a serious emergency.
"If you have to pull out a binder in the middle of a crisis, you're in trouble," said Deputy Chief O'Sullivan.
Mr. Ash said, "We need to be linked together." And Mr. DiMonte said, "The relationship is not defined."
One of the biggest problems Ottawa emergency staff have is that, while the city is better equipped than many to deal with VIP security, chemical and biological attacks, those special preparations cost a lot of money and it's a fight to get more funds from taxpayers.
For instance, the city has gas masks that were purchased through a federal program after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but they will soon be of little use. They must be replaced, but that will cost $400,000 or $500,000 which the police service doesn't have in its budget.
"Municipalities are struggling financially," said Deputy Chief O'Sullivan.
The federal government's joint emergency preparedness program, used to buy the gas masks several years ago, is a $5-million fund.
Deputy Chief O'Sullivan said a U.S. presidential visit can cost $3.5-million in direct and indirect security costs to Ottawa.
There are about 150 demonstrations a year, most of them involving the federal government.
But when the city goes to the federal government for compensation, it typically only gets about 80% of its costs.
"These are costs that are not in our budgets," said Deputy Chief O'Sullivan. "It's been a battle."
There are also concerns about how long capital region emergency staff could remain effective in a major emergency. The managers said that even preparing for and managing events such as presidential visits is a source of temporary burnout for police.
Senator Colin Kenny, chairman of the committee, asked what sort of preparations the federal government has for an event such as another ice storm.
Mr. Broughton responded that immediate response to such events is the responsibility of provincial governments.
The Ottawa Citizen
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Domestic Security Policy
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