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Ponoka County joins forces with EMLCanada

Ponoka has become one of the first county’s to join forces with Emergency Management Logistics Canada (EMLCanada).

Ponoka has become one of the first county’s to join forces with Emergency Management Logistics Canada (EMLCanada).

EMLCanada is Canada’s first and only emergency management logistics platform that connects emergency management organizations (EMOs) directly with product and service vendors across Canada to improve emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.

“The new Emergency Management System (EML) is a great asset at the time of an emergency to ensure access to vendors and supplies when required,” says protective services coordinator Donna Noble. “It allows collaboration with other municipalities in training and experience. Vendor information is at your fingertips without worrying if contact information is current.”

Founded by Scott Cameron and Pauline Mousseau in July 2020, EMLCanada is about enhancing emergency preparation, response, and recovery. The open platform allows stakeholders to easily find vendors and services, share information, build relationships, and enhance emergency response while saving critical time and money.

“EMLCanada has created a national logistics database to make it easy for emergency management organizations to find what they need, when they need it,” says co-founder Scott Cameron.

EMLCanada provides EMOs with centralized logistics tools and access to local product and service vendors that can fill a critical need during emergencies. EMLCanada also boosts Canadian vendors by profiling local businesses, in regional and national markets, while creating a community of practice that convenes the emergency management sector all in one place.

Cameron’s introduction to emergency management was during the Pine Lake Tornado in 2000, while working as the Executive Director of United Way of Central Alberta.

He coordinated a local committee to ensure a fair and equitable distribution process after realzing that allocating local donations and assets were an issue. Since then, he has been deployed to a number of disaster situations including local floods and toxic spills, and wildfires in northern Alberta.

Ponoka County is not only part of an Emergency Management Partnership with Town of Ponoka, Town of Rimbey and Summer Village of Parkland Beach and it also has representation on the Central Region All Hazard Incident Management Team (CRAHIMT) in Logistics.

With this connection collaboration can be coordinated with other municipalities involved with EML.

“As with most Regional Emergency Management Partnership, the smaller municipalities are normally unable to support an incident on their own and support will come from other agencies within the partnership, mutual aid partners or CRAHIMT,” she says. Adding that the connection to the EML system could be utilized regionally in the partnership with the smaller municipalities encompassed under the partnership and was one of the reasons they decided to get on board.

“Steps to include all the agency partners is ongoing at forthcoming meetings.”