With Comprehensive Emergency Management in mind, the Town of Sidney has established an Emergency Planning Committee to oversee the many activities required for effective emergency management. This section highlights some of the projects the Committee has completed in recent years, presented alphabetically.

· Business Continuity Plan – With the guidance of the Emergency Planning Committee, the Town has adopted a formal Business Continuity Plan to summarize the policies and procedures needed in managing interruptions of Town internal and external services. The planning process engaged all municipal departments, as well as the RCMP, in identifying essential services and the resources required to support them.

· Community Disaster Recovery Plan – The Emergency Program drafted this Plan to address the organization and decision-making that will likely be required following significant damage in the community, such as after a severe wind storm or earthquake. The Community Disaster Recovery Plan identifies the Town’s policies on multi-agency coordination during the extended recovery phase of a disaster, including donation management and client services.

· Community Hazard Mitigation Plan – The Emergency Planning Committee has considered a range of options for hazard mitigation, based on an understanding of community risks. A Hazard Mitigation Plan outlines the priority actions for reducing the likelihood and consequences of emergencies in the community.

· Community Risk Assessment – The Emergency Planning Committee prepared an assessment of the principal hazards that threaten the community, and identified key vulnerabilities in Sidney. This document was used in guiding emergency preparedness and hazard mitigation.

· Earthquake Plan – With the potential for severe damage in Sidney from even a moderate earthquake, the Sidney Emergency Program prepared a hazard-specific plan that anticipates the actions and decisions needed to protect both Town operations and community members following a seismic event. The Earthquake Plan guides individual EOC functions in specific tasks and summarizes information for use in a range of scenarios.

· Emergency Exercise – Periodically, the Emergency Program takes the lead in developing and hosting exercises for Town staff and our partner agencies. In 2008, the Sidney Emergency Program hosted a major, full-scale exercise involving an aircraft crash. More than 120 personnel participated in the October 4 exercise.

· Emergency Program Bylaw 1936 – In February, 2008, the Town adopted a revised bylaw that charges the Executive Committee, authorizes the Emergency Planning Committee, and identifies the Emergency Program Coordinator to advise and assist Council on all aspects of the Emergency Program. Bylaw 1936 also ensures that the program receives adequate funding.

· Emergency Response and Recovery Plan – The Committee has initiated a number of improvements in the current Emergency Response and Recovery Plan over the years, including EOC staffing assignments and notification procedures. This plan includes detailed checklists and job aids for EOC functions, and contains a list of contacts and resources that could be critical in an emergency.

· Evacuation Planning – In 2008, a sub-committee of the Emergency Planning Committee developed an evacuation planning process that could be applied any time citizens within Town boundaries are threatened by an emergency.

· Hazard Specific Plans – The Emergency Planning Committee developed and approved a series of hazard-specific plans that enhance the generic response plans at the site of an emergency and in the Emergency Operations Centre. Examples include: Aircraft Crash, Atmospheric Hazards, and Utility Failure.

· Pandemic Plan – Taking advantage of the H1N1 threat in 2009, the Town examined the risks and health measures related to a pandemic. The Emergency Planning Committee approved a number of actions for protecting staff, including education sessions, information handouts, enhanced workplace cleaning policies, and hand-wash and sanitizer stations. The Committee oversaw the preparation of a Pandemic Plan that will serve well in future outbreaks.

· Public Information – The Town offers a number of information pamphlets on hazard awareness and public preparedness.  Handouts are available at both the Town Hall and Fire Hall.

· Resource Acquisition – In this project, the Town continues to work with the Capital Regional District to establish procedures that EOC Logistics personnel may follow in acquiring a wide range of personnel and equipment resources. This effort draws from existing databases accounting for the number, type, and kind of resources that may be needed in an emergency.

· Site Management Plan – The Town prepared a Site Level Incident Management Plan that offers guidance to first responders, including Fire, RCMP, Search and Rescue, and Public Works, who may be engaged in response activities at the site of an emergency. This Plan emphasizes the use of the Incident Command System in all multi-agency response to ensure safety, and sets out the procedures for coordinated communications and decision-making in an emergency.

· Staff Training – The Emergency Program continues to host ongoing site and EOC training sessions to maintain staff readiness. In addition, the Sidney Emergency Program arranges a number of courses in the Incident Command System (ICS) and Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for Town staff and RCMP members.

· Strategic Plan – To guide the entire Sidney Emergency Program, the Town has prepared and continues to update a Strategic Plan that sets out the mission, objectives and strategies of the Program. The Strategic Plan takes a rolling three-year view of the many activities need to maximize public safety, and sets priorities for annual commitments.