1.1 Introduction

The legislative authority for emergency management (including planning and response) in the province of Ontario (hereinafter referred to as “the province”) is provided for by the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA). Pursuant to Section 8 of the EMCPA, the Lieutenant Governor in Council (LGIC) shall formulate an emergency plan respecting emergencies arising in connection with nuclear facilities. Pursuant to Section 6 of the EMCPA, the Minister responsible for emergency management is responsible for developing the plan to respond to nuclear emergencies through Emergency Management Ontario (EMO).

During a nuclear emergency, the province is primarily responsible for mitigating the offsite effects and coordinating the offsite response. Provincial responsibilities shall be executed by supporting and coordinating the efforts of organizations with nuclear emergency responsibilities as set out in this Provincial Nuclear Emergency Response Plan (PNERP). The PNERP is the foundational document in the response pillar of Ontario’s nuclear emergency program (Figure 1). The other two pillars are the preparedness and the recovery pillars.

The nuclear emergency response terminology used in this document is fully defined in the Provincial Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Framework (PNEPF). This PNERP is operationally focused and is intended for audiences that are already familiar with concepts such as event categorization, provincial offsite response levels, response phases, etc.

This diagram is for visual reference only. See the text below this figure for the full description.


Figure 1 : Nuclear Emergency Program Document Hierarchy

The diagram shows the structure of the Nuclear Emergency Management Program in Ontario, presented in a top-down approach. The program branches into three main components: the Provincial Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Framework, the Provincial Nuclear Emergency Response Plan Framework and the Provincial Nuclear Recovery Operations Plan Framework. Each of these components is linked to a corresponding set of documents: Additional Preparedness Support Documents, Site-Specific Implementing Plans, Additional Response Support Documents, Provincial Nuclear Recovery Operations Plan, and Additional Recovery Support Documents, respectively. 

1.2 Provincial Objective

The province, in the unlikely event of a nuclear emergency, will act to minimize the  impact on public health and safety, property and the environment. To that end, the province will issue operational directives and, in the event of a declared provincial emergency, emergency orders, where warranted and appropriate in alignment with the requirements and criteria outlined in the EMCPA, and as further detailed in this Plan.

1.3 Nuclear Emergency Response Policy

The province has jurisdiction over public health and safety, property, and the environment within its borders. The province’s nuclear emergency response policy (Section 2 ) applies to the province’s capability to manage a nuclear or radiological emergency where supplementary response or assistance by the province is necessary to support the immediate onsite response and to manage offsite consequences of the accident. The policy also applies to support for the province’s nuclear and radiological emergency response capacity generation and capability maintenance. The province’s policy supports nuclear and radiological emergency management with First Nation and Indigenous Communities and their traditional territories.

1.4 Goal of the PNERP

The goal of this PNERP is to provide the basis upon which offsite nuclear emergency response would be undertaken to achieve the province’s aim.

To achieve this goal, the province has adopted guiding principles (Annex A) to direct operational planning and ensure any protective actions taken are justified.

1.5 Scope

This Plan addresses the response to a nuclear emergency occurring at a Nuclear Generating Station (NGS) within Ontario or at the Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Michigan. Along with the contents herein, specifics of response to other nuclear emergencies occurring outside of Ontario and directly impacting the province are covered in the Transborder Implementing Plan (IP). Non-nuclear radiological emergencies are addressed in the Implementing Plan for Other Radiological Emergencies.

The PNERP is designed to align with national and international guidance and best practices including the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the CSA N1600 – General requirements for nuclear emergency management programs.

1.6 Supporting Plans and Procedures

Nuclear emergency plans formulated by ministries, municipalities, operators of reactor facilities and other CNSC licensed facilities, and other agencies and organizations should conform to this PNERP, to contribute to the achievement of the aim detailed in Section 1.2.

Document interdependencies are visualized in Figure 1: Nuclear Emergency Program Document Hierarchy. Specifically, the PNERP interfaces and has interdependencies with the following elements (Annex B ):

  1. NGS-specific Implementing Plans;
  2. Major Organization Plans (provincial ministries and municipalities);
  3. Provincial Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Plan;
  4. Provincial Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Support Plans;
  5. Provincial Nuclear Recovery Operations Plan;
  6. Provincial Nuclear Recovery Operations Support Plans; and
  7. Procedures associated with the above (not in Annex).

1.7 Introduction of New Technologies

PNERP will be reviewed regularly and updated accordingly to ensure that it maintains its applicability in an evolving nuclear radiological environment for a safe, practiced, and prepared Ontario in a nuclear and radiological context. The implementation of new technologies will be tracked and any impact on future editions will be assessed and implemented as required in future revisions.