[2024-05-09] The GNWT Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) has updated its online information about Emergency Management in the Northwest Territories at: https://www.maca.gov.nt.ca/en/services/emergency-management-nwt . The new Emergency Plan is at https://www.maca.gov.nt.ca/sites/maca/files/resources/nwt_emergency_plan_-_april_2024.pdf .
In terms of "radio", the usage of that term, along with "communications" is exclusively in respect of communications directed at the public. Under the Incident Command System this is only one aspect of Incident Command Management ("public information officer" in the ICS organization chart above).
For mention of "telecommunications", the Society notes the following:
- s. 5.4 - reliance on satellite internet and phones - no mention of HF or VHF or datalinks - no mention of the amateur radio service - strong indication of decentralized system: "Local Authorities, departments, agencies, NGOs, etc. are required to
ensure their own sufficient back-up communications capability in the event of an emergency." - s. 6.2 - indicates ICS adopted as response model for NT Emergency Plan - applicable to Regional EMOs and Territorial EMO but Local EMOs can use whatever system they want - abbreviated graphic of ICS included
- Appendix 2, page 34 - Finance Section - Procurement and Shared Services - this Appendix outlines departmental responsibilities and roles - Department of Finance is to specifically provide emergency procurement services to support emergency response efforts - this seems to mix up the ICS with departmental organization of GNWT - this is probably in sync with the Finance/Admin section in the ICS system and specifically the procurement unit
The Society also notes at Appendix 2 the role of MACA:
Municipal and Community Affairs
In addition to the common roles and responsibilities of all government departments and agencies identified in section 2.1.5, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is responsible to:
Emergency Management Division
-
-
-
-
-
- Provide assistance to Local Authorities when emergencies become too large or complex for them to manage by providing coordination and support to the affected community.
- Provide public alerting services when requested.
- Provide situational awareness to GNWT departments and partner agencies during emergency events.
- Activate an Incident Management Team to support, manage and/or respond to complex emergency events that do not fall within the mandate of another department, where a local authority’s capacity has been exceeded and assistance is requested.
Coordinate disaster assistance to communities and residents who have been impacted by widespread disaster. - Activate Pathfinder position as temporary support staff for recovery events.
-
-
-
-
Community Operations
-
-
-
-
-
- Provide guidance and support to communities on maintaining essential services (i.e. water/sewer) during emergency events.
-
-
-
-
In the Society's view there is still a potential problem with this update (and the original Emergency Plan in that there is a lack of unity of command within the Territorial Emergency Management Organization. Ultimately it has handed-off responsibilities to other GNWT Departments rather than establishing an overarching command organization (i.e. Incident Commander). From the US FEMA (https://emilms.fema.gov/is_0100c/groups/36.html):
Unity of Command
While chain of command relates to the overall hierarchy of the organization, unity of command deals with the fact that all individuals have a single designated supervisor they report to.
Based on the principle of unity of command, you will:
-
- Report to only one Incident Command System (ICS) supervisor.
- Receive work assignments only from your ICS supervisor.
When you are assigned to an incident, you no longer report directly to your day-to-day supervisor. In fact, there is no correlation between the ICS organization and the administrative structure of any single agency or jurisdiction. This is deliberate, because confusion over different position titles and organizational structures has been a significant stumbling block to effective incident management in the past.
While chain of command and unity of command are applied in all incidents, the actual command structure itself and the responsibilities of those involved change based on the type of incident and your specific role.
The concept of Unity of Command is a core them of the ICS including IS-0100.c An Introduction the Incident Command System, ICS100, offered by FEMA (https://emilms.fema.gov/is_0100c/curriculum/1.html).