Friday Round Up – Focus: National Emergency Preparedness Week
Emergency Preparedness Week in Canada runs from May 5-11 and today’s Round Up looks country wide at preparations. We start off in New Brunswick, make a stop in Ottawa, skip across to Calgary and finish in our hometown of Victoria BC.
The Sackville Tribune Post from New Brunswick runs the following article titled NB preparing for Emergency Preparedness Week. “New Brunswickers should be prepared to care for themselves and their families for at least 72 hours in the event of an emergency. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Robert Trevors issued this reminder in advance of Emergency Preparedness Week, May 5-11.” Although we are big supporters of the various government initiatives in their respective jurisdictions, we maintain that 72 hours in many if not most situations will not be enough. However, good job NB!
Our nations capital is our next stop where we catch the federal government launching Canada’s National Emergency Preparedness Week from – of all places – Dartmouth Nova Scotia (no offense intended for our maritime cousins). Gerald Keddy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade and Member of Parliament for South Shore-St. Margaret’s, today launched the 18th annual Emergency Preparedness (EP) Week on behalf of the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, at Environment Canada’s Atlantic Storm Prediction Centre. The theme for this year is “Make a Plan”. Public Safety Canada has developed a new Emergency Preparedness e-book to give Canadians convenient access to practical information through their mobile devices. The new Emergency Preparedness e-book is free for download at GetPrepared.ca. “Having an emergency plan and preparing or purchasing a kit can help families cope in a variety of situations,” said Ancel Langille, Manager of Operations at the Canadian Red Cross. “For instance, just over 40 per cent of Canadians say they have experienced a loss of electricity for more than 72 hours. Having an emergency plan of where to go and how to connect in an emergency is an easy way to Get Prepared.” Good on ya Canada! And the Red Cross!
Heading west towards the Rockies we stop off in Calgary (cowtown) Alberta. The metronews.ca headline screams at you: Calgary’s ‘Disaster Alley’ emergency-preparedness showcase set for Sunday. Emergency responders and planners are inviting Calgarians of all ages to the fourth annual Disaster Alley educational showcase on Sunday. “This is a family and a free event,” said Len MacCharles, deputy chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency. “We’ll be promoting the building of a 72-hour preparedness kit,” MacCharles said. “We’ll be handing out a basic checklist of things that people should pull together and have in advance.” Disaster Alley takes place in the east parking lot of McMahon Stadium on Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Drop in and say HI!
Our journey ends in beautiful Victoria BC. Total Prepare will be participating in the 6th Annual EP Fair and Display at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre in Colwood on Sunday May 5th. The week kicks off with an afternoon of displays and demonstrations at 1767 Island Hwy. on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. “We want to bring awareness to the importance of emergency preparedness,” said Lt. Troy Mollin, emergency program officer. “We want to educate the public on things that they can do to be prepared for an emergency or mitigate some of the risks and hazards of their area.”
If you are in the Greater Victoria area Sunday drop by and say Hi. We would love to meet you! Until next week… Be Prepared.
