Emergency Support Services
On this page:
Overview
Who: Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR)
What: To improve evacuee supports (food, shelter, and others) available for British Columbians impacted by disasters
Where: Province-wide
Why: To hear from the British Columbians about their experiences, preferences and ideas around supports for evacuees in disasters like wildfires and floods
How: Online
Engagement summary
The Province is seeking feedback to improve the Emergency Supports Services (ESS) program that provides basic support (shelter, food, transportation, clothing, incidentals) to people impacted by disasters. The ESS program is funded by the provincial government and administered by Indigenous governing bodies and local governments.
Following 2023 wildfires, the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR) held over 20 engagement sessions to assist in implementing recommendations about ESS from the Ombudsperson’s report: Fairness in a Changing Climate, gather suggestions for improvements that can be shared with the Premier’s Expert Task Force on Emergencies for consideration, and capture British Columbians’ personal experiences from the 2023 wildfire season. Through this engagement, EMCR also sought to understand how to best improve the Evacuee Registration & Assistance (ERA) tool that is used to deliver ESS.
The Province is seeking direct feedback from British Columbians to better understand their experiences, preferences and ideas related to supporting evacuees in emergencies through this survey. The survey is open until 4:00pm on February 9, 2024.
How your contribution makes a difference
Feedback from the public will help the Province to improve support services available to evacuees in disasters, and how these services are provided.
The Province is committed to sharing all outcomes from this work in a fully transparent way and will release a public report that includes the feedback.
Related engagements
