Question Period Note: Request for Federal Assistance (including Red Cross/Humanitarian Workforce)

To provide an update on current Requests for Federal Assistance (RFAs), including details on work with the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) through the Humanitarian Workforce.

• The Government of Canada is committed to providing assistance to provinces and territories to protect and support Canadians during the global COVID-19 pandemic and cyclical natural disasters, such as floods and wildfires.

• Should a province or territory make an official request for federal assistance (RFA), there is a well-established process in place for managing RFAs, through the Government Operation Centre (GOC), and includes interdepartmental consultation and coordination of all departments as required.

• The Government of Canada continues to ensure a strategic approach to the use of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and CRC support to COVID-19 and other event response efforts. Since January 2020, the Government of Canada has supported 142 Requests for Federal Assistance.

• Our Government is providing $150 million between 2021 to 2023, through the Humanitarian Workforce program, to respond to COVID-19 and other large-scale emergencies. This investment will help build capacity and fund the deployment of the Canadian Red Cross, and other non-governmental humanitarian organizations to protect Canadians affected by disasters.

• This Fall, health human resources from CAF, CRC, and federal reserves were provided to Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories. CAF aeromedical support was also made available to Alberta and Saskatchewan.

• Additional support was provided to the Northwest Territories in the form of CAF Rangers, Oxygen concentrators, surge capacity for Infection, Prevention Control (IPC), and Contact Tracing support.

• The government is also supporting non-COVID-19 related issues such as the water crisis in Iqaluit. CAF will provide assistance with water purification and limited assistance with the coordination and delivery of water to the community.

• Over the summer months, there was a well-above average wildfires season, particularly in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Northwestern Ontario. Tremendous efforts were made by all partners, including CAF, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fires Centre, Indigenous Services Canada, along with the Provinces and Territories to overcome a very challenging season.

• There has been outstanding collaboration between the responding organizations from all orders of government in response to this emergency, and I want to thank all those on the front lines who continue to battle to keep Canadians safe.

Responsive lines
• Emergencies are managed first at the local level. If they need assistance at the local level, they request it from the provinces or territories. If the emergency escalates beyond P/T capabilities, the provinces or territories seek assistance from the federal government.

• The Government of Canada’s pandemic response provides provinces and territories with two streams of federal assistance. COVID-19 federal surge capacity requests for federal assistance are managed by Public Safety Canada for emergency management support and the Public Health Agency of Canada for public health support, respectively.

National COVID-19 response efforts require a whole-of-government approach. There continues to be an increased need for federal assistance, as it has become apparent that the COVID-19 response continues to place a strain on emergency planning and response organizations across the country.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of having surge capacity readily available, and Government of Canada investments have supported organizations like the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) to respond to COVID-19 and other large-scale emergencies. In 2020, the Government committed up to $170M for relief efforts related to COVID-19, floods and wildfires. Building on these initial investments, Fall Economic Statement 2020 (FES 2020) announced $150 million over two years, ($84.1 million in 2021-2022, and $65.9 million in 2022-2023), to support the Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations in building and maintaining a humanitarian workforce to provide surge capacity in response to COVID-19 outbreaks and other large-scale emergencies.

Funding announced in the FES 2020 and prior contributions have allowed the CRC to respond to a variety of RFAs across the country over the last two years.

Current Deployments

• RFA for Saskatchewan (SK) – HHR and CAF Support
On October 18, an RFA was received from SK for ICU HHR. Six CAF ICU nurses deployed to Regina General Hospital on 26 Oct. The first aero-medical patient transfer flight occurred on 26 Oct. Additional 20 CAF members (some nurses not at ICU level but support in acute care) will join in the efforts once their missions are confirmed. CRC component pending finalization and signature of contract.

• Nunavut – CAF support in Iqaluit water crisis
RFA was received on October 20 and approved on October 22, 2021. CAF will provide water purification production and to provide limited assistance with the coordination and delivery of water to the people of Iqaluit. This time period will allow Nunavut to put in place the mobile water treatment plant. Assets will be provided until 17 November, 2021 with a possible 2 week extension.

• Northwest Territories – CRC HHR and CAF Rangers
Request for CAF and CRC to support local communities affected with COVID-19 outbreaks. 12 CAF Rangers and 3 CAF planners deployed and were stood down on October 1, 2021. CRC provided 15 nurses and 2 doctors. RFA extension #2 (final) for CRC support was approved on October 27 to support until November 11, 2021.

• Northwest Territories – MHU - Oxygen Concentrator
RFA for one MHU – Oxygen Concentrator package with generators for use at the Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife. RFA was approved on Oct 7 for support until March 31, 2022. O2 system is now operational and the primary source of oxygen for the hospital.

• Northwest Territories – CRC IPC Support
RFA approved October 17 for additional surge capacity for territorial Infection, Prevention Control (IPC), contact tracing and COVID-19 testing efforts. This latest RFA builds upon the two IPC specialists previously provided by PHAC and virtual contact tracing services already being delivered by StatCan under an existing agreement. CRC provided one operations lead and nine EPC specialists to support territorial IPC until November 14, 2021, with the possibility of one 2-week extension.
NWT has requested additional support for Contact tracing. CRC proposal was approved on November 1, 2021.

• Ontario – LTCF – CRC support
70 LTCF were supported by federal resources under this RFA, supporting a total of 18 sites with Support Aides and 60 sites with EPC service. The RFA extension was approved on October 6 to continue support until November 30, 2021, with an option to extend by an additional two months until January 31, 2022. The extension would be conditional on a reassessment to be completed no later than November 15, 2021.

• Manitoba 3rd Wave – PHAC and Health Canada support
Epidemiologists: A request to PHAC for HHR was received. PHAC has epidemiologists on site to COVID-19 response (6 month terms non-renewable). PHAC to coordinate expert technical advice for outbreak investigation to support local MB epi staff working on the response.

• Manitoba – Statistics Canada support
Contact tracing (human resources): Up to 218 StatCan employees working various shift, or 156 full-time equivalents. As of August 17, 2021 PHAC has amended the (MOU) with StatCan to extend their support related to contact tracing until March 31, 2022. Along with the extension, the maximum capacity of calls have reduced to a maximum of 12,000 per day. With the MOU extended, StatCan is now working on extending their interchange agreements with the various jurisdictions. As of September 22, 2021, Nunavut has extended their interchange agreement to March 31, 2022 with Statistics Canada on September 1, 2021.

Past Deployments

• RFA for AB for CAF Support and HHR Oct 6 – Oct 31, 2021
RFA was approved on September 23, 2021, following a tweeted RFA issued by Alberta Minister. Specifics on provincial requirements were provided to officials by early October. CAF HHR support commenced on October 6, which included the availability of CAF aeromedical transport for in-province and out of province critical care patient transfer (96-hour Notice to Move). CRC HHR support began on October 4. A team of federal HHR from Newfoundland was also deployed on October 10. On Oct 20, Alberta confirmed that the RFA will conclude on October 31, as scheduled.

• PHAC – Vaccine Roll-out Task Force – CAF
RFA for CAF leaders to assist PHAC’s team with the establishment of a National Operations Centre (NOC), and logistics planning was approved on November 17, 2020. The request for support was extended on February 26, 2021 until October 31, 2021. RFA closed on schedule.

• CRC support for vulnerable populations shelter in Yellowknife.
The RFA was received on September for CRC HHR support to run a shelter/ harm reduction site. CRC deployed a care team for up to 20 personnel comprised of generalist responders, safe and well–being staff and some specialists. The extension was approved on September 27 to extend support until October 13, 2021. Territory confirmed RFA closure as of October 12, 2021.

• Northwestern ON - Wildfires accommodation and social services support – Federal Supports
RFA was approved on July 19, 2021 until immediate threat had passed and evacuation was no longer required. ISC provided funding for evacuation accommodations, and Federal partners looked for federal assets to support the request (i.e. Safe voluntary Isolation sites). Province expressed desire to keep RFA open for the duration of the wildfire season. RFA officially closed on Sept 27, 2021.

• Northwestern ON – Wildfire – CAF air support
CAF airlift support for the evacuations of members from remote fly-in communities in northwestern Ontario. The assistance was provided until evacuations were complete and immediate threat had passed. Indigenous Communities were particularly vulnerable to smoke and direct effects from wildfire. CAF stood down on Sept 12, 2021.

• BC Wildfires support – CAF
CAF provided airlift support to transport personnel and equipment into and out of areas affected by wildfires. Tasks included; airlift assets to move wildfire crews and equipment; 2) air resources for the emergency transportation of BC Wildfire Service personnel or contracted crews; and 3) assistance with advanced planning. Indigenous Communities were particularly vulnerable to smoke and direct effects from wildfire. A 2 week extension was approved on July 19 for CAF support to continue until August 2. A second 2-week extension was approved on July 31 for support to continue until August 17. A third extension to this RFA was received on August 15. RFA will The RFA officially closed on August 30.

• BC Wildfires - CAF ground support
Request approved under the second RFA mentioned above. CAF support requested to mitigate the effects of wildfires, specifically Type-3 wildfire operations including mop up and monitoring operations was approved on July 20 for support from July 23 to August 30. One-week extension approved on August 30 for CAF ground support from August 30 to September 5. RFA closed as scheduled on September 5, 2021.
• BC Wildfires additional CAF airlift support to assist with the evacuation of persons in remote areas
RFA for CAF support was approved until August 17. A 2-week extension was approved on July 31 for support to continue until August 17. Request for extension to this RFA was received on August 15. The RFA officially closed on August 30, 2021.

• Northwestern ON – Wildfires - Request for CAF Ranger support for host communities
The request was approved on July 19. The proposed host communities; Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Timmins. The assistance continued until evacuations were complete and immediate threat had passed. On August 10, Rangers support in host communities stood down in Sudbury and Timmins. On August 14, Rangers stood down in Thunder Bay.

• Manitoba – Wildfire support – CAF
An RFA for CAF support to mitigate the effects of wildfires, specifically Type-3 wildfire operations was approved July 20 for support to continue until August 10. The province received 108 firefighters from South Africa August 11. Manitoba had a total of 2,152 registered evacuees as of August 11. Repatriation of these communities to be completed by August 20. RFA extension was approved on August 10 for a period of 21 days to begin between August 17 and August 24. RFA closed on August 24.

Background on Requests for Federal Assistance

Public Safety Canada is working with federal, provincial and territorial partners, through the Government Operations Centre (GOC), to ensure ongoing coordinated responses to COVID-19, natural disasters or other incidents. The GOC is supporting the Public Health Agency of Canada, which is the federal government lead for the response to COVID-19.

The Government of Canada pandemic response provides provinces and territories with two streams of federal assistance. COVID-19 federal surge capacity requests for federal assistance are managed by Public Safety Canada for emergency management support and the Public Health Agency of Canada for public health support, respectively.

There is a well-established process in place for managing RFAs, through the GOC, that includes interdepartmental consultation and coordination of all departments as required. The GOC has established an RFA Secretariat to receive, evaluate, and prioritize all RFAs. The GOC convenes consultation with implicated departments to review RFAs, as required.

When the emergency involves a First Nation (FN) community, FN leadership, depending on relevant emergency management agreements, will work in collaboration with their PTs and/or Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) or regional officials, to assess the emergency and propose a response.

The Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of National Defence have also worked together to ensure a strategic approach for the use of CAF support to COVID-19 and cyclical event response efforts. This coverage will facilitate deployment approvals, preventing delays in timely federal support, but does not eliminate appropriate vetting of requests given the potential high demand for finite resources.

The intersection of cyclical natural disasters, such as floods and fires, with the COVID-19 pandemic presents additional unique challenges to Provinces/Territories (PTs), First Nations and municipalities across Canada that are responsible for managing responses to emergencies within their jurisdictions. This was seen during the Spring/Summer 2021, particularly with the intensity of the Wildfires Season and a busy Flooding season.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Government of Canada has responded to 142 COVID-19-related RFAs.

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