New emergency management regulation creates new rules for municipalities

On November 19, 2018, the Emergency Management Amendment Act received Royal assent. The new Act required the creation of a Local Authority Emergency Management Regulation that outlines in detail the responsibilities of municipalities for emergency management. This regulation was enacted on November 27, 2018.

Local authorities will have until January 1, 2020, to ensure that they meet the requirements established in the Local Authority Emergency Management Regulation:

• Requirements around what must be included in the Emergency Advisory Committee bylaw including meeting frequency, membership, and procedures for declaring an emergency.
• Establish emergency management agencies by bylaw and outlines what must be included in that bylaw, including responsibilities, appointment of an individual or position as the director of emergency management, the frequency to report to the Emergency Advisory Committee, and whether the agency is acting for more than one municipality.
• Develop an emergency management plan, what must be included in the plan, and requirement for the plan to be reviewed annually.
• Perform a table-top exercise annually, a functional exercise every four years (does not include deployment of emergency personnel) and provide Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) notification 90 days in advance of the exercise.
• Municipalities that have delegated their responsibilities to regional service commissions are required to pass a bylaw stipulating which authorities are transferred to those commissions.
• Participate in mandatory training for elected officials as established by the AEMA on their website and that training must be completed within 90 days of their election or one year of this regulation coming into force.
• Director of Emergency Management participate in training as required by AEMA within 18 months of being appointed or six months of this regulation coming into force.

AUMA will seek clarification from AEMA regarding the training requirements and provide updates to our members.

If you have any question or concerns, please contact advocacy [at] auma.ca (advocacy[at]auma[dot]ca). More information on the Emergency Management Act and Local Authority Emergency Management Regulation can be found on the AEMA website.