New East Coast Tsunami Warning System

Speaking notes for
The Honourable Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety

Halifax, Nova Scotia
January 23, 2007
As delivered

Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day on Behalf of Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Loyola Hearn Announces the Atlantic Tsunami Warning System.

Thank you, Fred, for the introduction (Fred Stevenson, chairman of the Atlantic Tsunami Warning System Working Group and vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning System).

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your interest and thank you to everyone who has played such a significant part in making this a reality today.

I am always pleased to be here in Halifax, especially at this venue, not just because of everything it represents here, but because my son was married here in Halifax last summer.

Safety and security of one's citizens is the responsibility of every government. It is certainly the prime responsibility of the federal government. This covers a wide range of issues.

Two weeks ago, on the West Coast of Canada, there was a meeting of provincial, territorial and federal representatives responsible for emergency preparation and emergency planning, areas that are vital to all of us.

Emergencies, as we know, can be driven by humans, in terms of terrorist attacks or criminal activity, but they can also be caused by natural disasters and emergency situations.

Until today, there has been no fully integrated detection system for tsunami warnings along the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. We know that there is a history in this part of the country that people sometimes forget. In 1929, a tsunami hit the Atlantic region. It originated on the Grand Banks and affected 50 communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, Cape Breton Island and Nova Scotia. Twenty-nine people were killed. Many people were left homeless.

It's very important that our citizens be warned should there ever be a situation like a tsunami in this part of our country. We know that these events generally and historically occur in the Pacific region. However, as demonstrated by the example I've just given you, we are not immune to those events here on the East Coast.

Through a project led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada that brought together Natural Resources, the Department of Environment and the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, a great deal of work involving coordination and integration of systems was carried out.

As a result, I'm pleased to announce this morning the launch of the Atlantic Tsunami Warning System. This is a joint effort by the Government of Canada, the five easternmost provinces of the country and the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, also known as NOAA.

The expertise of many people will provide us with the assurance here in Atlantic Canada that a warning system will be in place should such an event occur. We're pleased to know that the integrated system is in place now and it also has the ability to better predict storm surges that are frequent on the east coast.

Through real-time seismic data provided by Natural Resources Canada, experts at NOAA can advise the Storm Prediction Centre when to issue Atlantic tsunami alerts. The alerts will then go to the emergency management authorities and to the media, and the Coast Guard will broadcast alerts to mariners.

As I mentioned, the new warning system is the result of great collaborative work between levels of government and federal departments.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has upgraded many sea level gauges to collect related data, which Environment Canada's Atlantic Storm Prediction Centre can monitor for indications of a tsunami.

With Fisheries and Oceans, Natural Resources will determine the danger. All of that information is simultaneously transmitted to Canada's Government Operations Centre located in Ottawa. There, things can be centrally monitored and appropriate messages and elements of alert can be directed. Public Safety will coordinate the response among the federal and provincial agencies who are involved, first responders and others on the ground, who will take the necessary measures.

This is an important preventative measure. It will help to alert people of possible disaster. It will help avert the disaster that a tsunami can bring. Canadians will be better protected because of the work that has been done by officials at different levels of government.

Thank you again to each person who has been involved, to your officials and to the experts with whom you have worked. Thank you for your commitment to the safety and security of all Canadians, and today especially of Atlantic Canadians.

Thank you.