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Government Operations Centre

The Government Operations Centre (GOC) is Canada's strategic-level operations centre. It is the hub of a network of operations centres run by a variety of federal departments and agencies including the RCMP, Health Canada, Foreign Affairs, CSIS and National Defence. The GOC also maintains contact with the provinces and territories as well as international partners such as the United States and NATO. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, gathering information from other operations centres and a wide variety of sources, both open and classified, from around the world.

The GOC deals with anything -- real or perceived, imminent or actual, natural disaster or terrorist activity -- that threatens the safety and security of Canadians or the integrity of Canada's critical infrastructure.

Learn more about the GOC below:

• The GOC in action
• Coordinating the national response
• Flexible capacity

The GOC in action

As soon as the earthquake struck near Sumatra in the Indian Ocean in December 2004, GOC staff were on the lookout for tsunamis and other fallout. Their global information sharing system informed them of events as they were taking place.

As with any incident, the first question on their mind was whether it would affect Canada's national interest. Was it necessary to warn Canadians in Vancouver or PEI? Since the answer was no -- this was primarily an Asian crisis -- Foreign Affairs took the lead. However, the GOC did support Foreign Affairs by tracking down short take-off and landing aircraft for use in relief efforts.

Whether intelligence reports, data from the U.S. Geological Service's website, information from other operations centres or breaking news coming across the wires, everything is quickly verified, analyzed and distributed back out to the appropriate response organizations.

Coordinating the national response

As Canada's strategic-level operations centre, the GOC's primary function is to provide coordination and direction on behalf of the federal government. Tactical issues, such as deciding how many fire trucks should respond to an incident, are the responsibility of municipalities. Operational decisions, such as committing a provincial Emergency Medical Team, are made by the provinces and territories.

The GOC coordinates at the national level -- it is the operations centre for the entire country, uniting the efforts of all federal departments and agencies during national emergencies. And while the GOC is housed at PSEPC, it is a resource available to any federal department or agency during a crisis. For example, were SARS to strike again, Health Canada could use the GOC to lead the strategic-level federal response.

Flexible capacity

The GOC's permanent staff includes watch officers, duty officers specializing in national communications as well as a geomatics team to map incidents. In an emergency, staff numbers and capacity are quickly increased. This allows the GOC to serve as the focal point for emergency government operations and help officials from other departments and agencies analyze and respond to emergencies as they evolve.