10. Community Resilience & Emergency Preparedness
Why This Matters
Recent severe weather is a reminder that resilience is not only about pipes and pavement. Residents need clear information, reliable communication, practical preparedness, and confidence that vulnerable neighbours will not be forgotten when something goes wrong.
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I want Ward 6 to be better prepared for severe weather, flooding, power disruptions, and other emergencies by strengthening communication, encouraging household preparedness, supporting neighbourhood-level connections, and making sure City emergency planning reflects the needs of seniors, people with disabilities, and other residents who may need additional help.
What City Hall Can Do
Municipal emergency planning, public communication, and local preparedness are City responsibilities, while utilities, first responders, and other governments also have important roles.
Who Needs to Be Involved
City emergency management, fire, police and EMS partners, utilities, community organizations, residents, seniors/disability organizations and other levels of government as required.
Cost and Funding
Better communication, education and neighbourhood preparedness can be relatively low-cost; equipment, infrastructure or expanded emergency services can be much more significant and require formal costing.
Existing emergency-management and communications budgets, capital budgets for infrastructure, and provincial/federal emergency-preparedness or resilience funding when available.
What I Will Do
After-action review recent severe-weather lessons, identify communication and vulnerable-resident gaps in Ward 6, promote household preparedness, and ensure those gaps are reflected in City emergency planning and budget discussions.
My Action Plan
Ask for a Ward 6 lessons-learned review from recent severe-weather and emergency events: communications, power outages, flooding, blocked roads, vulnerable residents, pet needs, and continuity of essential services.
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2. Identify how residents currently receive emergency information and where the gaps are - especially seniors, people with disabilities, people without reliable internet/mobile access, and residents who may need extra time or assistance.
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3. Promote simple household and neighbourhood preparedness: emergency contacts, medication and mobility planning, pet plans, basic supplies, knowing neighbours who may need help, and understanding official alert channels.
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4. Encourage community organizations, apartment/condo managers, schools and local businesses to know their roles and how to connect with City emergency systems rather than improvising relationships during a crisis.
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5. Advocate for infrastructure resilience through the normal capital plan - drainage, backup power where justified, communications, trees, roads and facilities - based on risk and service continuity.
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6. After major incidents, ask publicly: what worked, what failed, what changed? Emergency plans should be living documents, and residents deserve to know that lessons are translated into action.