The City of Red Deer's Emergency Management department was in full swing on June 20, 2017 when a 111 km/h windstorm belted the region. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

emergency management

City always learning how to better respond during emergencies

Jan 20, 2020 | 5:26 PM

The City of Red Deer has a new Emergency Management Bylaw, though residents likely won’t notice much of a difference.

The changes come about after the Government of Alberta adopted a revised version of the Emergency Management Amendment Act, legislation which took effect Jan. 1 2020.

Most of the changes are administrative in nature, admits Emergency Management Director Karen Mann, but the bylaw is now less jargony should citizens wish to read it.

“What also came along with the changes to legislation was a revised regulation which stipulates what operational expectations are of the province,” she says. “They’ve set guidelines for minimum training for people working in emergency management, how often we do emergency exercises, and how organizations have to come into line with best practices.”

The good news, as Mann notes, is that the City is already exceeding or working towards surpassing all of those guidelines.

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Meantime, her department is paying close attention to the weather emergency and subsequent response in Newfoundland.

“Emergency management programs communicate very closely with each other, and we typically do so with those in our province, but we are always watching what goes on elsewhere in the country,” Mann says.

“As we watch these things unfold, and I personally watch very closely, there are always things we can take away no matter where they happen, especially when they involve a hazard that exists here.”

Red Deer co-chairs the Municipal Emergency Management Partnership Committee, which is comprised of Alberta’s nine largest municipalities. The committee meets monthly to share knowledge and collaborate on emergency management initiatives. A larger Emergency Management Summit is held yearly.

Mann adds that as far as emergency services is concerned, there were no major increases in call volume during Red Deer’s recent cold spell, and RDES took steps in advance of the cold to ensure staff were safe, and that equipment was operational.