Nova Scotia Request for Federal Assistance
Date: April 28, 2021
Classification: Unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch/Agency: EMPB
Issue:
The Province of Nova Scotia sent a request for federal assistance on April 24, 2021 seeking resources from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to support scaled-up testing operations until May 25, 2021.
Proposed Response:
- The Government of Canada is committed to providing assistance to provinces and territories to protect and support Canadians during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
- Should a province or territory make an official request for federal assistance (RFA), there is a well-established process in place for managing RFAs, through the Government Operations Centre, that includes interdepartmental consultation and coordination of all departments as required. Since March 2020, the Government of Canada has supported 70 RFAs.
- On April 24, the Province of Nova Scotia (the Province) requested 60 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) individuals to provide immediate support in scaling up outbreak response, specifically to support provincial testing efforts.
- In consultation with CAF, it was determined that this request falls under the provisions of the Comprehensive RFA signed by myself and the Minister of National Defence, which facilitates timely decision-making on deploying the CAF to support COVID-19 response efforts.
- I am happy to report that the CAF deployed 75 individuals to seven testing sites across the Province on April 27 in order to provide the general duty support requested.
- There has been outstanding collaboration between the responding organizations from all orders of government in response to this emergency, and I want to thank all those on the front lines who continue battle to keep Canadians safe.
Responsive lines
- Emergencies are managed first at the local level. If they need assistance at the local level, they request it from the provinces or territories. If the emergency escalates beyond P/T capabilities, the provinces or territories seek assistance from the federal government.
- The Government of Canada’s pandemic response provides provinces and territories with two streams of federal assistance. COVID-19 federal surge capacity requests for federal assistance are managed by Public Safety Canada for emergency management support and the Public Health Agency of Canada for public health support, respectively.
Background:
The third wave of COVID-19 has significantly stressed Canada’s provincial health care systems; Health human resources and hospitals are stretched to capacity. A recent outbreak of cases in the Province of Nova Scotia (the Province) has created an urgent need to scale-up its response. While additional supports have been and continue to be provided and sourced concurrently through the Canadian Red Cross and other regional organizations, the Province’s immediate needs have exhausted reasonably available options. On April 23, 2021, the Province implemented aggressive public health measures to curb further community spread. On April 27, 2021, the Province entered a two-week province wide lockdown that will remain in place until May 12, 2021.
On April 24, 2021, the Province sent a request for federal assistance (RFA) for CAF support of 45 to 60 individuals to deploy to seven testing sites across the Province in order to provide the general duty support requested. Support to be delivered by the CAF is as follows:
- Greeting and directing clients through testing centres;
- Re-stocking supplies; and,
- Cleaning testing sites.
CAF support was approved on April 26, 2021 and will remain until May 25, 2021, with periodic reassessment(s) to confirm the continued need for support. On April 27, 2021, the CAF deployed 75 individuals to seven testing sites across the Province. The CAF resources will not be performing medical activities such as swabbing.
In consultation with the CAF, it was determined that the request submitted from the Province, through Public Safety Canada, falls under the Comprehensive RFA between the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of National Defence (MND) and that this provides sufficient authority for a CAF deployment.
Additionally, the Province has reached out to the Canadian Red Cross (CRC), which is deploying resources bilaterally. CRC is working directly with the Province to provide this support at two sites in Dartmouth. During the weekend of April 24-25, 2021, the CRC deployed 25 generalists. It is expected that CRC will deploy 15 personnel to perform swabbing activities at a later date.
As of April 27, 2021, the Province started using Statistics Canada’s contact tracing tool.
Background on Requests for Federal Assistance
Public Safety Canada is working with federal, provincial and territorial partners, through the Government Operations Centre (GOC), to ensure ongoing coordinated responses to COVID-19, natural disasters or other incidents. The GOC is supporting the Public Health Agency of Canada, which is the federal government lead for the response to COVID-19.
The Government of Canada pandemic response provides provinces and territories with two streams of federal assistance. COVID-19 federal surge capacity requests for federal assistance are managed by Public Safety Canada for emergency management support and the Public Health Agency of Canada for public health support, respectively.
There is a well-established process in place for managing RFAs, through the GOC, that includes interdepartmental consultation and coordination of all departments as required. The GOC has established an RFA Secretariat to receive, evaluate, and prioritize all RFAs. The GOC convenes consultation with implicated departments to review RFAs, as required.
The Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of National Defence have worked together to ensure a strategic approach for the use of CAF support to COVID-19 and cyclical event response efforts. The Comprehensive RFA (also known as the omnibus RFA) was established to create direct contact points between the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of National Defence to facilitate decision-making on deploying the CAF to support COVID-19 response efforts. This coverage will facilitate deployment approvals, preventing delays in timely federal support, but does not eliminate appropriate vetting of requests given the potential high demand for finite resources.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Government of Canada has responded to 70 COVID-19-related RFAs.
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