Home Programs Emergency management Critical infrastructure protection NCIAP Updates NCIAP Update: 1 June 2005

NCIAP Update: 1 June 2005

• Opening message from Janet Bax
• Report from the CIP Town Halls
• What's ahead
• Questions, comments and suggestions

Opening Message from Janet Bax

The process of strengthening the protection of Canada’s national infrastructure has been progressing in a number of significant ways. One recent and key element to this progress is evident by the significant support and collaboration of our partners in each of the ten CI sectors who have participated in a series of cross-country Town Halls.

The May Town Halls went extremely well, better than we had hoped for. I think the most satisfying part of this for me was to see first hand the tremendous work happening in the regions.

We are not even half way through our consultations and I am gratified with the extent to which Canadians are engaged on the subject of critical infrastructure protection.

And while there is definitely a different flavour in each region, we can already see similarities in what provinces and territories and the private sector are looking for in terms of a national CIP strategy. We think we will be able to take much away from these town halls to develop a strategy that all of Canada can identify and work within.

The strategy will be a living and breathing document that will reflect not only changing priorities and challenges, but also the ongoing progress of implementation. The strategy will adapt as we become more understanding of and more engaged in assuring Canada’s critical infrastructure. The National Critical Infrastructure Assurance Program (NCIAP), the Federal/Provincial/Territorial CIP Work Plan and the Government of Canada Critical Infrastructure Protection Project (GOC CIPP) will assist in implementing the national strategy.

The Town Halls are reflecting a growing acknowledgement of the work that Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada is leading and are confirming our understanding of the work still to be accomplished. We look forward to the remaining Town Halls that will commence with Whitehorse on June 2, Halifax June 7, St. John’s June 9 and Winnipeg June 13.

Report from the CIP Town Halls

Beginning with Calgary on May 6, 117 members of the CIP community attended. The morning session included addresses by Brian Hamilton, Director Crisis Management, Emergency Management Alberta and Bob McDonald, Director of Security and Information Management, Alberta Solicitor General who spoke of CI from a provincial perspective. Greg Stringham, Vice President of Markets and Fiscal Policy, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers reported on the considerable advances to protect the energy sector’s CI. Matt Taylor, Executive Director of the Canadian Animal Health Coalition talked of the threats to and vulnerabilities of the food sector and of early but important work that the sector is doing to increase assurance. The closing speaker of the morning was Dr. James Young, PSEPC Special Advisor who presented a comprehensive strategic positioning of CIP based on his wealth of knowledge gained by dealing with SARS and the 2003 Power Outage as Ontario’s Commissioner of Public Safety and based on extensive global work he has done. The afternoon was dedicated to break-out groups which addressed the nine elements of the Government of Canada National CIP Strategy Position Paper.

These elements are Guiding Principles, Risk Management, Information Sharing, Threats and Warnings, Inventory of CI Assets, Governance Mechanisms, CI Interdependencies, Research and Development and International Cooperation.

There were 137 attendees at the Vancouver Town Hall on May 10. The day began with a presentation on Emergency Preparedness, IT Infrastructure and CI Risk Management by Mr. Bob Bugslag, Executive Director, Provincial Emergency Program, and B.C. Emergency Program. This presentation covered how the province has had to integrate CIP issues into emergency management as they dealt with the firestorms and flooding. Mr. Paul Archibald, Greater Vancouver Regional District, Mr. Graham Kee, Director of Security, Vancouver Port Authority, Seiki Harada, Manager of Business Continuity at BC Hydro and Allan Galambos, Manager, Bridge and Structural Engineering with the BC Ministry of Transportation provided excellent sectoral and regional perspectives and helped advance our understanding of the challenges facing certain sectors, and how CIP issues are being addressed.

A total of 92 participants were at the Toronto Town Hall on May 19. Bill Fox, Assistant Chief, Program Development and Standards, Emergency Management Ontario outlined the developments to date in implementing the Ontario Critical Infrastructure Assurance Program. John McCarthy, Director, Critical Infrastructure Protection Program, George Mason University outlined the U.S. CI experience with encouraging comments on the direction of Canadian efforts to date. Gary Ferris of the Canadian Bankers Association and Mohammed Dhooma of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce discussed the technical support and interconnected mechanisms of CI in the banking industry. Marc Lapointe of the Canadian Telecommunications Emergency Preparedness Association talked about how the telecommunication companies work together and with electricity stakeholders to assure critical infrastructure assets and services.

What’s ahead

We are setting up a pass-word protected website for participants to access information shared at the Town Halls. The site will be part of the PSEPC website and will contain the Town Hall speakers’ presentations, attendance lists for networking purposes, discussion and post Town Hall comments. Those who attended the Town Halls will receive their password upon completion of the series.

Questions, comments and suggestions

Louise Forgues
Director, NCIAP
Tel.: (613) 990-3498
E-mail: louise.forgues@psepc-sppcc.gc.ca