National Security and Public Safety

Areas of Expertise: Emergency Management  •  Organizational Security  •  Health & Safety (for CEO's)  •  Public-Private Partnerships  •  Security & Technology

Managing the H1N1 Flu Threat

In response to the World Health Organizations (WHO) declaration of the first pandemic since 1968, The Conference Board of Canada has established the Pandemic Response Working Group (PRWG) to help Canadian organizations from the public and private sectors improve their ability to respond effectively to the H1N1 pandemic.

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Study Tours

The Conference Board of Canada led a study tour to three of North America’s busiest ports to investigate the impact of supply chain disruptions. This was a one-of-a-kind opportunity to meet with senior leaders involved in port and supply chain security, and to understand better the vulnerabilities facing critical nodes of the global trade network. Site visits included the Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles and Port of Vancouver. More information is available here.

Latest Research

Building Resilience: Being Fair in an Emergency Response

In a security or public safety crisis, those managing the response must ensure all stakeholders are treated fairly. Four principles have been identified to guide decisions on what is fair.

Ensuring stakeholders are treated fairly can be difficult at the best of times. But when a national security or public safety incident occurs, the issue of fairness can become a significant challenge. As tensions run high and resources become scarce, organizations responsible for response and recovery must ensure that all stakeholders, including first responders and victims, are treated fairly. Case studies of national security and public safety incidents in Canada and internationally point to four principles that can guide decisions on what is fair in these circumstances. These principles are efficiency (the efficient allocation of resources and personnel), containment (preventing the creation of new victims), triage (priority for the most seriously injured, but potentially savable, victims), and difference (priority for those who hold positions held or skills that may be of significant value during a response).

Report by Andrew Archibald , Gilles Rheaume
The Conference Board of Canada | 40 pages | December 2009

Building Resilience: Cooperation and Coordination for an Effective Response

Whether a disaster is caused by an ice storm, flood, disease outbreak, or a terrorist attack, a diverse number of stakeholders need to come together to respond to and recover from an incident and to mitigate and prepare for future incidents. To be effective, stakeholders such as first responders, organizations from all levels of government, non-governmental groups, and a multitude of private sector players must be able to cooperate and coordinate through these phases.

Unfortunately, there are many examples—both past and present—where poor cooperation and weak coordination have hampered emergency management. At times, this is simply a result of inexperience in working together. This was witnessed when municipal leaders sought the assistance of the Canadian Forces in response to the 1998 ice storm and Hurricane Juan. It took time for these responders to understand how to work together effectively. While more common in the U.S., we have also seen instances where tension between fire and police services have resulted in confusion and in some cases, distrust.

Despite these kinds of challenges, dedicated and imaginative leadership have fostered a culture of cooperation as opposed to an “us versus them” mentality. Exercises in particular have proven to be effective for building relationships, developing trust, and breaking down the barriers that exist between organizations at all levels. With strong cooperation and coordination between the stakeholders, effective responses can occur—saving lives and preventing further damage to economies, communities, and livelihoods.

Report by Andrew Archibald, Gilles Rheaume
The Conference Board of Canada | 29 pages | April 2009

Effective PPPs to Counter Terror and Secure Trade

The development of public-private partnerships to counter terror and secure trade has received significant attention in recent years. Much of this can be attributed to the growing recognition of the important role that the private sector plays as the owners and operators of the vast majority of critical infrastructure.

This project, commissioned by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Counter Terrorism Task Force, assesses the state of existing public-private partnerships to counter terrorism and secure trade among APEC economies. The final report identifies the challenges, benefits, and future trajectory of these important partnerships as well as actions that can be taken to improve their effectiveness.

For more information on this project please contact:

Andrew Archibald
Research Associate
National Security & Public Safety
The Conference Board of Canada
Telephone: (613)526-3090 ext. 449.
E-mail: Archibald@conferenceboard.ca  

Meet our Team

Front Row: left to right - Deborah Fleck, Bjorn Rutten, Paul Preston, Tracy Campbell
Back Row: left to right - Marianne Fotia, Mary Jane Curren, Andrew Archibald, John Neily, Gilles Rhéaume

Conference Board Works with APEC to Fight Terrorism

Continuing to share insights with the global community, members of the National Security & Public Safety team presented key findings and facilitated discussion on the trends of public-private partnerships to counter terror and secure trade at the Senior Officials Meeting of APEC member economies in Lima, Peru. This one day workshop focused on the development of future steps participants can take to improve the effectiveness of public-private partnerships within their economies.

Andrew Archibald, Research Associate, presented the conclusions from an extensive study of past, current and future public-private partnerships to counter terror and secure trade in the APEC region. Gilles Rhéaume, Vice-President of Public Policy, chaired the event and led the facilitated discussion with the assistance of Andrew Archibald.

The discussion and feedback captured from the workshop will form the basis of a final report outlining opportunities for action to build effective public-private partnerships.

Gilles Rhéaume

Andrew Archibald

Improving Canada's Safety and Security

Members of our National Security and Public Safety team are actively involved in developing and sharing insights that are making Canada safer.

The Centre for National Security has completed research focused on leadership and accountability as it relates to public safety and national security. This new report Building Resilience: Leadership and Accountability draws on case studies of natural disasters, critical infrastructures , disease outbreaks, and terrorist attacks. Download a complimentary copy or contact Deborah Fleck for more information.

Centre for National Security Launches Report on Governance

In recent years Canadians have witnessed the devastating impact of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, pandemics and other threats. As the national security and public safety threats we face evolve, so too does the need for a wide range of private and public organizations—governments, police, corporations and many others—to respond simultaneously to these incidents.

In response to these concerns, the Conference Board has published A Resilient Canada: Governance for National Security and Public Safety. The report is based on research and interviews with individuals who played key roles in the responses to eight disasters over the past decade: the 1997 Red River flood, the 1998 ice storm in Eastern Canada, the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Toronto in 2003, the 2003 blackout in Ontario and the north-eastern United States, the effects of Hurricane Juan on Atlantic Canada in 2003, the 2005 London transit bombings, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

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