The findings, released Tuesday as part of a larger audit, show that Aboriginal Affairs can't meet the needs of communities in emergency situations because of a lack of funding, a focus on recovery instead of prevention, incomplete and out-of-date programs and a confusion about the responsibilities of relevant partners.
The "ambiguity and confusion" over who is responsible for what is threatening emergency response times and reactions, the report found. The report also found on-reserve emergency management is severely underfunded.
The program's annual budget of $19 million is too little, the AG found, and places too much emphasis on recovery rather than prevention. From 2009 to 2012, the department spent only one per cent of its budget on prevention.
Auditor General Michael Ferguson said the Aboriginal Affairs department was in a cycle of "reacting to emergencies."
"It has not been able to focus on what can be done to prevent and mitigate these events," Ferguson said.
Also, to make up for a shortfall of allocated funding -- the government has spent $448 million since 2009 -- the department has taken money from other vital First Nations funds used for infrastructure and sewer projects.
Emergencies on reserve are handled by partnerships with provinces, reserves and first respondents and are funded by provinces via transfers from Ottawa under the Emergency Management Assistance Program.
Among the hardest hit communities
The critical audit comes just days after Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt announced reforms to the Emergency Management Assistance Program by pledging another $19 million toward renegotiating management plans, streamlining funding by creating a single window system, committing to more funding for response and recovery activities and better preparing communities for dangerous situations.
The changes, however, have been seen by critics as a desperate attempt to fix a broken system ahead of the audit.
First Nations communities are some of the hardest hit in Canada by emergencies and natural disasters. In 2011, floods devastated Manitoba's First Nations communities, and about 2,000 evacuees are still displaced there.
This summer's Alberta floods also damaged nearby First Nations communities, and the Red Cross is frantically working to help residents in Ontario's Attawapiskat First Nation, which suffered a fire recently that forced an evacuation.
For years, communities and aboriginal advocates have argued that emergency responses on reserve are inadequate.
Ferguson also found that Health Canada and Aboriginal Affairs are failing to co-ordinate joint activities to ensure reserves are prepared for emergencies and that the health department is lacking vital information about reserves.
The report found that Health Canada didn't even know how many First Nations had a pandemic plan. Of the six plans examined by the AG's office, two were out of date and the rest were in such bad shape the office could not even assess them.
A 'nightmare' system: critic
While the Department of Aboriginal Affairs relies on provinces, third parties and First Nations themselves to implement emergency management plans -- complete with analysis, information gathering, funding, preparation, training and response -- reserves told the AG they did not have enough money or resources to maintain solid emergency management plans.
Many First Nations' fire response agreements with provinces are also weaker than those provinces enter into with non-reserve communities, and many provinces don't even have agreements with fire departments to provide services to reserves. Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have no fire agreements or emergency management plans in place.
Most alarmingly, many emergency management programs on reserve do not meet federal regulations and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs does not know which populations on reserve are most at risk, and to what hazards.
NDP Aboriginal Affairs critic Jean Crowder said the audit confirmed what advocates have been saying for years: emergency preparedness on reserve is in serious jeopardy.
She said the funding system was a "nightmare" to access.
"It's hard to get and bureaucratic," she said, adding that having three layers of government involved in funding threatened service delivery. She said Valcourt's changes to the system were long overdue but "a start."
Reacting to the audit, Valcourt said in a statement that emergency preparedness of bands was a "priority" for the government and that reforms introduced days ago would cut red tape and ensure timely access to emergency funds. Fielding opposition critics in Question Period, the minister promised "better coordination" of emergency services and "more accountability" from the department.
"Our Government is committed to supporting the resilience, health and safety of First Nation communities," he said in a statement.
Original Article
Source: thetyee.ca
Author: Olesia Plokhii
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