PACP Committee Report

The Conservative Party of Canada’s Dissenting Report: Emergency Management in First Nations Communities—Indigenous Services Canada

Conservative members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) demand action be taken by the Government of Canada to address the total lack of emergency management in First Nations communities and the unacceptable lack of progress in implementing proactive and preventative measures.

The utter incompetence of the department  and complete absence of short and long term action has jeopardized the lives of Indigenous people; therefore, the Conservative members of the Committee recommend the following:

Recommendations

Recommendation #1

The Government of Canada immediately eliminate performance and at-risk bonuses for every manager and executive who has failed to address the concerns with emergency management in First Nations communities as noted in this report.

Recommendation #2

Terminate the Deputy Ministers who failed to provide support for First Nations communities to manage emergencies.

Recommendation #3

The Government take immediate action to complete the necessary infrastructure projects for emergency management by June 30, 2024.

Recommendation #4

Establish mutually agreed-upon evacuation service standards in the jurisdictions that lack such standards.

Recommendation #5

Indigenous Services Canada should work with First Nations to implement a risk-based approach to inform program planning and decisions on where to invest in preparedness and mitigation activities to maximize support to communities at highest risk of being affected by emergencies.

Recommendation #6

Acknowledge that it is in Canada’s best interest to implement effective Emergency Management in First Nations Communities—Indigenous Services Canada and that it is a priority of this government.

Recommendation #7

The Government identifies and holds a singular government department accountable for the acheiving the recommendations outlined in the Auditor General’s report entitled “Emergency Management in First Nations Communities—Indigenous Services Canada.”

Background

On November 15, 2022, the Auditor Generals’ report entitled Emergency Management in First Nations Communities—Indigenous Services Canada was tabled in Parliament. It issued a scathing review of government incompetence, fiscal mismanagement, and a failed approach to emergency preparedness and disaster mitigation.

In 2013, the Auditor General had outlined many serious concerns about emergency management in First Nations communities and because of systemic failures within the Government, very little has changed. The Auditor General stated that “many of our findings were identified almost a decade ago, when we audited this topic in 2013.”[1]

The Auditor General found that the department “spent 3.5 times more on responding to and recovering from emergencies than on supporting First Nations communities to prevent and prepare for them.”[2] This clearly displays Indigenous Services’ choice to be overwhelmingly reactive instead of taking a proactive approach to emergency management.

The challenges faced by First Nations communities regarding emergency management, mainly the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters, calls for real action to save lives and communities from the threats posed to them. Infrastructure “culverts and dikes to prevent seasonal floods” are imperative to the safety and well-being of any community, yet the department has showed complete ineptitude in this respect.[3]

Emergency management must focus on averting danger as soon as possible, and not when it is too late.