Provinces Agree on Common Search and Rescue Criteria

EMERGENCY MEASURES ORGANIZATION--Provinces Agree on Common Search and Rescue Criteria

The provinces and territories have agreed on common criteria for ground search and rescue (GSAR) training and proficiency standards. The common criteria were announced today, Sept. 12, as members of the National Ground Search and Rescue Council of Canada met in Halifax.

The council is composed of directors responsible for ground search and rescue in their provincial or territorial governments.

"The new agreement will make it easier for us to work together," said Mike Lester, council chair and executive director of the Nova Scotia Emergency Measures Organization. "It will reduce the reinvention of the wheel, improve service to the public and make mutual aid less confusing."

Following Sept. 11, 2001, Canadian provinces and territories recognized the need for closer ties and united efforts to respond to emergency situations. The common criteria will form the basis for certification of the skills of GSAR workers across Canada, and for mutual assistance agreements. The standards will provide greater recognition of the skills and efforts of police agencies and volunteers in what has become a diverse field of emergency response.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and Parks Canada have participated in the development of these criteria, along with technical representatives from the provinces and territories. The project was facilitated by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat.

Each province and territory is responsible for ground search and rescue -- searching for lost people on land -- within its own borders. The activity is conducted by the police and trained volunteers. Many volunteers are highly trained and committed and are considered search and rescue specialists. Volunteers come from all walks of life, including emergency service professions and technical and administrative fields.

Training for GSAR can involve special searching techniques, the analysis of behaviour of lost people, emergency medical treatment, satellite navigation techniques, the use of specialized gear and many other skills.

NOTE: Following is a backgrounder on the development of the search and rescue criteria.

BACKGROUNDER

The three kinds of search and rescue in Canada are air, marine and ground. Air and marine search and rescue are the responsibility of the departments of National Defense and Fisheries and Oceans (Canadian Coast Guard). Ground search and rescue is the responsibility of each province and territory.

Police forces are the operational authorities that carry out ground search and rescue (GSAR) missions. Police use GSAR volunteers, but in different ways, depending on the way in which a volunteer system is structured in the province or territory.

Volunteers are used in different ways because of the lack of common standards for GSAR volunteers. Many GSAR volunteers are highly skilled and effective. However, police cannot rely on volunteers whose skills are unknown. Therefore, standards are needed. Provinces and territories each have these systems but are at different stages of evolution and are not related nationally.

The Criteria

• Criteria come in three levels: basic, advanced and management.
• Criteria also come with a common set of terms and principles.

The Purpose

• Define GSAR and enable national identity for GSAR;
• Identify necessary common skills and focus training;
• Permit mobility of volunteers (known skills are transferred);
• Enable mutual assistance agreements;
• Create a national pool of skilled emergency personnel;
• Create a large base for corporate, academic and political attention; and
• Create a precedent for future trans-provincial/territorial discussions and agreements on GSAR.

The Project

• It's a three-year project with funding from the new Search and Rescue Initiatives Fund, administered by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat.
• Total project cost is $138,000.
• Participants include: Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, RCMP, Ontario Provincial Police, Parks Canada and the National Search and Rescue Secretariat.
• The project was developed over six years, including two meetings per year, work exchanges between meetings and an earlier effort to produce national GSAR standards.
• The project's key elements are discussion and co-operation among the jurisdictions.

The National Ground Search and Rescue Council of Canada

• The council is composed of representatives from each provincial/territorial government department or agency responsible for search and rescue.
• The current chair is Mike Lester, executive director of Nova Scotia's Emergency Measures Organization.
• There are 13 voting members and three non-voting members. Non- voting members are from the RCMP, the National Search and Rescue Secretariat and the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada.
• The secretary of the council is from the National Search and Rescue Secretariat.
• The mission of the National Ground Search and Rescue Council of Canada is to enhance the delivery of ground search and rescue programs in Canada through the co-ordinated development of GSAR policies and programs.
• The council meets twice yearly and corresponds electronically between meetings.
• Other issues currently before the council include a national GSAR information system, discussions with Ottawa on a national search and rescue management system, and impending changes to the radio communications spectrum that will affect GSAR volunteers.