Editorials

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Editorial - Crisis watchdog in crisis

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 11/9/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

11In fact, it is almost in crisis itself -- an identity crisis, that is.

Auditor general Sheila Fraser, who reported to Parliament on her latest audits Tuesday, found that after six years since it was formed, the federal department has not carved out the leadership role it was to assume among federal departments and the provinces. That hobbles its ability to co-ordinate disaster planning, response and recovery in the country. In other words, even after dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars to improve national security in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Canada is not much better able to mount a co-ordinated national response than it was prior to the event.

Canada has had a series of emergencies since 2001, but each had limited effect. A true national disaster, such as a cyber-attack that brings the country's political and economic systems to its knees, sounds fantastic, but it is not impossible. Just ask the people of Estonia who in spring of 2007 were gripped in Internet paralysis when the websites of its banks, parliament, government departments and media were attacked and rendered almost inoperable. Indeed, Ms. Fraser notes that attacks against computer systems in Canada, including federal systems, are increasing.

Canadians don't need to do much imagining to understand the blowback that a lack of federal co-ordination of emergency management can create. The H1N1 pandemic has not had significant effect because it is a relatively mild virus, killing relatively few people. But where mistakes have been made, they've been readily felt and illustrate the potential for havoc.

Native communities in northern Manitoba suffered from H1N1 hardest last spring and were left wondering for months when they would get simple protective supplies -- hand sanitizers with or without alcohol, masks and anti-virals. Amid the confusion that erupts when responsibility crosses departments (federal health and Indian and Northern Affairs), Manitoba acted on its own. Further, Canada's chief public health officer, David Butler-Jones, has bemoaned the fact the country relied on a single vaccine producer who had one dedicated production line for H1N1 vaccine. Dr. Butler-Jones told the Globe and Mail that he wishes all provinces had heeded his advice to prioritize high-risk groups for vaccination.

These issues could have had Canada floundering if H1N1 were a real killer. The idea of the public safety department is that a set of eyes watching over disaster planning would predict and prevent such missteps.

The H1N1 pandemic is giving Canadians a snapshot of how the country responds to an emerging threat. An ineffective disaster manager is a liability as it allows all other actors to assume someone is in charge of managing a response. Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan must fulfill the leadership role, or the Harper government should abandon the concept and press federal departments to learn to work together.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 9, 2009 A14

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