Frequently Asked Questions about Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness:
What activities has the Government of Canada undertaken to address disaster mitigation in Canada?
In 1998, Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness (OCIPEP) (then Emergency Preparedness Canada), co-sponsored a series of regional workshops on disaster mitigation. We learned from those consultations that Canadians have good knowledge about hazards but are less knowledgeable about measures that they can take to prevent hazards from becoming disasters. We also learned that our capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters in Canada is advanced when compared to our ability to recover from and mitigate against disasters. Focussing on mitigation will augment the existing strengths in the areas of disaster preparedness and response and ensure a better system for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Canadians.
The Government of Canada is currently chairing an internal Government of Canada working group to review mitigation roles, responsibilities, priorities and gaps within and among federal departments in order to develop a consensus perspective for disaster mitigation in Canada.
Why is it important for Canada to have a National Disaster Mitigation Strategy?
There is global evidence to suggest that incidence of disasters and costs for dealing with them are increasing. In Canada, a similar pattern is evident. Further, evidence suggests that disasters larger than we have experienced already are possible.
Catastrophic disasters cause enormous costs to Canadians. Together, the 1996 Saguenay floods, the 1997 Red River flood, and the 1998 Ice Storms have so far amounted to an estimated $7.8 billion in costs to governments, private and voluntary sectors. We have learned from these and other events, that disaster mitigation is an investment in the future of Canada, and not a cost. Without greater efforts to minimize impacts on people and infrastructure, human and economic losses to natural disasters will increase rapidly in the future. A more coordinated effort is required to reduce disaster losses and the liability of governments.