1.0 Introduction
1.1. Executive Summary
Under Ontario’s Emergency Management & Civil Protection Act, every ministry is required to develop and implement an emergency management program, including an emergency plan. In 2008, the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS), Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) and the Office of Francophone Affairs (OFA) Emergency Plan includes enhancements, which demonstrate an integrated and consistent approach that responds to all potential service disruptions and emergencies that may impact MCSS, MCYS or OFA operations.
Ministries fall into one of two program categories – Full Program or Continuity of Operations Program (COOP). Full Program ministries have been assigned special areas of responsibilities for specific types of emergencies or emergency services, under Order-In-Council (OIC) 1492/2005. All ministries are responsible under the OIC 380/2004 for ensuring the continuity of their operations regardless of the type of emergency that occurs.
The Ministry of Community and Social Services is a “full program” ministry and as required has:
- A COOP plan in the event of a business disruption
- An Emergency Response plan in the event of a community emergency
- Under the OIC, MCSS is responsible for ensuring the availability of emergency shelter, clothing and food, victim registration and inquiry services and personal services, if a provincial response is required.
The Ministry of Children and Youth Services and the Office of Francophone Affairs are responsible for having a program for continuity of operations in the event of a disruption to business. MCYS and OFA do not have assigned responsibilities for emergency response in the event of a community emergency. However, during a community emergency, the Emergency Management Unit provides relevant information to MCYS to ensure service delivery related to child welfare and youth under court orders.
The 159 COOP plans for branches, regions, local offices and facilities are an essential part of the ministries’ Emergency Management Program. The COOP plans establish the critical services to be delivered during an emergency and identify the recovery strategies for resumption to full operations as quickly as possible after an emergency.
To meet the Ministry’s OIC requirements, the nine Program Management Division (PMD) regions have each developed a Regional Emergency Response Plan.
In 2008, there were several emergencies (i.e., a propane explosion, power failures and flooding) that impacted local/regional offices or facilities that required COOP plans to be activated for one or several days. This provided an opportunity for those locations to review the effectiveness of the COOP plan and to modify the plan based on lessons learned. Overall, the COOP plans have worked very well in maintaining/restoring critical services and allowing a prompt return to full service levels after the emergency ended.
Community/provincial emergencies supported through preparation, planning and response this year have included:
- January – April - Flooding of rivers/lakes in several communities across the province
- April – May - Flooding and evacuation of three First Nations Communities along the James Bay Coast
- April - May - First Nations Day of Action
- August - Family Responsibility Office COOP activation resulting from the Sunrise Propane Explosion
Recent emergencies in the province have reinforced that in addition to ensuring the availability of emergency social services, other ministry business services may be required to support the response to an emergency. Planning is underway to address issues such as:
- provide emergency OW payments to individuals; and
- supports required by vulnerable individuals, in particular, children and youth impacted by an evacuation.
1.2. Plan Objectives and Overview
The Plan is intended to provide key information on the ministries’ Emergency Management Programs and how they are operationalized in the event of an emergency.
The objectives of the MCSS/MCYS/OFA Emergency Management Plan (Plan) are:
- to satisfy legislated requirements and to support an efficient, effective and co-ordinated response to a community emergency;
- to minimize a business disruption by identifying ministry critical services and recovery strategies to ensure continuity of critical services; and
- to plan for recovery of all services after an emergency ends.
The following are the key components of the Ministries’ Emergency Plan:
- Identification and prioritization of critical services, time criticality and dependencies, and pandemic planning activities
- Emergency Response Organization – Ministry Action Group and Emergency Management Program Committee
- Emergency Activation Protocols
- Plan Activation and Notification Process
- Ministry Emergency Operations Centre
- Emergency Information / Communications
- Key Players in an Emergency
- Key Partners During an Emergency
- Emergency Management Planning