Emergency Response Plan

Please click the following link to view the Emergency Response Plan.

This Plan has been formulated to assign responsibilities and to guide the immediate actions of key officials in the first few critical hours after the onset of an emergency. It also addresses sustainability in a long term emergency. For this Plan to be effective, it is essential that all concerned be made aware of its provisions, and that every official and department be prepared to carry out their assigned functions and responsibilities in an emergency.

The Incident Management System (IMS) will be utilized throughout this Emergency Response Plan (ERP) as a management tool. Regular exercises will be staged to ensure the arrangements embodied in this Plan are kept current, and that all are kept familiar with its provisions. Department heads should likewise review and keep up to date their own procedures and arrangements for responding to emergencies.

Emergencies are defined as situations or the threat of impending situations abnormally affecting property and the health, safety, and welfare of a community, which by their nature or magnitude require a controlled and coordinated response by all agencies. These are distinct from routine operations carried out by municipal agencies, e.g.: firefighting, police and works departments, etc.

Legislation entitled "Emergency Management Act, R,S,O, 1990 c.E.9", short title "The Emergency Management Act", is the primary authority enabling passage of the bylaw formulating this emergency plan which will govern the provision of necessary services during an emergency. This plan also prescribes procedures under the manner in which municipal employees and other persons will respond to an emergency. Important measures enabled under the legislation and which form parts of this plan are:

• Expenditure of monies associated with the formulation and implementation of the Emergency Response Plan (ERP);
• Authorization of municipal employees to take appropriate action before formal declaration of an emergency; 
• Specify procedures to be taken for the safety and/or evacuation of persons in an emergency area; 
• Designate other members of Council who may exercise powers and perform the duties of the Mayor under the ERP during the absence of the Mayor or upon his/her inability to act; 
• Establish committees and designate employees to be responsible for reviewing the ERP, training the employees in their function and implementing the ERP during an emergency; 
• Obtaining and distributing materials, equipment and supplies during an emergency; and 
• Such other matters that are considered necessary or advisable for the implementation of the ERP during an emergency.