When wild fires spread out of control and burned one third of the town of Slave Lake, Alberta last month, Islanders wanted to help, says Justice and Public Safety Minister Doug Currie.
“On behalf of the people of the province, we were pleased that we could support a request from the Canadian Red Cross to deploy Tanya Mullally to assist with recovery operations in Alberta,” said Mr. Currie.
Ms. Mullally, who works as the Provincial Emergency Management Coordinator with the Office of Public Safety, served as a volunteer member of the Canadian Red Cross disaster response team (DRT) in Alberta for a two-week span from May 23 - June 4.
“Having the opportunity to work with the Canadian Red Cross, the government of Alberta, the municipality of Slave Lake, and to serve hands-on with the people who were affected by this disaster gave me a unique view,” said Ms. Mullally. “I had the chance to play an active role making decisions on ways to assist the people, and then to see first-hand how those decisions actually helped the residents of Slave Lake.”
“It was a rare, and often emotional, experience,” she said.
“Emergencies and significant weather events are becoming more frequent and more complex,” said Mr. Currie. “Our public safety officials are continually working to share and access resources wherever possible.”
Prince Edward Island is a partner in the Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management (SOREM), a federal/provincial/territorial organization which promotes inter-jurisdictional emergency management cooperation, coordination, resource and expertise sharing, and assistance which leads to better, more effectively managed emergencies. Through SOREM memorandums of understanding, provincial and territorial governments work together and provide mutual aid to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.
The province is also an active participant in the International Emergency Management Group (IEMG), which is comprised of five eastern Canadian provinces and six US states. Through IEMG agreements, all parties, including PEI, are prepared to respond to requests for aid in an emergency, and can request assistance from the other parties when disaster strikes.
For more detailed information on Tanya’s activities as part of the Canadian Red Cross disaster response team, click on the notes tab on the Office of Public Safety facebook page (facebook.com/peipublicsafety) and see Tanya's Blog from Slave Lake.