Another question, asked by Mr. Gargan on December 12th, on the government's emergency response plan. The Government of the NWT does have plans to deal with emergencies. In the NWT we are organized for response at the territorial, regional/area, and community level. Emergency response plans do include procedures to respond to specific scenarios. However, the plans also establish an emergency response organization and assigned agency responsibilities to provide for a response to any unforeseen emergency situation.
Although not all have received formal approval, every NWT municipality except Grise Fiord has developed an emergency response plan. These plans often provide for the conduct of a co-ordinated search for missing persons and in doing so utilize volunteers from hunters and trappers associations or community search and rescue teams. A recent amendment to the Civil Emergency Measures Act provides the authority for a community-organized search outside municipal boundaries. Although the primary responsibility for ground searches remains with the RCMP, the point remains that the local authority is organized to offer assistance.
The Canadian Forces have primary responsibility for responding to missing or downed aircraft incidents in the NWT, other than those which occur on airport property or within a municipality. The Canadian Forces operates four rescue co-ordination centres, RCCs, across the country, with the Edmonton RCC responsible for managing air and marine search and rescue responses throughout most of the NWT and its coastal waters. In responding to any search and rescue incidents, the rescue co-ordination centres can call for assistance from military aircraft, coast guard vessels, volunteer organizations of aviators and mariners, as well as the resources of GNWT and municipal emergency personnel.
As I have just said, the Canadian Forces can seek outside help in responding to an aircraft incident. Assistance could be provided by the GNWT through its territorial or regional emergency response committees, or a community in the vicinity of a crash could render assistance. The Canadian Forces also maintains ranger units in many northern communities through support from Northern Region Headquarters. The rangers could also be called upon to assist in responding to such an incident and can be activated through normal military procedures. Thank you.
