Emergency Management Act

When an emergency strikes, lives are at stake and effective response means knowing who is in charge. The Emergency Management Act (EMA) sets out clear roles and responsibilities for all federal ministers across the full spectrum of emergency management. This includes prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, and critical infrastructure protection.

The Act is an important step forward in the Government of Canada's efforts to strengthen emergency management in Canada. The Act reinforces efforts to ensure that Canada is well prepared to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from natural and human-induced risks to the safety and security of Canadians.
The new Act:

• Gives responsibility to the Minister of Public Safety to provide national leadership and set a clear direction for emergency management and critical infrastructure protection for the Government of Canada;
• Clearly establishes the roles and responsibilities of federal Ministers and enhances the Government of Canada's readiness to respond to all types of emergencies;
• Enhances collaborative emergency management and improves information sharing with other levels of government as well as the private sector; and
• Gives authority to the Minister of Public Safety, in consultation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to coordinate Canada's response to an emergency in the United States.

Since most emergencies occur at the local level, successful emergency management depends on an effective regional network to carry out the federal responsibilities identified in the EMA. We have a network of 11 regional and two satellite offices that among other activities, respond to emerging threats to public safety or security.

Protecting critical infrastructure is one of the primary challenges of modern emergency management. Critical infrastructure refers to the processes, systems, facilities, technologies, networks, assets and services which are essential to the health, safety, security or economic well-being of Canadians and the effective functioning of government.

The primary goals of this information sharing are to assess risks, improve warning and reporting capabilities, and develop better defences and responses to potential emergencies.