The already close relationship between Australian and Canadian emergency and disaster personnel is deepening further with a new partnership between our two countries.
Minister for Emergency Management, Kristy McBain, and High Commissioner for Canada to Australia, Dr Julie Sunday, today signed a Joint Declaration of Intent between Australia's National Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada.
The signing was part of series of activities coinciding with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to Australia.
The Declaration builds on several memoranda of understanding (MOU) that already exist between Australia and Canada, covering resource-sharing for wildfire management, and cooperation on emergency management and disaster risk reduction.
Areas of cooperation covered by the partnership include:
- Preparedness through targeted information-exchanges, with an initial focus on national warning systems and crisis communications.
- Strengthening respective emergency response mechanisms, through continued sharing of information on emergency management operations and best practices in response and coordination.
- Emergency management capability enhancement through sharing of training, exercise, and leadership development resources, as well as exploring an operational staff exchange program.
- Strengthening community resilience by collaborating in research and innovation. This includes bringing together world-leading expertise to drive research projects that inform disaster resilience policy and program design, training and development programs, enhanced procurement mechanisms, and advancements in shared technological areas of interest, including artificial intelligence.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain
"From bushfires to floods, Australia and Canada share many similarities when it comes to our experience with natural disasters.
"And with the impacts from climate change growing, so too is the importance of our partnership as we prepare for and respond to more severe events.
"We have an opportunity to share our experiences from recent disaster events to further build on emergency management capability.
"The relationship between Canada and Australia is one of our most special and enduring, and when one of us needs help the other is always among the first to come to their aid.
"Already this year we have had Canadian firefighters and emergency managers deploy to Australia to assist with our bushfires in Victoria, which came just months after 300 Australians travelled there to assist them.
"Australia and Canada's emergency and disaster management personnel have a wonderful relationship built on shared experiences and mutual respect and this partnership will continue to build that relationship."
