Why Canada Doesn't Need a FEMA Part 1: Defining the Problems in EM

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With the current context of floods in BC, fires across the west, drought in the fields and potential hurricanes in the east, Canadians are being fed the notion that there is a lack of something in the emergency management field - in other words, we could be doing far better to help our citizens, mitigate hazards and overall preparedness and response. The default for some academics et al are to call for a US style FEMA to be established in Canada to direct, manage and help mitigate the coming effects of climate change and the increased frequency of disasters.
My bias is clear, there is no current or former issue that has been successfully addressed by the creation of a new public agency, employing thousands of public servants and consuming huge swaths of the public purse.
But before we provide a remedy, we need to properly define the problem. In this episode, I cover governance - who is responsible for what in Canada, the structure of the current Federal system with regards to emergency management. Then I outline within each of the four pillars of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery what are the shortfalls and offer some thoughts on how to address them.
The next episode will take this ground work and present two solutions: Morphing Emergency Preparedness at the Federal Level to a FEMA style agency and addressing the issues within the current structure - join me for that awesome second part.

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