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Resolution 6: Strengthening legal frameworks for disaster response, risk reduction and first aid

Report on resolution6:

– Date: 31.07.2019

– Country: Canada

– Type of entity:  National Society

What measures has your National Society taken to support your public authorities to make use of the IDRL Guidelines? Please select the appropriate box below. You can select more than one box.
• Training. / workshop on IDRL
 • Technical assistance (e.g. provided comments on draft law, regulation or policy)
 • Peer to peer exchange (e.g. with other governments and / or National Society)
 Comments / description of activities:
• Technical assistance (e.g. provided comments on draft law, regulation or policy) o Created and shared First Aid Training of Trainers curriculum for IFRC to use widely through a partnership with GFARC
• Peer to peer exchange (e.g. with other governments and / or National Society) o we work very closely with ARC and GFARC in the collection and dissemination of evidence that support the First Aid programs globally, through our activities on SAC and guidelines creation. The Canadian Red Cross recognizes the ongoing engagement of the Canadian government in the promotion of International Disaster Law (IDL) guidelines both in Canada and globally. The Canadian Red Cross participated in the IFRC/Australian Red Cross co-hosted Asia Pacific Disaster Law Field School in Australia in April 2017, where National Societies from South East Asia and the Pacific Regions, along with their corresponding Public Authority participants immersed themselves in key international and regional legal and policy frameworks for disaster risk management, utilizing global tools such as the IDRL Guidelines and the Checklist on Law and Disaster risk Reduction, Minimum Standard Commitments to Gender and Diversity in Emergency Programming for scenario based application, and sharing experiences around best practice of national and local level implementation of law and policy. The Canadian Red Cross acknowledges the support of Canada as a funder of this field school and looks forward to engaging with the Canadian government to apply these frameworks, guidelines and tools to the Canadian domestic context.
On 14-15 March 2018, the National Red Cross Societies of Canada, Mexico and the United States partnered to convene the North American Humanitarian Response Summit (NAHRS) in Washington, DC. The objective of the Summit was to strengthen North American mutual assistance after large-scale disasters or crises, and convened 130 representatives of the three National Societies, government officials as well as other representatives of the humanitarian sector engaged in cross border support. Key action points emerged from the Conference, three of which address specific areas of concern to Disaster Law: 1) the need for pre-qualification/credential recognition of international emergency medical teams and other specialized response personnel; 2) the establishment of a visa waiver process for humanitarian responders; and 3) pre-certification of incoming supplies and equipment. The Summit also led to the creation of the North American Humanitarian Response Initiative (NAHRI), which aimed to further advance the work carried accomplished through NAHRS by creating thematic working groups in the areas of Specialized Teams, Equipment and Supplies, and Accountability to Underserved Populations. In May 2019, representatives of the American and Canadian Red Cross made a presentation on NAHRI and cross-border support to the Principals of the Emergency Management Consultative Group, an intergovernmental platform between Canada and the USA. A presentation on the same topic was also delivered in June to Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management (SOREM), a Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) body that works to harmonize and improve emergency practices across the country. The PER has been developed by CRC in coordination with IFRC over the past 10 years, through Government of Canada support CRC. Achievements in building local and national DRM capacity include: Five RC in Africa
• Emergency response capacity was strengthened to support local and national authorities through, the completion of needs assessment trainings and application in emergencies which reduced the response time from over 5 days to 72 hours. 491 women and 1,346 men were trained for emergency response, and the first responders improved the prioritization of vulnerable groups in the distribution of relief items.
• Enhanced local and national leadership in gender-sensitive emergency response through development of three organizational leadership competency frameworks, the inclusion of women in community response committees in three RC, and the establishment of 12 emergency response policies and operational tools.
• 18 women and 70 men were trained, and two resource mobilization initiatives were started to diversify the income sources for emergency response This was evidenced by an average increase of 39% within the prioritized preparedness for response system components Four RC in Americas
• Emergency response capacity was strengthened to support local and national authorities through the establishment of 16 new emergency operations centres; 134 branches established communication networks with their communities, 67 new emergency response operational tools, policies and procedures were developed, with half of these integrating community engagement and accountability aspects as well as G&D concerns.
• Enhanced the local and national leadership in gender-sensitive emergency response through 772 women and 1,086 men trained in leadership and 294 leaders trained in Gender and Diversity; 8 G&D organizational procedures/policies were developed; 6 new/consolidated partnerships with local feminist and protection organizations; G&D integrated into volunteer courses in two NS.
• Improved ability to mobilize resource for emergency response through training of 137 women and 120 men, which led to 31 business plans developed, 29new/improved income-generating initiatives and 16 new-pre-agreements with partners to mobilize resources during emergencies. This was evidenced by an average increase of 14% across the 5 RC Societies through rating their organizational preparedness for response system.

Has your National Society supported public authorities to use the Checklist on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction to review and strengthen their domestic legal frameworks for disaster risk reduction at the national, provincial and / or local levels? Please select the appropriate box below to describe the support you have provided. You can select more than one box.
• Research project
 Comments / description of activities:
The Canadian Red Cross, in support of the Canadian government, completed a research project and produced a report on the Legal Barriers to Humanitarian Intervention in National Disasters. This report aims to help prepare humanitarian organizations prior to humanitarian intervention in a natural disaster as well as serve as a guide to governments and courts on the steps that can be taken to improve health interventions in natural disaster response. The report highlights that by taking certain proactive steps, and with government support, humanitarian organizations can reduce the impact of these legal barriers in future health interventions. Governments and the judiciary are also encouraged to use this report when developing laws, policies or jurisprudence in the future that may impact the humanitarian response to natural disaster emergencies with the end goal of further supporting the humanitarian efforts of domestic and international organizations. CRC partnered with BRC to test new learning activities in First Aid programs (Skill and Will research) , and have now published (Health Education Journal – SAGE) and begun to implement the findings into our First Aid curriculum

What activities has your National Society undertaken in cooperation with your government towards achieving the goals related to DRR, community resilience and climate change adaptation as set out in the Sendai Framework for DRR, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the outcomes of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (‘Paris Agreement’)? Please select the appropriate box:
• Mainstream DRR across contexts and sectors
 • Engagement and contribution in National/local DRR platforms
 • Support the development and/or Implementation of national DRR plan/strategy
 • Public awareness and public education
 • NS response and preparedness (contingency plans, standard operating procedures, pre-disaster meetings, disaster preparedness stocks)
• Disaster preparedness and contingency policies, plans and programmes
• Preposition disaster preparedness stocks
 • Training & simulation drills
 • Psychosocial support and mental health services
• Livelihoods support
• Please provide more details your activities below:
In May 2016, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and the Canadian Red Cross, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) detailing how the organizations will continue to work together on matters of emergency management and disaster risk reduction. This MOU details how Public Safety Canada and the CRC will collaborate to support Canada’s commitments under the United Nations 2015-30 Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and to advance implementation of resolutions endorsed by Canada at the 32nd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (2015). CRC has engaged in workshops and roundtable discussions which contributed to updating the Emergency Management Framework for Canada, the third edition. The Framework consolidates Federal-Provincial-Territorial collaboration relating to emergency management. In particular, it ensures that the measures put forward by governments are cohesive. The revised Framework aligns with the principles of key international agreements such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and the Paris Agreement on climate change. It also reflects the ever-changing emergency management environment; reinforces an approach focussed on all disaster risks; makes linkages to climate change and sustainability; and recognizes the need for all areas of society to work together to enhance resilience.
Many of the DRR and resiliency concepts have also been applied by the Canadian Red Cross in support of Public Authority responses to major disasters in Canada. For example, following the forest fires in Fort McMurray, Alberta in May 2016. The Canadian Red Cross raised more than $320million and has supported more than 65,000 people with traditional relief assistance using Funds Transfer programing, good distribution and individualized services. Funds were also allocated to provide assistance for a range of recovery activities including support for annual resiliency activities and public artwork; support for residents in the most impacted neighbourhoods including playground restoration; support for risk reduction through the Fire Smart program; recovery programming for youth in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo; psychosocial workshops and education. The Canadian Red Cross also allocated further funds to support community groups and initiatives as well as small businesses to assist with livelihoods recovery.
In preparation for large scale disasters throughout Canada, the Canadian Red Cross in partnership with Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Local Governments have pre-positioned supplies throughout the country including 25,000 cots, 50,000 blankets, 30,000 hygiene kits. PFA program is launching Nationally, we have been piloting this in various community settings with different audiences (disaster impacted, Indigenous, Professional Responders, Schools) this program has a focus on both Individual and community level of resilience, support aspects of psycho-social wellness

• DRR investment and number of people reached through programmes/projects:
The Canadian Red Cross contributes to UNISDR reporting on DRR actions as demonstrated in past Canadian government reports. As the Sendia Monitor is developed, CRC will continue to contribute towards this report and the targets of the Sendai Framework with our Government counterparts.

What steps has your National Society taken to support your public authorities in assessing their existing legal frameworks related to first aid? Please explain: 
CRC has assembled a group of First Aid stakeholders from all the provinces and territories across the country to allow for a conversation around First Aid regulations and Creating Safe Environments through First Aid Education. One of the topics of discussion is around the legal aspects of First Aid, during which stakeholders share commonalities, challenges and opportunities. Furthermore, we have a relationship with Workplace Occupational Health and Safety authorities across the country that is framed as a partnership.
We are committed to support these groups by co-authoring studies or recommendations that help create safer communities.
Leading the work of the IFRC First Aid Guidelines, the CRC has taken a leadership role in helping to disseminate these guidelines to all training Agencies and the Authorities with jurisdiction across Canada through our “Consensus on First Aid science” task force. We will be chairing this group again for the 2020 IFRC First Aid & Education Guidelines.

What steps has your National Society taken to support your public authorities in strengthening their existing legal frameworks related to first aid? Please explain: 
The CRC co-led the process for establishing a National Set of First Aid Education Competencies with the Canadian Standards Association. This new standard will greatly enable jurisdictions to implement a consistent and objective approach to workplace first aid program approvals, and integration into legislation. We are now directly supporting Provincial and territorial OHS regulatory bodies in the adoption of the standard into their regulations CRC is chairing editorial board of the International First Aid Education Journal. A peer reviewed journal dedicated to the sharing of evidence and best practice in the area of the First Aid education Survival behaviours In 2018 we held the second in our series of conferences – International First Aid Education Conference to promote the need for improving the education methodology to improve first aid practice and care outcomes related to first aid. We shared how we can get those trained to have greater confidence which would result in more first aid applications in emergency situations.
Another initiative has been the broadening of our Youth First Aid program in 2018. We now train youth from 9 years old with skills for self-care including first aid, to support them when they are alone for short periods. For those 11 to 15 years, we offer the second step with Babysitting programs, providing skills for caring for others. These programs are starting to grow within our Indigenous communities as part of a foundational step for community first aid at the local level.
We have developed new resources for community training. Our First Aid educational poster series has been translated into a variety of languages beyond our traditional English and French including simplified and traditional Chinese, Hindi and Punjabi to increase the reach of educational resources into a more diverse set of languages to match the variety of spoken languages in the Canadian population.

FULL REPORT