Industry Canada Emergency Telecommunications - Responsibilities

Legal Responsibilities

Emergency Preparedness Act 7.(1): Every Minister accountable to the Parliament of Canada for the administration or affairs of a government institution is responsible for identifying the civil emergency contingencies that are related to the Minister's area of accountability and developing a civil emergency plan therefore.

The Federal Policy for Emergencies approved by Cabinet on May 2, 1995 gives to the Minister responsible for Industry Canada the following responsibilities for emergency telecommunications.

With respect to civil emergency preparedness in general, the department is responsible for developing and maintaining civil emergency plans for:

• the provision of advice and assistance to federal departments and agencies with respect to the telecommunications requirements of their emergency response functions and related civil emergency plans (lead role);
• the provision of advice and planning assistance to provinces and municipalities with respect to emergency telecommunications and related warning systems (lead role);
• coordinating the provision of an emergency broadcast service, based on the facilities and services of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Environment Canada and, as required, privately owned networks and stations (lead role);
• facilitating the provision of appropriate telecommunications equipment or services required in emergency response operations, as requested by lead federal departments; e.g. In close collaboration with the telecommunication industry, updates a national and regional inventory of telecommunication equipment which could be used in time of emergency.
• providing advice and assistance, as appropriate, to private or public telecommunications undertaking in mitigating the disruptive effects of emergencies on domestic and external telecommunications (lead role);
• the provision of guidance, advice and coordination assistance to Canada's national and international telecommunications networks and broadcasting systems, with respect to the communications requirements of emergency responders, the rapid reception and transmission of inter-regional and transborder warnings to affected populations, and the dissemination of essential public information (lead role); and
• the coordination and management of programs to ensure the availability of telecommunications to meet federal requirements during periods of system overload or degradation (lead role).