2. Purpose and scope

2.1. Aim

The aim of emergency response is to safeguard the health, safety, welfare and property of residents, and to protect the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of affected areas.

To that end, the aim of the Provincial Emergency Response Plan (PERP) is to establish a coordination framework for emergency response by the Province of Ontario so that emergency management stakeholders can effectively plan to work with Ontario prior to, during, and after an emergency. The PERP outlines how the Ministry of Emergency Preparedness and Response (MEPR) and provincial ministries work together to respond to widespread, large-scale, and complex emergencies.

As recovery activities usually overlap with response, the framework presented in the PERP is also used to coordinate recovery activities that happen during the response phase.

2.2. Plan goals

The PERP is structured around 4 major goals:

1. Describe arrangements to safeguard the health, safety, welfare and property of the people of Ontario when an emergency occurs.
2. Set out the basic organizational structures, responsibilities, and guidance for a coordinated provincial response to emergencies involving multiple ministries and other provincial organizations.
3. Describe how the provincial emergency response organization (ERO) will coordinate emergency assistance to communities within Ontario, and to other organizations and jurisdictions both within and outside of Ontario.
4. Describe how the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) communicates and shares information with and between stakeholders to enhance situational awareness.

To achieve these goals, the plan must:

• be flexible enough to adapt to a broad spectrum of types of emergencies
• describe emergency response that is supplemental to, and not a substitute for, community resources
• describe mechanisms of support for emergencies with or without a formal declaration of emergency
• describe the coordination of response and recovery activities that are led by the province during the response phase
• describe the provision of centralised coordination of emergency management across multiple provincial organizations

2.3. Scope

The PERP outlines the general concepts, structure and requirements for the response to an emergency that requires the coordination of activities between multiple provincial organizations. The PERP describes how this type of response is coordinated between community, provincial, and federal governments, as well as other responding organizations.

There is significant overlap between response and recovery activities in an emergency. The PERP provides guidance on the coordination of recovery activities when they happen concurrently with response activities.

The PERP reflects provisions of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA), including provincial responsibilities for types of emergencies to specific ministers. Such provisions could also apply generally to agencies, boards and commissions designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council^{footnote 7[7]} (LGIC).

Emergency response activities undertaken pursuant to the PERP could occur due to the impact of any hazard, except nuclear and radiological emergencies ^{footnote 8[8]}. The Hazard Identification Report ^{footnote 9[9]}identifies the most significant hazards with the potential to affect Ontario.

2.4. Plan implementation

The PERP should be used for the coordination of provincial emergency response activities in any of the following circumstances:

1. An emergency occurs that requires a coordinated provincial response.
2. The PEOC receives a request for assistance in emergency response from anyone, where that assistance requires more than one ministry
3. A request for assistance in responding to an emergency has been made to the PEOC.
4. An emergency is imminent, and it is anticipated that there will be a need for support or assistance from the provincial ERO.
5. A declared municipal or First Nation emergency requires a coordinated provincial response. ^{footnote 10[10]}
6. A declaration of emergency is made by the LGIC or the Premier.
7. When directed by a minister who has been designated by the Premier to exercise the Premier's emergency powers.
8. A minister assigned a type of emergency (under section 6 of the EMCPA) requests assistance from the PEOC.
9. When directed by the Commissioner of Emergency Management.
10. When directed by the Chief of Emergency Management Ontario (CEM) ^{footnote 11[11]}, or designate.
11. A national declaration of emergency by the Government of Canada that affects or has the potential to affect Ontario.

2.5. Assumptions

Listed below are the major assumptions on which the PERP is based. These assumptions form a basis from which the PERP was constructed and from which the PERP shall be implemented in an emergency.

The PERP assumes:

• communities will first use existing local capabilities, according to their plans and procedures, to respond to and recover from emergencies, including using mutual aid or assistance agreements.
• where a community has determined that its capabilities or capacity are insufficient to address all needs of an emergency, the Government of Ontario will mobilize available internal and external emergency resources and expertise to assist.
• individuals, families, governments and other organizations have varying abilities to resist, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform and recover from the effects of a hazard. Not all will be self-sufficient.

2.6. Links with other plans

The structure for, and relationships between, Ontario's emergency plans are shown in Figure 2-1.

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2.6.1. Provincial Emergency Response Plan

This PERP is the provincial emergency plan for all-hazards response and coordination for emergencies involving multiple provincial organizations. Since it describes how the province coordinates an overall provincial response, it informs how other organizations' plans work together. The PERP provides guidance on recovery activities during the response phase, and a foundation for the transition to the recovery phase.

2.6.2. Provincial Nuclear Emergency Response Plan

Nuclear and radiological emergencies are addressed separately in the Provincial Nuclear Emergency Response Plan (PNERP) ^{footnote 12[12]}. It is independent from the PERP.

A nuclear emergency may require the simultaneous implementation of the PERP to address any non-nuclear impacts.

2.6.3. Ministry emergency plans

All provincial ministers are required to develop and maintain emergency plans that address continuity of operations (COOP) under Ontario Regulation (O. Reg.) 380/04. Those ministers assigned a type of emergency under Order in Council (OIC1021/2025 must also develop an emergency response plan in respect of that assignment. These can be in the same or different plans.

Ministry emergency response plans shall be "coordinated in so far as possible with the emergency response plans of other ministries" (O. Reg. 380/04, s. 9.), which includes the PERP.

Where ministries have a type of emergency assigned to them under an OIC, their plans should identify the resources and the procedures that are necessary to recognize, contain and then resolve the consequences of a situation that falls within their assignment.

Under the EMCPA, ministries are required to submit current versions of their emergency plans to MEPR (section 6.2 (1), EMCPA). Except for plans respecting continuity of operations or services, a ministry emergency plan must be made available to the public (section 10, EMCPA).

2.6.4. Other plans as directed by the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response

Section 8.1 of the EMCPA authorizes the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response ^{footnote 13[13]}to formulate other emergency plans as necessary or desirable; this is reinforced by the OIC 1021/2025 assignment to the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response of “any other peacetime emergency not listed [in this OIC]”.

2.6.5. Municipal emergency response plans

Municipal emergency response plans are mandated by the EMCPA and O. Reg. 380/04. These plans should include consideration for how the municipality will work with the province in an emergency.

Under the EMCPA, municipalities are required to submit current versions of their emergency plans to MEPR ^{footnote 14[14]}(section 6.2 (1), EMCPA). A municipal emergency response plan must be made available to the public (section 10, EMCPA).  

2.6.6. Unincorporated community emergency plans

As there is no municipality present in unorganized territories, there is no requirement in those areas for any person to formulate emergency plans under the EMCPA.

2.6.7. First Nations emergency management plans

Individual First Nations are the first line of response in the event of an emergency on a reserve. As a best practice, First Nations are advised to create and implement emergency management plans to prepare communities to cope with an emergency.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is responsible for assisting First Nation communities in developing and updating emergency plans at the regional and national level, as well as plans to mitigate the risk of emergencies. ISC is also responsible for ensuring that First Nations have access to emergency management services comparable to those available to other communities in the province.

ISC's responsibilities are described in the National On-Reserve Emergency Management Plan^{footnote 15[15]} . This plan provides the overview of the roles and responsibilities ISC has during an emergency impacting on-reserve First Nations in Canada. Emergencies that are within the scope of ISC's responsibilities can be defined as immediate threats to health, safety and business continuity on First Nation reserves.

It is recommended that First Nations' emergency management plans include consideration for how they will coordinate with the Province and ISC.

In support of individual First Nation emergency plans, MEPR has, in consultation with ISC and First Nations in Ontario, compiled the Joint Emergency Management Steering Committee (JEMS) Service Level Evacuation Standards. The standards describe the process for a partial or full evacuation of a First Nation, including summarizing the roles and responsibilities of all participating agencies, authorities, and host communities.

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Figure 2-1: Ontario's emergency plans structure and relationships

Figure 2-1 shows emergency response planning requirements drawn from the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, Ontario Regulation 380/04, and Order in Council as well as the guidance that First Nations plans use provincial and municipal plans as guidance. 

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