The health and safety of First Nation communities—including timely, effective support in times of emergency—is a priority for our Government. We accept the recommendations in the report issued by the office of the Auditor General (OAG), which acknowledges our commitment to improve emergency management support to First Nations and the steps we have taken to manage our responsibilities for emergency management on reserve.
As announced on November 19th, our Government is implementing a new, comprehensive approach to emergency management on reserve that will ensure better accountability for taxpayer dollars and better protect the health and safety of residents in First Nation communities.
Implementation of the new approach will involve enhancing new or existing bilateral agreements with provinces and territories to support emergency preparedness activities, including the development of emergency management plans for First Nation communities. These agreements will address head-on the recommendations of the OAG to focus on adopting an all-hazards approach founded on the four pillars of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
In addition, the consolidation of federal on-reserve emergency management funding into my department will eliminate duplication and unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, clarify and simplify roles and responsibilities, and ensure timely access by First Nations, provinces and territories to funding support for eligible expenses.
Finally, we are committing stable funding for response and recovery activities, and will update policies under our Emergency Management Assistance Program to provide greater clarity about expense eligibility and strengthen internal oversight of emergency management activities.
Our Government is committed to supporting the resilience, health and safety of First Nation communities.
