SRD Concerns about BC's new Emergency and Disaster Management Act

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) has some serious concerns about BC’s new Emergency and Disaster Management Act, which came into effect on November 8.

According to a provincial government video, “We know people are worried about the climate driven challenges across British Columbia that are significantly affecting our families, communities, economy, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Modern realities like frequent floods, wildfires, drought, and extreme heat, as well as the COVID 19 pandemic have a lasting impact on people and communIties. A significant step in our response to these challenges involves modernizing BC’s emergency management legislation to include the requirement that the emergency management plans of provincial ministries, local authorities, and critical infrastructure operators are informed by risk assessments.”

At their Wednesday Dec 13 meeting. Protective Services Coordinator Shaun Koopman told the SRD Board his concerns with the way the government was implementing these ideas:

“ I would really want to see from the province a compilation of the data, statistics, and answers that they receive from all local authorities that are providing feedback to this regulation discussion paper that’s available to the public because I can guarantee you we’re all telling the province to put their cuckoo back in the clock.”

“I think the public needs to see that as well. It’s not entirely out of the box. When the province first started talking about updating the act back in 2020, they asked for feedback from our Regional Board. I brought a report to the board that we (recently) sent to the provincial government.”

Koopman outlined some of his objections:

Q/How long are we going to need to implement these regulations?

“At the very best, I feel that’s a question that’s being asked in bad faith because they aren’t telling us what these regulations are. I have no clue how long we’re going to need to implement these regulations until they tell us the details. You’ll see a lot of ‘nos’ in the answers to the questions in that.”