What is the National Plan?

The National Plan is a document published by Environment Canada which describes the actions that the Department takes when environmental emergencies occur. It contains information on the measures Environment Canada would carry out in a variety of emergencies which have adverse environmental impacts. The document includes details on the national emergency reporting network and the procedural safety guidelines for departmental staff while dealing with environmental emergencies.

Why is the National Plan necessary?

According to the federal Emergency Preparedness Act 1988, all federal ministers have a statutory responsibility to ensure that each department, agency or Crown Corporation that they represent has an emergency preparedness plan to deal with civil emergencies related to their area of accountability. In the case of Environment Canada, the Minister is accountable for developing and maintaining civil emergency plans covering the identification, assessment and mitigation of environmental hazards and their associated risks. The National Plan identifies a variety of environmental hazards and describes the steps Environment Canada undertakes to minimize their impacts on the environment.

What kind of environmental emergencies are considered in the National Plan?

The Plan deals with emergencies involving releases from:

• transportation incidents
  • ships at sea and on the Great Lakes
  • motor or rail carriers
  • aircrafts
  • landbased pipelines
• industrial and storage facilities
• federal facilities/lands
• spills of unknown origin
• nuclear facilities and radioactive sources
• Canada/U.S. transboundary spills
• international pollution incidents
• events triggered by natural disasters (severe weather, earthquakes, floods, forest fires, etc.)

How does Environment Canada respond to major environmental emergencies?

As described in the National Plan, the primary role of Environment Canada in response to environmental emergencies is to provide timely scientific advice and technical support to the lead agency and to other support agencies engaged in response to an emergency. The main focus of Environment Canada is to protect the environment as well as the life, health and safety of all Canadians.

Environment Canada does not act alone in emergency responses. Over the years, Environment Canada has put in place numerous bilateral and multi-lateral agreements and arrangements with the provinces, the United States and other countries to provide mutual aid and assistance, if required. As well, federal legislation is in place to enforce regulations to protect the air, the water, the land, the wildlife and the health of all Canadians from environmental emergencies. Environment Canada also plays a leadership role in promoting and maintaining multistakeholder voluntary groups and organizations involving other federal government departments, provinces/territories, local governments, industry and non-government organizations to address various matters related to environmental emergencies.

Several agreements between Canada or Environment Canada and other agencies are highlighted in the National Plan. Furthermore, relevant federal legislation and policy documents, as well as a list of the Canada-United States Joint Plans are included in this document.

How was the National Plan prepared?

The Plan was prepared by Environment Canada in consultation with other federal government departments, provinces and territories. Three services of Environment Canada (Environmental Protection Service, Atmospheric Environmental Service and Environmental Conservation Service) as well as the five regions across Canada (Pacific & Yukon, Prairie & Northern, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic) were involved in the preparation of the National Plan.