Amendments to Emergency Planning By-law No. 47-1998

and Revisions to the City of Toronto Emergency Plan

The Community Services Committee recommends:

(i)the adoption of the report dated June 30, 1999, from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services; and

(ii)that the brochure, entitled "Be Prepared, Not Scared: Emergency Preparedness Starts With You", referred to in the report dated July 5, 1999, from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, also be made available at all Public Libraries in the City of Toronto.

The Community Services Committee reports having requested the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services to provide a presentation to the next meeting of the Community Services Committee on emergency preparedness in instances such as evacuation procedures for disasters, etc.

The Community Services Committee submits the following report (June 30, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval for amendments to the City's Emergency Planning By-law, By-law No. 47-1998 (the "By-law"), to add a representative of the Ontario Hospital Association as a member of the Toronto Emergency Planning Committee and to make technical changes to reflect alterations made to Council's Standing Committee Structure.

In addition, the purpose of this report is to advise the Community Services Committee and Council of revisions made to the City of Toronto Emergency Plan (the "Plan") to reflect the current organizational structure and responsibilities of the City of Toronto.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

N/A

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(i)approval be given to amend the By-law to add a representative of the Ontario Hospital Association as a member of the Toronto Emergency Planning Committee established by the By-law;

(ii)approval be given to amend the By-law to remove all references to the Emergency and Protective Services Committee and substitute references to the Community Services Committee; and

(iii)those portions of the report addressing revisions to the Plan be received for information; and

(iv)authority be given to introduce the necessary bill at Council.

Council Reference/Background/History:

At its meeting held on March 4, 5 and 6, 1998, City Council adopted By-law No. 47-1998, to provide for the formulation and implementation of a plan for the provision of emergency services during emergencies affecting the City of Toronto. Among other things, the By-law established the Toronto Emergency Planning Committee (the "Committee") composed of representatives of the City, its agencies, boards and commissions and representatives of various other bodies and organizations appropriate for participation both in planning for, and responding to, emergencies.

Section 21 of the By-law provided that, until such time as the Committee formulated a plan pursuant to the By-law, the emergency plan developed pursuant to By-law No. 31-96 of the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto be applied, with necessary modifications, in response to an emergency as defined in the By-law. Under sections 3(5) and 4(1), the Committee was given authority to report, through the Mayor or his delegate, to the Emergency and Protective Services Committee on any plan formulated pursuant to the By-law or any revisions to such plan.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

At its last meeting, the Committee considered the addition of a representative from the Ontario Hospital Association to the membership of the Committee. Given the potential involvement of the hospital and medical system in addressing emergency situations, the inclusion of a representative of the Association on the Committee appears to be desirable and appropriate.

As well, since the adoption of the By-law, Council has adopted a revised structure for its standing committees. The Committee previously reported to the Emergency and Protective Services Committee. Council has now designated the Community Services Committee as being responsible for emergency planning issues. The By-law should be amended to reflect that change.

In addition, the emergency plan of the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto has been amended in a number of areas to reflect the current structure and organization of the City. Thus, the revised Plan, a copy of which is available in the Clerk's office, ensures that the appropriate City officials and staff are charged with suitable responsibilities in the event they have to respond to an emergency.

Conclusions:

It is recommended that City Council approve the addition of a representative from the Ontario Hospital Association to the membership of the Committee, the technical amendments to the By-law, discussed above, and the introduction of the necessary bill at Council for the purpose of amending the By-law to that effect.

It is also recommended that the Community Services Committee and Council receive those portions of this report dealing with the revisions to the Plan.

Contact Name:

Kevin Roche

Manager, Emergency Planning

Works and Emergency Services

Tel: 392-6492/Fax: 392-9317

The Community Services Committee also submits the following report (July 5, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to outline plans for public education on emergency preparedness. This is a supplementary report to our report submitted to the July 14, 1999, Community Services Committee meeting, entitled "Amendments to Emergency Planning By-law No. 47-1998 and Revisions to the City of Toronto Emergency Plan".

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

N/A

Recommendations:

That this report be received for information.

Council Reference/Background/History:

N/A

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

The approach of the year 2000 has caused a heightened sense of concern about emergency preparedness among some of the City's residents. A number of individuals and groups have contacted the City to inquire about its readiness to deal with emergency situations. This provides the City with a unique opportunity to respond to that public concern by educating residents about their and the City's role in any disaster situation.

The Fire Services Division of the Works and Emergency Services Department is taking the lead on personal emergency preparedness planning. It is adding four pages of Toronto information to a 24-page brochure, entitled "Be Prepared, Not Scared: Emergency Preparedness Starts With You", written by Emergency Preparedness Canada and the Canadian Red Cross. This detailed brochure suggests procedures, priorities and checklists that citizens should act on in order to be prepared for any kind of emergency. These brochures will be distributed through local fire stations. Fire Services has also added emergency preparedness information to its web site. The web site information is accessed through the City's main web site. Fire services public education staff are also incorporating emergency preparedness information into the standard fire safety presentations that they make to the public.

Works and Emergency Services has prepared a synopsis of the brochure in a fact sheet. It pays particular attention to the items that residents should acquire to prepare home and vehicle emergency kits and the procedures they should follow before and during an emergency. This fact sheet will be translated into a number of languages. A second companion fact sheet discusses the City of Toronto's Emergency Plan and Emergency Planning Committee.

The information detailed above is largely geared to individual residents and households who want to plan appropriately for emergencies. The City plans to provide additional guidelines for community or other groups who want more neighbourhood-specific information such as identifying local resources.

For more information on the City of Toronto's Emergency Plan and the Toronto Emergency Planning Committee, and for inquiries related to personal emergency preparedness planning, call Toronto Fire Services at 397-4332 or fax to 397-4370.

Conclusions:

The approach of the year 2000 has provided the City with a unique opportunity to educate residents about personal emergency preparedness planning. The Fire Services Division of the Works and Emergency Services Department is taking the lead and is providing brochures, web site information, presentations and fact sheets on personal emergency preparedness planning. The City plans to provide additional guidelines for community or other groups who want more neighbourhood-specific information.

Contact Name:

Nicole Dufort

Manager, Communications

Works and Emergency Services

Tel: 392-2963/Fax: 392-2974

(A copy of the revised Emergency Plan, referred to in the foregoing report (June 30, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, was forwarded to all Members of Council with the supplementary agenda of the Community Services Committee for its meeting on July 14, 1999, and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the City Clerk.)