Alberta Region Emergency Management Plan

Introduction

The Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) Regional Emergency Management Plans provide an overview of the specific roles and responsibilities of ISC regional offices and regional staff in supporting First Nations emergency management. This plan identifies the ISC Alberta regional office's responsibilities towards and relationship with: First Nations, Indigenous-led organizations, the provincial and territorial governments, and non-governmental organizations involved in emergency management activities that support First Nations communities.

This plan supports the ISC National All Hazards Emergency Management Plan by identifying region-specific:

• risks and hazards
• communication and information sharing mechanisms
• how the ISC Alberta regional office works with service providers and First Nations to ensure emergency services are culturally-relevant

Like the ISC national emergency management plan, this document is not meant to replace any First Nations, provincial, territorial, regional, or community procedures and plans. It is intended to complement any existing plans or procedures and may be used to help make informed decisions and take concrete actions to assist First Nations communities in emergency situations.

This regional plan is intended to be an evergreen document and will be reviewed and updated at least every 2 years, or following important changes to mandates and/or roles and responsibilities.

Scope

This plan supports First Nations on reserve in Alberta in the 4 pillars of emergency management: prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

For more information on the national emergency management plan's scope, see ISC's National All Hazards Emergency Management Plan.

Regional risk environment

As outlined in ISC's national emergency management plan, Canada's risk environment includes a broad range of natural and human-induced hazards. Each region faces its own particular risk environment. Below is Alberta's regional risk assessment.

Regional context informing risk assessment

• Alberta region is home to boreal forest, alpine forest, grasslands and parklands
• Alberta is home to First Nations signed to Treaty 6, Treaty 7, and Treaty 8, as well as several Métis communities
• There are 48 Nations within Alberta region with independent Chief and Council governments
• The wide geographic diversity of the province results in a large variety of different emergency events of varying scales and scopes
• Nations in the northern part of the province tend to be smaller, have less capacity during events and be more isolated than Nations in the central and southern parts of the province
• There are several Nations within Alberta where a combination of remoteness and limited access routes result in uniquely challenging emergency management
• Historically, Alberta was home to the greatest number of residential schools, impacting Indigenous populations and increasing health and wellness impacts of disaster events disproportionately

Risk assessment for Alberta

• Northern Alberta experiences annual wildfire impacts, resulting in frequent evacuations and fire response activities
• Central Alberta experiences frequent extreme weather events, with high risk of tornadoes in summer
• Severe wind activity is frequent in southern Alberta on an annual basis
• Extreme temperatures occur annually in Alberta region, in all 3 treaty areas. Climate change continues to pose adverse impacts on the region such as ice road inconsistency and food insecurities for remote communities
• Floods are common, with the northern part of the province often experiencing annual impacts due to riverine waters, central Alberta experiencing challenging water tables and infrastructure not able to manage, and southern Alberta at risk for severe flooding from annual melt from mountains
• Extreme cold events causing heating or essential service failures are less frequent, with 3 events in the past 5 fiscal years. Extreme heat and cold events tend to be isolated events
• Social crises are ongoing in First Nations in Alberta as a result of historical trauma, and systemic healthcare racism leading to increased psychosocial emergencies, poverty, and associated comorbidities
• Industrial hazards, with many First Nations communities within close proximity to oil and gas industries
• Pandemics and communicable disease outbreaks with First Nations communities being vulnerable to outbreaks due to current social determinants of health
• Drug crisis and increasing gang violence continues to pose risks to First Nations communities, noting various health and social crises

Notable events include:

• 2024 wildfire season – approximately 25,000 Albertans evacuated, with 6942 evacuees from First Nations reserves with 11 long-term state of local emergencies declared on reserve
• 2023 wildfire season – 38,000 Albertans evacuated, with 10,388 evacuees from First Nations reserves
• 2022 flood season – 1046 flood evacuees from First Nations reserves
• 2020 flood season – 796 evacuees from Alberta First Nations reserves, during pandemic response and public health measures
• 2019 wildfire season – 15,000 individuals displaced, with 5708 evacuees from First Nations reserves

Regional legislation regulations authorities and agreements

There is no specific provincial legislation that governs emergency management on reserve. First Nations are considered local authorities in the provincial Emergency Management Act, and interpretation is carried out in a case-by-case manner to support each Nation's unique relationship with Alberta and Canada.

Interpretation by ISC, the Government of Alberta, and First Nations is informed by the following legislation and regulations.

Regional legislation

• Emergency Management Act – Alberta – defines the provincial ministerial powers, local authority states of emergency, and compensation available. This is used as a guideline for the interpretation and administration of the service agreement between the provincial agency responsible for services to local authorities and Indigenous Services Canada, in absence of multilateral agreements with First Nations governance oversight and definitions
• Forest and Prairie Protection Act – Alberta – defines wildfire risks and responsibilities within Alberta, delegation of authority to agencies and guardians, and costs related to wildfire hazards. First Nations are not represented in this legislation, and it is utilized to inform the regional agreement for wildfire services from the provincial agency to support and protect First Nations on reserve from identified wildfire hazards

Regional regulations

• Government Emergency Management Regulation – speaks to the role of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency in provincial emergency management, supporting interagency emergency management coordination and collaboration
• Local Authority Emergency Management Regulation – speaks to local authority definitions and responsibilities, outlining First Nations as local authorities for emergency under Section 1)d. There is no legislation federally encasing the authority and responsibility of bands under the emergency management umbrella. The definitions are supplied to support the agency's support as requested by First Nations
• Disaster Recovery Regulation - utilized as a guideline to inform regional emergency management agreement interpretation and implementation on reserve in Alberta. Compensation is delivered direct to First Nations under the Emergency Management Assistance Program
• Forest and Prairie Protection Regulation – speaks to individual and regional fire agency permissions and regulations regarding human-based risks on public lands within Alberta, including but not limited to fire permits, the use of engine vehicles in specific areas and risk conditions, firearms and fire risk, and the regulated powers of authority of delegated officers providing enforcement for fire prevention and protection

Regional agreements

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) has 2 bilateral service agreements with the Government of Alberta: one  for First Nations' emergency management and another for health services.

• The first bilateral service agreement is between ISC and Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA), and was signed in 2014 for 10 years. This agreement funds salaries and activities of First Nations Field Officers (FNFO), who are meant to support capacity development across all 4 pillars of emergency management (preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery) within First Nations communities in Alberta. They accomplish this through training, development of emergency management plans, coordination of response and recovery after an event, and liaising between the province, ISC and First Nations to ensure a coordinated approach to the delivery of emergency management
• AEMA's service agreement was set to expire on March 31, 2024, but the agreement has been extended for 2 years, with the agreement expiring on March 31, 2026. This approach will prevent gaps in service delivery while ISC, the Government of Alberta, and First Nations co-develop a path forward on the development of a multilateral service agreement for First Nations emergency management
• The second bilateral service agreement is between ISC and the Alberta Forestry and Parks' Wildfire Management Branch, and was signed in 2015 for 10 years. This agreement funds wildfire prevention and suppression services within the Forest Protection Area (FPA). This agreement was set to expire on March 31, 2025, and ISC and Alberta have agreed in principle to a 1-year extension to March 31, 2026. This approach will prevent gaps in service delivery while a multilateral agreement is developed within the Alberta region
• An agreement with Alberta Health Services to clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of the province during emergencies experienced in First Nations communities to support health is required (for example, medical evacuations)

Communication and information sharing mechanisms

• In Alberta, in the event of an emergency or disaster on reserve, Nations will inform the AEMA Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre, who will provide response supports and assistance with situational reporting. Some Nations prefer to self-report disasters directly to Indigenous Services Canada Alberta Region's Emergency Management and Health Emergency Management unit. Where there is a health emergency or crisis, Nations may reach out to ISC for support. The Health Emergency Management (HEM) team at First Nations Inuit Health will provide response supports and assistance with situation reporting
• ISC Alberta Region's emergency management team provides situational reporting for all Emergency Management Assistance Program (EMAP) eligible events. We also engage with Nations during the response phase to assist in the navigation of eligibility and submission to EMAP for reimbursement of eligible expenditures resulting from the situation. Additionally, HEM provides regional coordination to support events that require a large regional response

Culturally-relevant emergency services in Alberta

• The Government of Alberta and Indigenous Services Canada continue to work towards ensuring each Nation receives services in a culturally appropriate way
• As we move toward multilateral agreements, First Nations will work with all partners to establish guidelines for culturally-relevant services to be adhered to in service agreements