BY-LAW 2006 -

 

A By-law to amend of By-law No. 2004-325 establishing an Emergency Management Program for the protection of

public safety, health, the environment, the critical infrastructure and property,

and to promote economic stability and a disaster-resilient community

 

WHEREAS the Province of Ontario has passed the Emergency Management Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E9, which requires the development and implementation of an emergency management program and the adoption of the program by by-law of the Council of a municipality;

 

AND WHEREAS the Act requires that the Emergency Management Program adopted by the Council include an emergency plan governing the provision of necessary services, training programs and exercises for employees and others who could be called upon to provide necessary services, a public education program on risks to public safety and public preparedness for emergencies and any other element required under applicable legislation involving municipal responses during the emergency;

 

AND WHEREAS the Solicitor General may make regulations setting standards for the development and implementation of emergency management programs pursuant to Ontario Regulation 380/04;

 

AND WHEREAS O.Reg. 380/04, s. 10 (1) requires that every municipality shall designate an employee of the municipality or a member of the Council as its emergency management program co-ordinator. 

 

AND WHEREAS O.Reg. 380/04,  s.  14 (1) requires that every municipality shall designate an employee of the municipality as its emergency information officer.

 

AND WHEREAS this Act provides for a declaration that an emergency exists in the community by the Head of Council and authorizes the Head of Council or their designate to take such action or make such orders as are necessary and lawful, to implement the emergency response plan and respond to an emergency;

 

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved:

 

1.                  That the Emergency Management Program as amended and attached hereto

as Schedule “A” to this by-law, be and is hereby adopted in accordance with the provisions of the Emergency Management Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.9.

 

2.                  That  Schedule “A” to By-law 2004-325 is hereby deleted and replaced

with Schedule “A” attached hereto.

 

3.                  The Deputy Fire Chief, Support Services, is hereby appointed the

            Emergency Management Program Coordinator.

 

4.         The Director of Corporate Communications, is hereby appointed the Emergency Information Officer.

 

5.                  All other provisions of By-law 2004-325, except as herein amended, are

            hereby ratified and confirmed.

 

 

READ A FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD TIME AND PASSED this

          day of  JUNE, 2006.

 

 

 

___________________________________        ___________________________

SHEILA BIRRELL, TOWN CLERK                          DON COUSENS, MAYOR

 

Schedule A

 

 

Town of Markham

 

Emergency Management Program

 

 

1.0       Background

 

Pursuant to subsection 2.1(1) of the Emergency Management Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.E.9 (the “Act”), each community in the province of Ontario is required to adopt an Emergency Management Program. The legislation requires that such programs consist of:

 

a)         an emergency plan (the “Plan”);

b)         training programs and exercises for employees of the municipality and other persons with respect to the provision of necessary services and the procedures to be followed in emergency response and recovery activities;

c)         public education on risks to public safety and on public preparedness for emergencies; and

d)         any other element required by the standards for emergency management programs established under Section 14 of the Act.

 

2.0       The Town of Markham’s Emergency Management Program

 

The Town of Markham Emergency Management Program (the “Program”) consists of:

 

(a)        Emergency Management Program Coordinator

(i)             The Emergency Management Program Coordinator (the “Program Coordinator”) is appointed by by-law in accordance with provincial Regulation 380/04 (the “Regulation”).

(ii)            The Program Coordinator shall undertake and complete the training that is required by the Chief, Emergency Management Ontario.

(iii)            The Program Coordinator shall co-ordinate the development and implementation of the Town’s Program and shall co-ordinate the municipality’s Program in so far as possible with the emergency management programs of other municipalities, ministries of the Ontario government and organizations outside government that are involved in emergency management.

(iv)           The Program Coordinator shall report to the municipality’s Emergency Management Program Committee on his or her work under paragraph (iii) above.

(b)       Emergency Management Program Committee

(i)             The Emergency Management Program Committee (the “Committee”) is hereby established.

(ii)            The Committee shall be comprised of:

A.        the Town’s Program Coordinator;

B.         a senior municipal official appointed by the Council;

C.        such members of the Council as may be appointed by the Council;

D.        such municipal employees who are responsible for emergency management functions, as may be appointed by the Council;

E.         such other persons as may be appointed by the Council in accordance with the requirements of the Regulation;

(iii)            The Council shall appoint one of the members of the Committee to be the chair of the Committee.

(iv)           The Committee shall advise the Council on the development and implementation of the municipality’s Program.

(v)            The Committee shall conduct an annual review of the municipality’s Program and shall make recommendations to Council for its revision if necessary.  

 

 (c)         Municipal Emergency Control Group

           (i)            The Emergency Control Group (the “Group”) is hereby established.

           (ii)           The Group shall be comprised of:

                          A.        such officials or employees of the Town as may be appointed by the Council; and

                          B.         such members of the Council as may be appointed by the Council.

           (iii)          The members of the Group shall complete the annual training that is required by the Chief, Emergency Management Ontario.

           (iv)          The Group shall direct the Town’s response in an emergency, including the implementation of the Town’s Emergency Response Plan.

           (v)           The Group shall develop procedures to govern its responsibilities in an emergency.

(vi)          The Group shall conduct an annual practice exercise for a simulated emergency incident in order to evaluate the municipality’s Emergency Response Plan and its own procedures.

(vii)         If determined necessary as a result of the evaluation under (vi) above, the Group shall revise its procedures and shall make recommendations to the Council for the revision of the Town’s Emergency Response Plan.

 

(d)        A Community Emergency Operations Centre

           (i)            A Community Emergency Operations Centre shall be established by the Town to be used by the Group in an emergency.

           (ii)           The Emergency Operations Centre shall have appropriate technological and telecommunications systems to ensure effective communication in an emergency.

 

(e)        Identification of Community Emergency Information Officer

           (i)            The Emergency Information Officer shall be appointed by by-law.

           (ii)           The Emergency Information Officer shall act as the primary media and public contact for the municipality in an emergency

 

(f)        Community Hazard and Risk Analysis and Critical Infrastructure Identification

(i)         The Town shall undertake a Community Hazards and Critical Infrastructure analysis of risk.

(ii)        The analysis shall include the associated likelihood and consequence of those hazards occurring. 

 

(g)       An Emergency Response Plan and Emergency Procedures Manual

(i)         The Town shall prepare and establish an Emergency Response Plan (the “Plan”) which outlines the actions to be taken in the event of an emergency and who is responsible for those actions;

 

(ii)        The Plan shall assign responsibilities to muncicipal employees, by position, respecting implementation of the emergency response plan and set out the procedures for notifying the members of the municipal emergency control group of the emergency.

 

(iii)       The Plan may be modified from time to time without amendment to this by-law.

 

(iv)       The Town shall also establish an Emergency Procedures Manual (the “Manual”), which shall identify what services will be provided during an emergency and the procedures and manner in which employees and other persons will respond to and recover from the emergency.

 

(v)        The Plan shall be made available to the public for inspection and shall be available on the Town’s Web Site www.markham.ca and during ordinary business hours at the municipal offices located at: 

 

101 Town Centre Boulevard

Markham, Ontario

L3R 9W3

 

(vi)       The Manual, excluding the Plan, by virtue of the information contained therein, is a confidential document that shall be developed, maintained, amended and managed by the Program Coordinator.

 

(h)       Training Programs and Exercises for Employees

Training programs and exercises to ensure the readiness of Town employees and other persons to act in an emergency shall be developed under the supervision of the Committee and shall be conducted regularly in a manner and with those persons designated by the Committee. 

 

 (i)        Public Education on risks to Public Safety and on Public Preparedness for Emergencies;

Public Education and Awareness programs that notify the public of the various hazards and risks to public safety that could give rise to emergencies shall be developed by the Program Coordinator and shall be implemented regularly in a manner and with those persons designated by the Committee.

 

(j)       Annual review of Emergency Management Program

       The Program, including but not limited to the Plan and the Manual will be reviewed annually by the Committee and where necessary, the Program will be amended to ensure that identified risks have not changed and that listed resources and services are available, training programs are current, the public education program is adequate and the risk to public safety is managed.