Articles related to emergency management advocacy, legislation, policy, and relevant news.
The Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) on Emergency and Disaster Management Act regulations has concluded its first series of meetings, which focused on some of the primary responsibilities assigned to local governments under the Act. Key themes and issues raised by LGAC members are summarized below. These were also discussed at the EDMA in Action session at the 2024 UBCM Convention.
Applications for the Volunteer and Composite Fire Departments Equipment and Training stream of the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund are being accepted until October 18, 2024. To get an idea of how this fund can impact a local government, we reached out to the Gabriola Island Improvement district, which has received this grant three times.
On August 7th, UBCM shared that the new Fire Safety Act had been brought into force. The Office of the Fire Commissioner has released a newsletter providing additional information about investigator and inspector training standards as well as a Q&A document to assist in understanding the new Act.
On August 1, 2024, the Province announced that the new Fire Safety Act has come into effect, introducing a new single standard of fire safety in BC. This comes after several years of consultation with UBCM and the Office of the Fire Commissioner to ensure the new Act will meet members’ needs, specifically regional districts.
The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR) has released a summary of input received to its 2023 discussion paper, BC’s Modernized Emergency Management Legislation: Regulations for Local Authorities.
The Province has developed new guidance for emergency management partners, including local governments, related to engagement responsibilities included in the Emergency and Disaster Management Act (EDMA). The guidance will be updated annually, and as new tools and regulations associated with the EDMA come into effect.
This document includes the following information:
Last week, the Province introduced From Flood Risk to Resilience: a BC Flood Strategy to 2035. The Flood Strategy outlines the Province’s direction for flood management, and includes 25 concepts to improve flood resilience. While the UBCM membership has consistently requested that the Province be established as the diking authority in all local governments, the Flood Strategy confirms that the Province will not assume this role.
The BC Health Effects of Anomalous Temperatures Coordinating Committee (BC Heat Committee) has released public health recommendations to reduce the impact of exposure to winter weather on people experiencing homelessness in British Columbia.
The provincial government has released its summary of the 2023 provincial wildfire season, confirming the record-setting level of destruction. This season saw more than 2.84 million hectares burned across BC, which is more than double the area of forest and land that was burned during any previous year on record.
Between April 1 and October 31, British Columbia experienced 2,245 wildfires:
The provincial government has announced $18 million in short-term funding for local governments and First Nations to address new consultation and collaboration responsibilities outlined in the new Emergency and Disaster Management Act.