Emergency Preparedness

In order to respond to an emergency, individuals and governments must be prepared.

What is Emergency Preparedness?

Emergency preparedness includes all activities, such as plans, procedures, contact lists and exercises, undertaken in anticipation of a likely emergency. The goal of these preparedness activities is to make sure that the government is ready and able to respond quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency.

What is Health Canada's Role?

For emergencies involving public health, Health Canada provides support and scientific expertise to assist the Public Health Agency of Canada in its preparedness activities.

• Learn more about the roles and responsibilities of the Public Health Agency of Canada

Under the Federal Nuclear Emergency Plan, Health Canada leads the Government of Canada's preparedness activities for radiological and nuclear emergencies. The Department:

• Manages and updates emergency preparedness plans and procedure manuals,
• Designs and assesses emergency exercises that test a particular part of a plan, emergency function or link within or between emergency response organizations,
• Develops and delivers training courses for those involved in FNEP, and
• Trains and drills on-call duty officers so they are ready to respond if notified of a radiological or nuclear emergency.

How does Health Canada Prepare for an Emergency?

Preparedness exercises are designed to test how well the plans and procedures work during simulated emergency situations. Such exercises help the government identify strengths as well as any problems or inadequacies in preparedness plans and procedures so that these can be addressed before, not after, an actual emergency.

What Information Can You Find Here?

In this section, you can read more about nuclear emergency preparedness planning and some of the national, provincial and international exercises that Health Canada has led or has participated in.

• Preparing Your Family for an Emergency