Requests for Federal Assistance

Date: June 04, 2021

Classification: Unclassified

Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes

Branch/Agency: EMPB

Proposed Response:

Responsive lines

The Government of Canada pandemic response provides provinces and territories with two streams of federal assistance. COVID-19 federal surge capacity requests for federal assistance are managed by Public Safety Canada for emergency management support and the Public Health Agency of Canada for public health support, respectively.

Background:

National COVID-19 response efforts require a whole-of-government approach. It is expected that there will be an increased need for federal assistance as it has become apparent that the COVID-19 response is placing a strain on emergency planning and response organizations across the country.

The intersection of cyclical natural disasters, such as floods, wildfires and forthcoming hurricanes, with the COVID-19 pandemic presents additional unique challenges to Provinces/Territories (PTs), First Nations and municipalities across Canada that are responsible for managing responses to emergencies within their jurisdictions.

Public Safety Canada is working with federal, provincial and territorial partners, through the Government Operations Centre (GOC), to ensure ongoing coordinated responses to COVID-19, natural disasters or other incidents. The GOC is supporting the Public Health Agency of Canada, which is the federal government lead for the response to COVID-19.

Current Deployments

Mobile Health Units (MHU) – CRC Support
A request for assistance for 2 Mobile Health Units (MHUs) arrived January 19, 2021 and was approved on January 22, 2021. The letter requested the deployment of MHUs to augment provincial hospital capacity until May 1, 2021. On April 17, request was extended until June 30, 2021. A letter from the Minister of PS had also been sent to the Minister of PSPC. PSPC worked with Ontario provincial authorities, the MHU Supplier (Weatherhaven), and the 2 hosting hospital corporations, to finalize deployments. One of the MHUs in Toronto (Sunnybrook Hospital) was turned over to the hospital April 06 and received its first patient on April 26. The second MHU in Hamilton is in its final construction phase, ready for an early June opening. MOH has signaled a possible extension to the RFA beyond June 30, 2021.
Ontario LTCF – CRC Support
An extension to the current CRC support to LTCFs until September 30, 2021 was approved on April 1, 2021. CRC is currently active in 3 sites in Ontario.
New Brunswick LTCF – CRC Support
The RFA was approved on April 30, 2021 for CRC to support up to 3 LTCFs, expires June 25, 2021. CRC is currently active in 1 site in New Brunswick.
Vaccine Rollout Task Force – CAF Support
PHAC requested the help of CAF for Vaccine rollout for the National Operations Centre and provision of logistics planning for national vaccine roll-our strategy with a start date of March 1, 2021. An extension was approved to provide this support until October 31, 2021.
Prince Edward Island, Vaccine Rollout - CRC Support
The RFA for CRC support with vaccine rollout was approved March 31, 2021 and expires September 30, 2021. CRC is currently active in 5 sites in PEI.
Ontario, Human Health Resources – CRC Support
Following the RFA approval on April 25, 2021, a CRC proposal was approved April 30, 2021 for CRC to deploy health human resources (HHR) for acute care nurse support. CRC has submitted a proposal under the PS funding agreement to deploy 15 HHR in Ontario. CRC has deployed 14 ICU nurses to Humber River Hospital and to William Osler Hospital. The proposal expires on July 3, 2021.
Ontario, Human Health Resources – Various Federal Departments/ Agencies
An RFA was approved on April 25, 2021 to coordinate HHR supports from various federal departments/agencies, CAF and CRC. Expires June 30, 2021. 
Winnipeg, Manitoba Alternate Isolation Accommodation -  CRC Support
The CRC is operating an Alternate Isolation Accommodation site. Currently, there are 71 individuals isolating at this site. This site is in addition to 2 sites operated by the Province.
Manitoba, LTCF – CRC Support
An RFA for LTCF support was initially approved on November 13, 2020 and the latest extension was approved on April 1, 2021. The RFA will expire on June 30, 2021. Currently, CRC is active in 1 site.
Lac Seul FN, Ontario – CAF Ranger Support
An RFA was approved on May 4, 2021 for CAF Rangers to provide general community support until May 18, 2021. The RFA was extended until June 1, 2021. Currently, there are 6 Rangers active in the community.
Moose Cree FN, Ontario – CAF Ranger Support
An RFA was approved on May 9, 2021 for CAF Rangers until June 7, 2021 to deliver food and supplies, transport residents to isolation sites and support individuals in isolation. Currently, there are 12 Rangers active in the community.
Vaccination rollout, Northern Manitoba – CAF Ranger support
A request for assistance was received on March 9, 2021 and approved the same day. The Rangers were asked to support the vaccine roll out, particularly with logistics, local coordination, and some administrative tasks. CAF remains postured with 7 days’ notice to support the vaccine rollout in up to 23 on-reserve Indigenous communities until June 30 2021.
Comox, British Colombia – CAF Facility
An RFA was approved on March 16, 2021 for the use of CAF facility as a vaccination site until September 30, 2021. There was no request for CAF personnel.
Northwest Territory – CAF Ranger Support
An RFA was approved on May 15, 2021 for CAF Rangers support in flood affected communities until June 25, 2021.
National Sentry Program – CAF Ranger Support
A request was approved on May 19, 2021 for CAF to provide support to the National Sentry Program.
Attawapiskat FN, Ontario – CAF Ranger Support
An RFA was approved on May 21, 2021 until June 18, 2021 for CAF Rangers to support the isolation mandate of the community. Currently, 4 rangers are activated in support of the community.
Fort Albany, Ontario – CAF Ranger Support
An RFA was approved on May 30, 2021 until June 13, 2021 for CAF Rangers to support the isolation mandate of the community.

New Deployments

Manitoba – CAF (May 24 to June 28, 2021) and CRC Support (May 28 to June 25, 2021)
An RFA was approved on May 24, 2021 for CRC and CAF to support health care settings, laboratory operations, and aeromedical transportation in Manitoba. 2 CAF Multi-purpose Medical Assistance Teams (MMAT), 3 Lab Technicians, CAF air and medical resources to support in-province and out-of-province critical care patient transfers, 6 nurses from CRC with ICU and medical surgical experience, and additional resources for vaccine support are in the process of being deployed. A request to PHAC for HHR was also received around the same time. Additional PPE and medical equipment, test and trace capacity, and epi support are being provided by PHAC and Statistics Canada. It is also anticipated that MB may request support in the way of epidemiologists and contact tracers.
Operation Remove Immunity 2.0 – CAF Ranger Support
An RFA is being discussed for CAF Ranger support to provide second dose vaccinations to remote First Nation communities in Ontario. Discussions are still ongoing between CAF and Public Safety and the province.

Past Deployments which have concluded since January 2021

Nain, Newfoundland – CAF Rangers Support
An RFA was received on January 13, 2021 for CAF Rangers to support with transport of vulnerable persons to and from vaccination administration sites. CAF operations concluded on January 17, 2021.
Ginoogaming FN, Ontario– CAF Support
An RFA was received on January 30, 2021 for CAF support to assist the community until Mar 1, 2021, monitoring key infrastructure, delivery of supplies, wellness checks, and Pandemic Health Measures awareness program. The deployment concluded on February 11, 2021.
Garden Hill FN, Manitoba – CAF Support
An RFA was received January 19, 2021 for CAF support. On January 21, 2021, 36 CAF Regular Forces personnel deployed to the community to provide general, and medical support for a period of up to 21 days. The RFA concluded on February 9, 2021.
Hatchet Lake, Saskatchewan – CAF Rangers Support
An RFA was received on November 24, 2020 for CAF Ranger support until January 31, 2021. An extension was approved until Feb 28, 2021. The deployment of 17 Rangers concluded on February 28, 2021.
Fort Nelson, British Columbia – CAF Rangers Support
An RFA was received on January 30, 2021 for CAF Ranger support until March 1, 2021. 6 CAF Rangers arrived on February 5, 2021 to monitor key infrastructure, support delivery of supplies, perform wellness checks, and support the Pandemic Health Measures awareness program. The deployment concluded on March 1, 2021.
Pauingassi FN, Manitoba – CAF Support
An RFA was received on February 5, 2021 for CAF support in transportation assistance, logistics, and wellness checks. The RFA concluded on February 17, 2021.
Muskrat Dam FN, Ontario – CAF Rangers Support
An RFA was received on February 7, 2021 for CAF Rangers to support the response to the failure of critical infrastructure within the community. An RFA extension was received on Feb 16, 2021. CAF withdrew on February 18, 2021.
Cross Lake FN, Manitoba  – CAF Support
An RFA was received for CAF support in integrating into local Emergency Operations Centres, wellness checks, transportation to AIA sites and establishment of additional AIA site, pre-evacuation vitals monitoring, and support to public awareness of health measures. Deployment commenced February 23, 2021 for a total of 14 days. The deployment concluded on March 7, 2021.
Québec LTCF – CAF/CRC Support
An RFA was received April 15, 2020 for CAF to support ongoing efforts to protect the vulnerable residents of LTCFs. Federal support was continued in a transition to non-CAF LTCF relief personnel through the large scale mobilization of teams of CRC volunteers starting on July 3, 2020. A request to extend the RFA until October 31, 2020 was received September 14, 2020 and assistance was approved. An additional request for extension was received on October 27, 2020, and existing presence of the CRC was approved until 31 March, 2021. The deployment concluded  31 March, 2021.  
Fly-In First Nation (FN) Communities, Northern Ontario – CAF Rangers Support
An RFA was received January 21, 2021, and approved on January 24, 2021 for CAF Ranger support to vaccine rollout operations in Northern Ontario until the completion of the vaccination program on March 31, 2021.
PHAC Border Testing, Across Canada – CAF Rangers Support
An RFA was received February 16, 2021 for CAF to facilitate the planning, implementation, and sustainment of testing sites to be established in 16 designated land border crossings until April 9, 2021.
Mathias Colomb FN, Manitoba – CAF Ranger Support
An RFA was received on March 9, 2021 and approved on March 10, 2021. The tasks for the Rangers were to support the vaccine roll out, particularly with logistics, local coordination, and some administrative tasks. The RFA concluded on April 1, 2021.
Windsor-Essex TFW Isolation Site, Ontario – CRC Support
The request for extension until March 31, 2021 was received on January 12, 2021 and approved on January 14, 2021. The RFA concluded on 31 March 2021. The site is now operated by PHAC under its Safe Voluntary Isolation Sites Program (SVISP).
PHAC Border Testing, Across Canada – CAF Ranger Support
An RFA was received on February 16, 2021 for CAF to facilitate the planning, implementation, and sustainment of testing sites to be established in 16 designated land border crossings. The RFA concluded on April 9, 2021.
Tahltan Nation and Dease Lake First Nation, British Colombia – CAF Support 
An RFA was approved on April 21, 2021 for CAF Rangers to support the distribution of supplies. The task was completed within 1 day.  
Non-Medical Support for Testing Operation, Nova Scotia – CAF Support
RFA was received on April 26, 2021 for non-medical support for testing operations. CAF personnel provided general duty to support 6 testing sites. The RFA concluded on May 14, 2021.
Neskantaga FN, Ontario – CAF Ranger Support
An RFA was approved on May 16, 2021 until May 30, 2021 for CAF support for food delivery and water pick-up.
Ontario, Human Health Resources – CAF Support
An RFA was approved on April 25, 2021 for CAF to support Ontario’s provincial healthcare including medical resources to augment medical care facilities, general duty and logistical support, and transportation of civilian healthcare providers in and out of the province. CAF medical personnel were drawn down from the Toronto Sunnybrook Hospital and MHU on May 31 concluding CAF support to this RFA..

Background on Requests for Assistance

A Request for Federal Assistance (RFA) is the formalization of a request to the federal government to provide support in response to an emergency such as a natural disaster, national security incident and/or pandemic like COVID-19. If the Provinces or Territories (P/Ts) assess that the emergency exceeds their capacity and resources to response, they may seek assistance from the federal government to help them fill the gaps to mitigate and respond to an emergency. Additionally, federal organizations may also require resources from their federal partners if their ability to continue to operate and respond to an emergency is beyond their capacity.

When a P/T makes an official RFA, there is a well-established process in place for managing RFAs, through the Government Operation Centre (GOC), that includes interdepartmental consultation and coordination of all departments as required.

When the emergency involves a First Nation (FN) community, FN leadership, depending on relevant emergency management agreements, will work in collaboration with their P/Ts and/or Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) or regional officials, to assess the emergency and propose a response. If a resolution is not possible at the regional level, a request for assistance may be sought.

The GOC coordinates formal RFAs from the federal government and P/Ts and liaises with key organizations such as the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

The GOC has established an RFA Secretariat led by the GOC to receive, evaluate, and prioritize all RFAs. The GOC convenes consultation with implicated departments to review RFAs, as required.

The Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of National Defence have also worked together to ensure a strategic approach for the use of CAF support to COVID-19 and cyclical event response efforts. This coverage will facilitate deployment approvals, preventing delays in timely federal support, but does not eliminate appropriate vetting of requests given the potential high demand for finite resources.

Contacts:

Prepared by: Evan Mackintosh, COVID Event Team Lead, Government Operations Centre, 613-293-8874

Approved by: Deryck Trehearne, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Emergency Management and Programs Branch, 613-991-7728

 

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