MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance

Emergency Response and Evacuation

 

Hurricane Fiona was a major event for Atlantic Canada. The MacEachen Institute has been exploring the issue of disaster and emergency management over the years through our research, writings, and panel discussions. We have put our most relevant work in this area on this page for ease of reference.

Reports 

M.J. Alam and M.A. Habib. Staged Evacuation Modelling Framework (2021)

M.J. Alam and M.A. Habib. Countermeasure for a Mass Evacuation: A Bus-Based Evacuation Modelling Framework (2021)

Environmental Scan: Emergency Management Policies and Programs for People with Disabilities in Canada (March 31, 2020)

Strengthening the Resilience of the Canadian Water Sector (March 22, 2018)

 

Briefing Notes 

Climate Risk Governance in Light of the COVID-19 Crisis (February 2021)

Environmental Scan: Emergency Management Policies and Programs for People with Disabilities in Canada (Executive Summary) (March 31, 2020) 

Communicating Marine Risk with Focus on Coastal Flooding and Forecasting. (March 2018) 

 

Panels

Come Hell or High Water: Improving Emergency Response for People with Disabilities (Fall 2022)

Emergency evacuations caused by severe weather are becoming more common, and an aging population means the number of people with disabilities will increase.  What can governments, communities, and individuals do to better support persons with disabilities during emergencies?    

Research supported by Accessibility Standards Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Features:

  • Steven Estey (former National Coordinator of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD))
  • Donalda MacIsaac (Family Patient Advisor for Dalhousie Family Medicine)
  • Kaitlynne Lowe (MacEachen Institute)

Each speaker speaks for about ten minutes. Total presentation time: 30 minutes. Total panel time including Q&A: 1 hour

When the Dust Settles: How Do We Hold People to Account After Disasters? (Fall 2019)

Natural disasters, industrial failures, cyber and terrorist attacks generate intense popular interest and scrutiny. Yet given the complexity and interdependence of modern systems, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hold people to account for failures: there are just too many people and organizations involved. 

Features:

  • Lori Turnbull (Dalhousie University)
  • Bruce Campbell (former Executive Director (1994–2015) of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA))
  • Paul Kovacs (founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction at Western University)
  • Jennifer Quaid (University of Ottawa)
  • Kevin Quigley (MacEachen Institute)

Includes discussion of accountability in law, insurance and media. In a highly interdependent setting, what should accountability look like and how do we achieve it?

Each speaker speaks for about ten minutes. Total presentation time: 55 minutes. Total panel time including Q&A: 1 hour 32 minutes.

Resilience or Reluctance: Climate Change Policy in Atlantic Canada (Fall 2019)

Hosted in partnership with the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR). The 2019 Canada’s Changing Climate Report (CCCR) predicts that Atlantic Canada will experience extreme sea-level change in the coming years. This will result in more frequent high water–level events, causing damage to coastal infrastructure and ecosystem. In many respects, the future is already here. 

Features:

  • Blair Feltmate (University of Waterloo)
  • Kate Sherren (Dalhousie University)
  • Omer Chouinard (University of Moncton)
  • Megan Leslie (President of the World Wildlife Fund)

Total presentation time: 50 minutes. Total panel time including Q&A: 1 hour 28 minutes.

Sink or Swim: Decisions in Emergency Management (November 2018)

Hosted in partnership with the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR). Content: 15th anniversary of Hurricane Juan. Review current emergency management strengths and weaknesses in Halifax and Nova Scotia generally. After a devastating hurricane season in 2017 and on the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Juan[JL3] , the MacEachen Institute will bring together experts in emergency management, flood modelling and prediction, and evacuation traffic modelling to discuss emergency preparedness for future coastal risks and evacuation scenarios. 

Features:

  • Kevin Quigley (MacEachen Institute)
  • Andrew Easton (Provincial Security Advisor for the Province of New Brunswick)
  • Erika Fleck (Division Chief Emergency Management with Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency)
  • Ahsan Habib (Dalhousie Transportation Collaboratory (DalTRAC))
  • Bob Robichaud (Aviation Weather Program Manager for Atlantic Canada)

Total presentation time: 58 minutes. Total panel time including Q&A: 1 hour 32 minutes.

Risk, Resilience and Critical Infrastructure (Full Video) (November 2017)

Kevin Quigley will discuss new research on how markets, media and private interests shape government responses to natural disasters, pandemics, industrial failures, cyber-attacks and terrorist threats. The research is featured in the book Too Critical to Fail: How Canada Manages Threats to Critical Infrastructure by Kevin Quigley, Ben Bisset and Bryan Mills. 

Features:

  • Daniel Henstra (University of Waterloo)
  • Ron Pelot (Associate Scientific Director of the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response (MEOPAR) Network of Centres of Excellence)
  • Ian Stewart (University of King's College)

Total presentation time: 60 minutes. Total panel time including Q&A: 1 hour 31 minutes.

 

Op-eds

Kevin Quigley. The importance of accountability after deadly disasters (May 7, 2018). The Conversation. 

Kevin Quigley. Understanding the risks to Canada’s drinking water (March 21, 2018). The Conversation. 

Kevin Quiqley and Kaitlynne Lowe. Fiona: People with disabilities need more support in extreme storms (October 11, 2022). The Conversation. 
 

On-going Projects

Evacuating persons with disabilities from an urban centre (Accessibility Standards Canada)

Working across Disciplines to Understand and Improve Mass Evacuations: Examining Different Types of Risk and Contextual Pressures (SSHRC)

 

Selected Media Stories about the MacEachen Institute

CTV News at 6 speaks with MacEachen Institute Director Kevin Quigley about risks to the telecommunications systems during disasters (September 12, 2019). 

BNN Bloomberg's Amanda Lang. Insurance needs to take bigger role to tackle flooding: Policy expert (April 25, 2019).

Callum Smith. How does Canada mitigate the impact of flooding? Experts say better urban planning (April 25, 2019).

Jennifer Henderson. It’s been 15 years since Hurricane Juan; are we ready for an even bigger storm? (September 26, 2018).

CBC Radio featuring Kevin Quigley. Are you watching Hurricane Irma, do you have friends or relatives in its path? (September 8, 2017).

Heather Desserud. The data behind disaster planning (April 3, 2017).