On March 16, 2011 the PTSC-Online Community reached a major milestone in its development.  The National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA), Canadian Region, decided to become a gold sponsor of the PTSC.  The NFPA is the leading organization in North America for the development of standards and procedures for fire prevention effectiveness.  What this commitment means is significant to the cause of public safety.  NFPA's sponsorship is one of the key developments that the PTSC-Online Community…

The Partnership Towards Safer Communities has been built on the notion that emergency management, business continuity planning and critical infrastructure protection are shared responsibilities.  Modern thinking about public safety describes it as not just the role of the 1^st Responders but also that of many others like trade organizations, volunteers with the Red Cross and other national aid organizations, private security personnel, emergency managers within government at all levels and…

In July of last year, Public Safety Canada announced the funding that would be provided to the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs to build the prototype PTSC-Online service.  Since then, not only has the basic platform been built but some very key applications have been added that have served members very well.  Blogs, Discussion Groups, Wikis and collaborative project developments have served to prove the utility of the PTSC-Online.  The benefits that have accrued to date have been seen by…

November 26, 2010

                When it comes to National Security and Public Safety, it makes sense to join forces to work towards common objectives.  In this context, it was interesting to attend the Federal Association of Security Officials (FASO) meeting in Ottawa last week.  FASO works closely with government security organizations and the security industry to organize training seminars, workshops and conferences directed at federal security management practitioners. 

                There were past Federal Ministers, current Federal Ministers and likely some future Federal Ministers in the same room the other night with hundreds of people representing communities across the country.  All the big wigs were there for a reason.  They were about to announce a new initiative, led by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, a key PTSC-Online member. 

                It started with Minister Bev Oda of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) who…

                The Canadian Red Cross Society is hosting a conference for Ontario Emergency Management professionals with a challenging theme: "A New Decade; A New Reality".  The new reality seems to be the focus on cooperation and collaboration in Emergency Management. 

                In welcoming delegates to the Conference, Ron Kelusky, Director General of the Red Cross stated that, "Through all of our response and preparedness activities, the Canadian Red Cross advocates a partnership…

Brian Moore is no ordinary Emergency Management person.  Not only is he the 100^th member of the PTSC-Online Community, Brian is a leader in the Kelowna, B.C. fire department and has set up EM and BC programs for the Kelowna FD and many other organizations over the years.

Looking at Brian's resume, the first thing that struck me was the prolific rate at which Brian has developed EM/BC plans over the years.  To quote Brian, "My emergency management tenure began with in the RCMP and progressed…

As the threat to our civilization increases from many hazards - man-made and natural - so must our ability to protect ourselves.  To be effective at protecting our citizens and institutions, we cannot depend on others to do it for us all the time.  Understanding the vagaries of national security and public safety also entails looking for ways to develop capabilities that will sustain our protection well into the future - we need a resilient society with resilient institutions and infrastructure…

OTTAWA, October 21, 2010 - The Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety today announced a federal contribution of $125,000 for a new initiative to benefit Canada's emergency managers called Partnerships Towards Safer Communities. The funding was awarded to the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) who will provide emergency managers across Canada with a web-based resource that will increase the exchange of information vital to continuously improve public, private and not for profit…