Emergency Program Act

Engagement Summary

The purpose of the engagement was to provide information about the Emergency Program Act (the Act) and allow an opportunity to submit input on 12 different topics. The Act sets out the key responsibilities and authorities to guide and enable experts at the local and provincial levels in preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies and disasters.

The online discussion set out challenges in the current legislation as well as proposals for possible changes. The challenges and proposals reflect recent changes some Canadian jurisdictions have made to modernize their emergency management laws, as well as the findings and recommendations of two recent reports here in B.C.—the 2014 earthquake preparedness reports of the Auditor General and Henry Renteria.

The Minister invited key stakeholders to make formal stakeholder submissions.

The input received is a key component to informing our government’s review of the Act and, ultimately, any decision to move forward with the introduction of possible legislative changes.

Timeframe:

January 11 to April 22, 2016

Input Received:

• 3,853 visits to the website
• 101 online comments
• 71 stakeholder submissions
• 34 emails

Input leads to action:

The Act was amended based on public feedback. However, in 2023, it was replaced by the Emergency and Disaster Management Act. Public engagement on regulations within this new act was held in late 2023 to early 2024: Emergency Management Regulations.