TRANSCAER® initiative introduced at First Nations Emergency Management Forum

April 06, 2017

On March 29th, Kara Edwards, Director, Transportation, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC), Rob Hoffman, Director, Government & Stakeholder Relations, Canadian Fuels Association, and Dustin Ritter, Hazmat and Emergency Response Officer, Canadian Pacific Railway, participated in a panel titled: TRANSCAER®: Your Partner in Transportation Safety at the First Nations Emergency Management Forum. This 3-day Forum took place in Calgary, Alberta and brought together a broad range of individuals from across Canada involved in emergency management.

The panel presentation shared how industries work collaboratively to support the development of preparedness and resiliency initiatives at the community level through information sharing, collaboration, education, training and capacity building.  The presentation tied in well with the one provided by Transport Canada on their available tools and role in the transportation of dangerous goods in Canada.

As Edwards explains, “it was a pleasure presenting on the TRANSCAER® initiative at the First Nations Emergency Management Forum.  TRANSCAER® strives to work with First Nations to help ensure communities are aware of dangerous goods travelling through their communities and prepared should an incident occur.  The Forum offered a venue to share information, increase awareness of the initiative, and establish important networks for the future.”

CIAC’s participation in the forum built on the relationships with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) developed through collaborative work in forums such as Transport Canada’s General Policy Advisory Council (GPAC) and participation in AFN’s General Assembly and Circle of Trade in 2015. At the same time, it aligned with the goal of expanding TRANSCAER®’s audience beyond the firefighter community and working with First Nations to host events in areas where it has not had as much representation or industry presence in the past.

CIAC looks forward to continued work and collaboration with First Nations in the area of emergency management and transportation safety.