TABLE OF CONTENTS

REPORTS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES

AND OTHER COMMITTEES

As Considered by

The Council of the City of Toronto

on March 4, 5, and 6, 1998

EMERGENCY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE

REPORT No. 2

1 Emergency Planning Committee and Emergency By-law for the City of Toronto

2 Other Items Considered by the Committee

City of Toronto

REPORT No. 2

OF THE EMERGENCY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE

(from its meeting on February 10, 1998,

submitted by Councillor Dennis Fotinos, Chair)

As Considered by

The Council of the City of Toronto

on March 4, 5, and 6, 1998

1

Emergency Planning Committee and Emergency By-law

for the City of Toronto

(City Council on March 4, 5 and 6, 1998, amended this Clause by adding thereto the following:

"It is further recommended that the Toronto District Heating Corporation be added to the list of agencies, boards, commissions, corporations and organizations embodied in Bill No. 44, under Part (2), entitled 'Composition of the Committee.' ")

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (February 5, 1998) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services; and that the necessary Bill be introduced in Council to give effect thereto:

Purpose:

This report proposes to replace the existing emergency by-laws of the seven former municipalities with one that is based on the former Metro by-law. A revised emergency plan will be prepared over the next few weeks by the Emergency Planning Committee and may result in revisions of the new By-law.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1) authority be granted to introduce a bill before Council to enact an emergency by-law substantially in the form of By-law No. 31-96 of the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and reflecting structural and organizational changes resulting from the establishment of the City of Toronto; and

(2) the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Chief of Police review the existing municipal emergency plans and report back on a new Emergency Plan for Toronto.

Background:

Municipal emergency planning for Toronto is the responsibility of City Council.

By-law No. 31-96 of the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto provides for the creation and, during emergencies affecting Toronto, implementation of plans that would ensure the provision of necessary services during an emergency. The Police have assumed principal responsibility for coordination of matters under this By-law and would take the lead role in managing an emergency, both at the site and in the Emergency Operations Centre. The By-law also provides for an Emergency Planning Committee that oversees work on an Emergency Plan and provides guidance during an actual emergency.

The Metropolitan Toronto Emergency Plan, created under By-law No. 31-96, provides the framework within which extraordinary measures can be taken to protect the health, safety and welfare of members of the Toronto community in the event of an emergency. The Emergency Planning Committee has also endorsed a five-step approach to emergencies which includes planning, preparedness, response, recovery and review.

The former local municipalities each had emergency by-laws and plans which nested within the framework of the Metro one and set out how each municipality would deal with a more localized emergency.

Comments:

Toronto faces a variety of risks, ranging from natural emergencies such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and ice storms to emergencies resulting from human activities. There are risks associated with the City's airports, rail lines, highways, industries, harbour, subway system, pipelines and major tower buildings. Parts of Scarborough lie within the 10 km planning zone for Pickering under the Province's Nuclear Emergency Plan, which requires Toronto to carry out detailed planning for this zone and to undertake specific preparedness activities.

Emergency preparedness requires that the City be ready at any time to respond to an emergency, and the present by-laws and plans provide for such response. However, municipal amalgamation and restructuring have made some parts of the by-laws and plans ambiguous - for example, they refer to offices and positions which no longer exist. To minimize any potential problems, this situation should be addressed quickly.

The first step is to repeal the existing emergency by-laws and replace them with a new one modelled on the Metro by-law.

The second and equally critical step is to create a new Emergency Plan. This would be basically a revision of the existing Metro Emergency Plan, but should include a review of the existing local municipal emergency plans and incorporation of any elements which remain relevant under the new structure. In emergency response, as in other aspects of municipal life, we can learn from the experiences of other large cities, such as Montreal with its recent ice storm. I understand the Police Chief has some thoughts about a multi-agency approach that might function more effectively than the approach used in the existing plans, and there are undoubtedly other opportunities for revisions presented by the new City structure. These should be explored over the next few weeks, and the resulting new Emergency Plan for Toronto reported to the Emergency and Protective Services Committee. In the interim, the Emergency Plan established under By-law No. 31-96 would continue to serve as the Emergency Plan under the new City by-law, with all modifications required to reflect the City by-law.

Conclusion:

By passing a by-law at its next meeting, City Council will eliminate potential ambiguities in the existing emergency by-laws and help to ensure a smooth and effective response to any emergency. A new Emergency Plan should also be prepared shortly.

Contact Names and Phone Numbers:

Simon B. Chamberlain (392-7404); Karl Druckman (392-4520)

2

Other Items Considered by the Committee

(City Council on March 4, 5 and 6, 1998, received this Clause, for information.)

(a) Public Access Defibrillation Trial (PAD Trial).

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee reports having referred the following communications to the Mayor with the recommendation that he provide a letter to the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre in support of its application to be chosen as a research site in a Public Access Defibrillation Trial:

(i) (January 22, 1998) from Councillor Dennis Fotinos, Chair, Emergency and Protective Services Committee, forwarding a communication (January 16, 1998) from Dr. R. Verbeek, M.D., FRCPC, Medical Director, Defibrillation Program, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, requesting support of an application being submitted by the Centre's Division of Prehospital Care to be chosen as a research site in a Public Access Defibrillation Trial; and recommending that this application be supported;

(ii) (January 29, 1998) from the Director, EMS Operations, Toronto Ambulance, advising that Toronto Ambulance strongly endorses the application by the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre to participate in the PAD Trial; and

(iii) (January 29, 1998) from the Fire Chief addressed to Dr. R. Verbeek, M.D., FRCPC, Medical Director, Defibrillation Program, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, in support of the application by the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre to participate in the PAD Trial.

_________

Dr. Brian Schwartz, Director, Division of Prehospital Care, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, addressed the Emergency and Protective Services Committee in connection with the foregoing matter.

(b) Status of Existing Committees and the Task Force on Community Safety.

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee reports having:

(i) referred the following report to the Co-Chairs of the Task Force on Community Safety and to the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team to review the financial implications of continuing the committees listed therein and to report back to the Emergency and Protective Services Committee; and

(ii) requested that the forthcoming report include information on staff time and other costs related to continuing these committees and that this matter be dealt with in a timely fashion.

(January 27, 1998) from the Acting Commissioner of Emergency and Protective Services recommending that when terms of reference for the new Task Force on Community Safety have been prepared, they be sent to the East York Safety Council, the Emergency Planning Advisory Committee (Metro), the Etobicoke Crime Scope, the Safe City Committee (Toronto), the Safety Council (Etobicoke), and the Taxis on Patrol Committee (Metro), together with a copy of this report, and that each committee be asked to comment on the ongoing need for their work, if any, on their relationship to the Task Force, and on their ongoing staff support needs.

_________

Councillor Rob Davis, York Eglinton, addressed the Emergency and Protective Services Committee in connection with the foregoing matter.

(c) Acquisition of Replacement Ambulances.

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee reports having recommended to the Budget Committee, and Council, the adoption of the following report:

(January 27, 1998) from the Commissioner, Toronto Ambulance, regarding the acquisition of replacement ambulances.

(d) Protocol for Consultation with Community Councils and Agencies, Boards and Commissions.

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee reports having been advised by the Committee Chair that the report requested by the Committee on January 13, 1998, on this matter will be submitted to the Committee at a future meeting.

(e) Fire Vehicle Standardization - 1998 Interim Capital Budget.

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee reports having recommended to the Budget Committee, and Council, the adoption of the following report:

(February 3, 1998) from the Fire Chief regarding Fire Vehicle Standardization - 1998 Interim Capital Budget.

(f) Carbon Monoxide Detectors

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee reports having referred the following communication to the Fire Chief for a report to the next meeting of the Committee scheduled to be held on March 24, 1998:

(January 23, 1998) from Councillor Brian Ashton, Scarborough Bluffs, advising that the recent, terrible tragedy in his Ward that resulted in two deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning has resulted in a call for a by-law requiring carbon monoxide detectors in homes and buildings in the City of Toronto, and recommending that, in the interim:

(1) a campaign be undertaken to promote the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in homes and buildings throughout the City; and

(2) the possible means of making carbon monoxide detectors more affordable be explored with the manufacturers of these devices.

(g) Gun Related Crimes.

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee reports having:

(1) requested the Chief of Police to report back to the Committee on:

(a) the alarming increase of gun related crimes on the streets of Toronto;

(b) a strategy to reduce the proliferation of guns on our streets;

(c) the level of cooperation and commitment of the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in stemming the flow of illegal firearms into our City; and

(d) an overview of programs that have been implemented with success in other cities which have reduced crime, i.e. New York City; and

(2) referred the following motion by Councillor Holyday to Councillor Fotinos, Committee Chair:

"that a special meeting of the Emergency and Protective Services Committee, to be arranged by the Chair, be scheduled to consider the forthcoming report from the Chief of Police."

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee discussed the recent incidents of gun related crimes.

Respectfully submitted,

DENNIS FOTINOS,

Chair

Toronto, February 10, 1998

(Report No. 2 of The Emergency and Protective Services Committee was adopted, as amended, by City Council on March 4, 5 and 6, 1998.)