Whati drafts first disaster resiliency plan in the North
Emergency preparedness exercise April 30
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Published Monday, April 28 2014
WHATI/LAC LAMARTRE
Whati is the first community in the three territories to draft its own disaster resiliency plan, says Whati's senior administrative officer.
Larry Baran said the resiliency plan goes beyond the scope of a standard emergency preparedness plan. Resiliency plans address broader issues and opportunities, such as ways the community could deal with food insecurity in the spring and fall when the ice road is closed and planes are delayed by weather.
"A resiliency plan is complementary to, but different from, an emergency response plan," he said.
For example, said Baran the community decided this year to expand its current community garden program, as well as promote the idea of gardens for individual homes in Whati. In addition to promoting hunting and fishing practices, community gardens could help alleviate food security issues during those times of year, he said.
Groups also looked at ways to respond to aircraft incidents, forest fires or accidents on Whati's winter road, as well as wider concepts such as early childhood development in the community.
Chief Alfonz Nitsiza said developing a resiliency plan reinforces how aboriginal people traditionally found solutions to problems and planned for the future.
"It's important that it's recognized that people live in that kind of environment.
I mean, it goes back from history. That's how the aboriginal people survived is by sticking together and doing things collaboratively and sharing," he said. "So it's only natural that they do that."
Nitsiza said local planning involving residents is essential.
"The government, when they were organizing emergency measures, they look at the very big picture, they have the expertise," he said. "But the whole planning and discussion has to take place at the community level, at the grassroots level where people live, in our case most of their lives, and know what to do."
Eric Bussey, former director of emergency management for the territorial government, said the strong family bonds and partnerships in Whati were discussed throughout the workshops. He said people also highlighted the Tlicho Agreement and the prevalence of Tlicho language speakers in Whati.
Bussey, who spent more than 25 years as the territory's emergency management director before retiring in 2011, now operates his own emergency management consulting business, Integrated Emergency Management Solutions Ltd.
Bussey said the project in Whati was funded through the Conference Board of Canada's Centre for the North.
Workshops also included discussions about Fortune Minerals' NICO mine, which is expected to begin construction this year. Leaders and residents discussed the possible impacts the mine would have on the community, such as an influx of new people and substance abuse concerns, as well as potential economic benefits, Bussey said.
"There are positives and negatives," he said. "The resiliency plan looks at both."
Resiliency planning also determines infrastructure and human resources available in a community.
An emergency exercise in Whati later this month will help the community enhance its plan, Baran said. The exercise, scheduled to take place April 30, will involve a variety of agencies, including health staff, RCMP and Mezi Community School.
The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is helping to deliver the exercise, which is being focused on one of Whati's busiest times of the year.
"I've specifically requested a scenario built around an emergency that would happen during the time we would have our Tlicho Assembly this summer," he said.
Baran said Whati's population more than doubles to more than 1,000 from about 500 people during the assembly, and the community wants to make sure it's prepared in the event of an emergency.
"I would much rather find that out in a tabletop exercise as opposed to the real scenario," he said. "It's our job to try to make sure that everybody is safe."
Ensuring the community's emergency preparedness plan is effective also aids in the development of its new resiliency plan, Bussey said. To draft the resiliency plan, workshops were held in the community to assess the community's resources, such as fire and health services. Groups used a questionnaire and project model developed for the Justice Institute of British Columbia's (JIBC) Rural Disaster Resilience Project to determine strengths and weaknesses, as well as potential hazards the community could face.
"It goes beyond emergency planning," he said. "It looks at the whole community."
Bussey said using JIBC's model in Whati allowed the plan to be tested in an isolated, aboriginal community with unique challenges.
Stefan Fournier, research associate for the Conference Board of Canada's Centre for the North, said while Whati's pilot project is over, its plan will still be re-evaluated over the years.
"The risks and challenges in communities change over time," he said. "So does capacity at the local level to deal with them."
Fournier said the goal is to expand the project into other communities across Canada.
"There was always an eye to refining our tools and process so we could implement it in other communities," he said.
Baran said he is pleased how his community worked together to develop its plan.
"It's a true compliment to the people of Whati," he said.
Nitsiza said it's important to be ready for challenges before they arrive.
"Things happen and it's better to be prepared than not prepared," he said.
