Should the town and county each have an emergency management plan?
That is the question we are asking ourselves after attending the Town of Barrhead council meeting on Jan. 7
Our answer is no.
At the meeting, Cheryl Callihoo, director of development and legislative services, told councillors that in the near future, administration will review the town’s emergency management plan to ensure that it meets the community’s needs, but conforms to the province’s Emergency Management Act.
This review is something municipalities regularly do, but this time it is especially important because in November the province amended the legislation and gave local authorities until 2020 to make sure they meet the new requirements.
We believe it is likely the County of Barrhead will conduct a similar review, so it’s our opinion that now is the perfect time for both municipalities to combine their efforts and create one regional emergency management plan.
While it might be the norm for municipalities to have their own and it might be the best choice for larger centers, we do not believe it is necessarily the best choice for here.
For one reason, they just don’t have the resources.
This is why many communities, such as our own, choose to combine their efforts to provide certain services that they might not otherwise be able to provide, at least not at the level their residents expect.
The best local example is Barrhead Regional Fire Services.
At one time, the town and county each staffed a fire department, but it was decided that in order to improve services to residents of both the department had to be amalgamated.
And while occasionally there have been bumps along the road, (difficulties coming to a fire services agreement come to mind) we believe everyone can agree that this was the right decision.
During an emergency, it is sometimes necessary to call upon resources that are beyond the scope of regular emergency services.
For example, when Woodlands County declared a state of local emergency because of flooding in Fort Assiniboine’s Pride Valley and the Flats Road area in Whitecourt, they had to commandeer everything from heavy equipment to a helicopter. All of this basically fell to their emergency management director and chief administration officer Luc Mercier. If Woodlands County and Whitecourt had a regional emergency management plan the workload could have been shared.
If, say a flood, toxic spill or wildfire happened in the town or county, it would likely take the combined efforts of both to deal with it. And having both entities united under one emergency management plan would make it that much easier.
