Attachment 1: At-a-Glance: Modernizing BC’s Emergency Management Legislation

At-a-Glance: Modernizing BC’s Emergency Management Legislation

The Current Emergency Program Act (EPA)

The current Emergency Program Act (EPA) dates back to 1993. It covers the Province and Local Authorities, and focuses on:

• preparing and implementing emergency management plans; and
• states of emergency.

Regulations under the EPA are:

• Emergency Program Management;
• Local Authority Management; and
• Compensation & Disaster Financial Assistance.

Drivers of Change

• There are many diverse and complex hazards in BC, like wildfires, floods, earthquakes and severe weather.
• Driven by climate change, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe.
• Emergencies have devastating impacts on citizens, visitors, communities, businesses and infrastructure.
• Emergencies take a financial toll. Response and recovery from the floods and wildfires of 2017 and 2018 cost over $1.6 billion.
• Indigenous and remote communities are often disproportionately impacted by emergencies.
• The needs of our most vulnerable citizens are not always sufficiently considered.
• The unprecedented flood and wildfire seasons in 2017 and 2018 surfaced a number of gaps in the current legislation.

Key Gaps in Current Emergency Management Legislation

• No explicit requirements to assess and mitigate disaster risk (UN Sendai Framework)
• A lack of recovery planning and tools prolongs recovery and does not support resilience
• First Nations are not yet adequately recognized as partners in emergency management
• Inadequate preparation for catastrophic events
• Lack of information sharing and integration of emergency management plans by the Province, Local Authorities and critical infrastructure operators thwarts effective response and recovery
• Does not recognize emerging best practice and current regional collaborations
• Does not provide sufficient protection for volunteers given their key role in emergency management

Design Principles for Modernization

• The Act will encompass all stages of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
• The Act will reflect a shift from disaster response to managing and reducing disaster risk.
• Emergency management is a shared responsibility: individuals, governments, communities, private and non-profit sectors.
• Protection of life, health, and safety is paramount.
• Decisions made under the Act and regulations will be transparent.
• Responsive, flexible and disciplined funding mechanism.
• The Act will be inclusive and will consider the needs of vulnerable citizens.

Consultation Dates: October 28, 2019 to January 31, 2020 Website: engage.gov.bc.ca/govtogetherbc/consultation/emergency-program-act-modernization Email: EmergencyProgramAct@gov.bc.ca

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The Path to Modernization: A Timeline for Modernizing BC’s Emergency Management Legislation

• January - September, 2019: Initial Engagement
  • Briefings for ministries and stakeholder groups
  • UBCM Flood and Wildfire Advisory Committee
  • Regional First Nations Partnership Tables; FNESS; FNHA; FNLC; Session with First Nations EM experts
• October 28, 2019: Discussion Paper
• Oct. 28, 2019 - Jan 31, 2020: Comment Period on Discussion Paper
  • Regional Engagement Sessions with First Nations
  • Meetings with stakeholder groups
• February - Fall, 2020: Early Spring, 2020
  • What We Heard Report
• Fall 2020: Modernized emergency management legislation introduced
• Spring 2021: Implementation for 2021 flood and wildfire seasons.

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Modernizing BC’s Emergency Management Legislation: Key Policy Shifts at a Glance

All four emergency management pillars (mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery) are recognized in legislation:

• Require provincial ministries, Crown corporations and agencies to:
  • Have programs and plans to deal with continuity of services;
  • Develop emergency management plans;
  • Exercise and review their plans; and
  • Carry out duties related to mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery as assigned by the Minister responsible for emergency management.
• Require Local Authorities to:
  • Meet clear requirements for the content and exercising of plans, and their review cycle;
  • Identify, understand and assess hazards, risks and vulnerabilities, and establish associated mitigation plans for high-risk hazards; and,
  • Develop post-disaster needs assessments and post-disaster recovery plans.
• Require Local Authorities and provincial subdivision approving officers to give greater consideration to current and future risk for development and building approvals, and require mitigation measures when development and building are approved in hazardous areas.

First Nations are recognized as emergency management partners:

• Expand the definition of “emergency” to include actions to protect community well-being, significant Indigenous cultural sites, and the environment;
• Provide clear authority for the Minister and Local Authorities to enter agreements with individual First Nations or First Nations groups;
• Require Local Authorities preparing emergency management plans to consult with First Nations;
• Require critical infrastructure operators to provide emergency management information to First Nations upon request;
• Require consideration of Indigenous and traditional knowledge in the development of hazard risk and vulnerability assessments by provincial entities and Local Authorities; and,
• Establish that provincial entities and Local Authorities must consider cultural safety and inclusiveness when developing and implementing emergency management plans.

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Modernizing BC’s Emergency Management Legislation: Key Policy Shifts at a Glance

Greater recognition of critical infrastructure as an integral part of emergency management:

• Enable creation of a registry of critical infrastructure to better understand both risk and the assets available during response and recovery and inform development of supply chain management strategies;
• Require critical infrastructure emergency plans to address all four pillars; and,
• Require specific emergency management planning documentation, which could include a “statement of assurance” for certain operators, to ensure information is readily available before, during and after events.

Better tools for response and recovery:

• Set the initial duration and renewal period for a provincial state of emergency at a maximum of 28 days (currently 14) and for a local state of emergency at 14 days (currently 7);
• Create a new provision to allow the Minister to grant a Local Authority the use of specific powers for a “transition period” between response and the end of the recovery phase of up to 90 days;
• Enable Local Authorities to make emergency amendments to Official Community Plans, Regional Growth Strategies, zoning, or bylaws;
• Enable, by regulation, standards for emergency public notifications and warnings; and,
• Clarify how existing provincial powers would apply during a catastrophic event.

Greater recognition and protection for volunteers:

• Define service providers and provide clear authority for the Minister to enter into agreements with them;
• Clearly define different types of volunteers;
• Modernize civil liability protection to better deter nuisance lawsuits; and,
• Establish job-protected leaves for volunteers with specialized skill sets.

Stronger coordination, collaboration and provision of information between emergency management partners:

• Require ministries, Crown corporations, agencies and other public sector entities (such as school districts, universities, colleges, and health authorities) to participate in the development of integrated plans for which they are not the lead;
• Enable Local Authorities and First Nations to enter into agreements to do integrated or joint planning and to voluntarily form unified Local Authorities to do some or all emergency management functions;
• Enable the Minister to direct Local Authorities to collaborate and coordinate at a regional scale for risk assessment, mitigation planning and mitigative works, and enable establishment of regulatory or non-regulatory incentives for collaboration and coordination;
• Require Local Authorities to provide plans to neighbouring jurisdictions (including First Nations), to the Province, and stakeholders such as critical infrastructure operators and consider any feedback; and,
• Require Local Authorities preparing emergency plans to consult with First Nations.

Greater confidence in the emergency management system:

• Establish a requirement for the Province to centrally house and provide transparent data on hazard, risk and vulnerability assessments or mitigation planning documents conducted or prepared by provincial ministries, Crown corporations and agencies, Local Authorities, and critical infrastructure operators;
• Require provincial ministries, Crown corporations and agencies and Local Authorities to register their emergency management plans with EMBC; and,
• Enable EMBC to audit emergency management plans and make the results public.