The Emergency Management Amendment Act proposed in April 2018 is now in effect, with penalties of $10,000 and/or up to a year in jail for anyone who ignores evacuation orders.

The Emergency Management Act (EMA) provides the legislative framework for local and provincial management of emergencies and disasters. It outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Minister of Municipal Affairs, the provincial government, and local authorities. It provides the authority for the granting of additional powers during a state of emergency or a state of local emergency and governs the coming into force, expiration, and termination of these states of emergency.

Bill 8: Emergency Management Amendment Act was introduced in the legislature on April 3, 2018, proposing changes to the EMA rules and regulations with the intent of helping communities improve their response to disasters.

During the summer of 2018, the government engaged with 92 municipalities and 5 organizations to gather feedback that helped clarify language and update requirements in the EMA.CRCAG was not involved in this engagement. Feedback has been issued in a report that is now available online. 

The Emergency Management Amendment Act was passed on Nov. 1 and came into force on Nov. 19, outlining that:

Any person who

(a) contravenes this Act or the regulations,

(b) fails to comply with an evacuation order, or

(c) interferes with or obstructs any person in the carrying out of a power or duty under this Act or the regulations

is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year or to a fine of not more than $10,000 or to both imprisonment and a fine.

The Calgary Fire Department rescues a women and her dogs from where they were trapped in their flooded Erlton apartment on Friday morning June 21. (Image: Gavin Young/Calgary Herald)

During the 2013 flood, Calgary firefighters had to perform more than 450 water rescues. 

Commenting on the proposed changes to Global News earlier this year, Chief of Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) Tom Sampson said, “We will have to be very careful when we exercise this authority to evacuate … I assure you, we won’t do it lightly, but we will do it when necessity arises.”

The engagement of municipalities over the summer also informed the development of the Local Authority Emergency Management Regulation, which comes into effect January 1, 2020, offering clarity around emergency plan requirements, review of emergency plans, mandatory exercises and training requirements (for elected officials, delegates, emergency management agency, local authorities), and more.

Read the full Government of Alberta media release on the Emergency Management Amendment Act here.

For more information on emergency management legislation, visit the Alberta Emergency Management Agency website.

If you’d like to get in touch with us, you can reach us at info@crcactiongroup.com.

Regards,

Your CRCAG Board