Canadian Core Capabilities List

About the Canadian Core Capabilities List

The Canadian Core Capabilities List (CCCL) is a list of 38 emergency management (EM) capabilities endorsed by the Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management (SOREM) on June 20, 2019 to support initiatives which advance the Emergency Management Strategy for Canada: Toward a Resilient 2030 (EMS or "EM Strategy"), including the National Risk Profile (NRP). An initial 2021-2022 Interim Action Plan to commence implementation of the EM Strategy was approved by Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) Ministers in March 2022. It references the value of Capability-Based Planning (CBP), supported by the CCCL, as an evidence-informed process for reducing risk and building resilience.

CBP for EM respects jurisdictional boundaries while increasing interoperability and supports a more integrated planning approach to priorities within Canada. The CCCL was co-developed by FPT governments and captures a comprehensive range of functions within the EM system across the five EM Strategy priority areas.

Each entry of the CCCL is associated with the priorities of the EMS and can be linked with one or more of the four pillars of the Emergency Management Framework for Canada (EM Framework): prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

The five priority areas of the EM Strategy are:

This strategic planning approach addresses uncertainty in the risk environment, by creating a common framework for measuring, coordinating, and mobilizing resources.

The CCCL Reference Guide

The following table provides an overview of each of the 38 CCCL entries.

Capability

EM Strategy Priority Area

EM Framework Pillar(s)

CCCL Definition

Whole-of-Society Interoperability

Priority 1

All

To develop shared interoperable standards, guidelines and competencies for emergency management (EM) in Canada.

Whole-of-Society Governance

Priority 1

All

To establish and maintain a whole-of-society governance structure to advance the resilience of the emergency management system in Canada.

Whole-of-Society Collaboration

Priority 1

All

To jointly enhance resilience together with all sectors of society.

Indigenous Collaboration

Priority 1

All

To jointly enhance resilience with Indigenous peoples, built on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership as the foundation for transformative change.

Risk Assessments

Priority 2

All

To collect, process, assess potential threat, hazards, risks, resilience, vulnerability, capabilities and associated impact factors.

Intelligence Information Sharing

Priority 2

Prevention/Mitigation and Preparedness

To share timely, accurate and actionable knowledge and information concerning threats or hazards among EM Partners as appropriate.

Hazard Monitoring and Early Warning

Priority 2

Prevention/Mitigation and Preparedness

To provide hazard monitoring, prediction, forecasting, modeling and early warnings.

Public Information and Awareness

Priority 2

Prevention/Mitigation and Preparedness

To deliver timely, current, and accurate public information and awareness to all sectors of society.

Critical Infrastructure Resilience

Priority 3

Prevention/Mitigation and Preparedness

To take actions to increase resilience of critical infrastructure assets and networks.

Property Resilience

Priority 3

Prevention/Mitigation and Preparedness

To take actions to increase resiliency of public and private property to effectively support the needs of all sectors of society.

Public Infrastructure Resilience

Priority 3

Prevention/Mitigation and Preparedness

To take actions to increase resiliency of public and private property to effectively manage risk transference due to climate impacts and other factors. 

EM Planning

Priority 3

All

To develop, validate, and maintain emergency management, continuity of government, and business continuity plans.

Security and Interdiction

Priority 3

Prevention/Mitigation and Preparedness

To identify, discover, locate, halt, intercept, apprehend or secure critical threats to all sectors of society.

Structural Risk Reduction Measures

Priority 3

Prevention/Mitigation

To adapt, eliminate or reduce the risk of disasters through structural mitigation measures (e.g. construction of floodways and dykes, fire break), taking into consideration best practices in design, and applying projected climate data where relevant.

Non-Structural Risk Reduction Measures

Priority 3

Prevention/Mitigation

To adapt, eliminate or reduce the risk of disasters through non-structural mitigation measures (e.g. building codes, land-use planning, fire smart protocols), taking into consideration best practices in design, and applying projected climate data where relevant.

Natural Environment Risk Reduction Measures

Priority 3

Prevention/Mitigation

To adapt, eliminate or reduce the risk of disasters through the use of naturally occurring resources or engineered use of natural resources (e.g. restoration/protection of wetlands, fuel management, urban forests), taking into consideration best practices in design, and applying projected climate data where relevant.

Emergency Public Alerting

Priority 4

Response

To rapidly issue information regarding immediate threats or hazards to life safety, as well as the protective actions to be taken.

Emergency Evacuation and Transportation

Priority 4

Response

To provide transportation, including infrastructure access and accessible transportation services, for response priority objectives, including the evacuation of people and animals and the delivery of vital response personnel, equipment, and services into the affected areas.

Operational Safety and Security

Priority 4

Response

To ensure a safe and secure operating environment for responders.

Specialized Response Resource - Disaster Search and Rescue

Priority 4

Response

To support and or deliver and sustain search and rescue capability needs in impacted areas.

Specialized Response Resource – HAZMAT / CBRNE   

Priority 4

Response

To support and or deliver and sustain Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT)/ Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) capability needs in impacted areas.

Specialized Response Resource - Flooding

Priority 4

Response

To support and or deliver and sustain water management capability needs in impacted areas.

Specialized Response Resource – Wildland Interface Fire

Priority 4

Response

To support and or deliver and sustain wildland and interface fire capability needs in impacted areas.

Public Health and Emergency Medical Services

Priority 4

Response

To provide rapid lifesaving medical services to reduce illness, injury and death.

Operational Coordination

Priority 4

Response

To establish and maintain coordinated disaster management and operational structures that integrates all EM partners at all levels (e.g. emergency operations centres (EOC), emergency coordination centres (ECC), and site).

Operational Communications

Priority 4

Response

To ensure the means and capacity for timely communication in support of operations among and between all EM partners.

Emergency Legal and Financial Advice

Priority 4

Response

To provide legal and/or financial analysis and support to EM Partners as appropriate.

Emergency Logistics

Priority 4

Response

To deliver essential commodities, equipment, and services in support of impacted communities (e.g. power, fuel, water, and basic food items).

Emergency Social Services

Priority 4

Response

To provide short-term social services to the affected or displaced populations (i.e. emergency lodging, food, clothing, personal services, registration and inquiry, reception centre).

Fatality Management Service

Priority 4

Response

Provide fatality identification management and reunification solutions for impacted communities.

Training and Education

Priority 4

Response

To conduct training, certification and education to improve the performance, knowledge and interoperability of relevant EM Partners.

Exercising

Priority 4

Response and Preparedness

To validate plans and procedures through simulated scenarios to assess emergency activities of relevant EM Partners.

Critical Infrastructure Restoration

Priority 4

Recovery and Response

To stabilize and restore critical infrastructure functions, with an emphasis to reducing future risk.

Psychosocial Health

Priority 5

Recovery

To provide crisis and behavioral health support for affected persons, with an emphasis to reducing future risk.

Environmental Restoration

Priority 5

Recovery

To restore environmental resources in a way that is consistent with communities and cultural priorities in order to reduce future risk in compliance with relevant legislation.

Cultural Restoration

Priority 5

Recovery

To restore cultural and historical resources in a way that is consistent with communities and cultural priorities in order to reduce future risk in compliance with relevant legislation.

Economic Recovery

Priority 5

Recovery

To return economic and business activities to an acceptable level of functioning, with an emphasis to reducing future risk.

Property Recovery

Priority 5

Recovery

To implement public and private property to effectively support the needs of the whole community and contribute to its sustainability and reducing future risk.

Resources to help improve understanding of disaster risk in Canada

Contact Us

For more information about the Canadian Core Capabilities List, email: nrp-pnr@ps-sp.gc.ca.

Date modified: