Preparing for the Unexpected:Government of Canada Response to

Natural Disasters Abroad

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Objectives of Canadian Humanitarian Action

1. To meet needs: save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity;

2. To ensure a coherent, coordinated and timely humanitarian response;

3. To ensure consistency with international legal obligations and principles; and

4. To support effective disaster risk reduction efforts (prevention, preparedness, mitigation, etc.).

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Conditions Required for a Government of Canada Response

1. Request for international assistance from the government of the affected country

2. Needs assessments and appeals by professional humanitarian actors

3. Trusted and experienced partners Appeals from trusted humanitarian partners Can fund UN, Red Cross or Canadian international

NGOs No funding directly to other governments

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Government of CanadaProcedures and Mechanisms

Government of Canada Standard Operating Procedures in Response to Natural Disasters Abroad (“the SOPs”)

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) is the Government of Canada’s policy and operational lead on natural disaster risk reduction and response

Standing Interdepartmental Task Force on Natural Disasters Abroad, convened and chaired by DFAIT

24/7 stand-by and response capacity

After-action reviews

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Government of Canada Humanitarian Response Toolkit

Cash contributions in response to appeals

Deployment of Canadian technical experts

Deployment of relief supplies

Canadian Forces assets Other special measures

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Civil-military Coordination in Humanitarian Action

• GoC Guidelines for Humanitarian Action and Civil-Military Coordination (based on Oslo Guidelines)

• Military assets a last resort for humanitarian action in support of civilian actors

• NOT the primary mandate of the Canadian Forces (CF)

• Most commonly used CF tool: airlift for relief supplies to the Red Cross Movement

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Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)

• Composition: 200+ CF personnel

• Capabilities: Produce potable water and provide primary medical care (not trauma care)

• Provides a stabilization measure against the primary effects of disasters, such as earthquakes

• Prevents the rapid onset of secondary effects of the disaster, such as water-borne disease

• Gains time for civilian domestic or international humanitarian aid to facilitate long-term recovery

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Criteria for a DART Deployment

• In response to a catastrophic natural disaster, where water and health have been identified as needs

• Request from government of the affected country

• Permissive environment required

• As a last resort, where no civilian alternative exists – deployed only four times in its history

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Recent Use of CF Assets in Natural Disaster Responses

• Haiti (Sept. 2008) – Canadian frigate transported relief supplies to affected areas, on behalf of WFP

• US – Hurricane Gustav (Sept. 2008) – CF airlift used to evacuate US citizens from Louisiana

• China – Sichuan Earthquake (May 2008) – CF airlift delivered 700 tents to the Chinese Red Cross

• Burma – Cyclone Nargis (May 2008) CF airlift delivered 2,000 emergency shelter kits to the Burma Red Cross; CF arranged for the transport of 4 WFP helicopters from Ukraine to Bangkok