Manitoba Request for Federal Assistance
Date: June 04, 2021
Classification: Unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch/Agency: EMPB
Issue:
The Province of Manitoba sent a request for federal assistance on May 24, 2021 for the assistance of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Canadian Red Cross (CRC), in the form of health human resource support in various sectors across the province.
Proposed Response:
- The Government of Canada is committed to providing assistance to provinces and territories to protect and support Canadians during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
- Should a province or territory make an official request for federal assistance (RFA), there is a well-established process in place for managing RFAs, through the Government Operations Centre, that includes interdepartmental consultation and coordination as it pertains to resources. Since January 2020, the Government of Canada has supported 84 Requests for Federal Assistance.
- On May 24, the Province of Manitoba requested federal assistance for the support of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Canadian Red Cross (CRC), in the form of health human resource support in various sectors across the province.
- In response to this request, the federal government has deployed 75 medical health human resources including 2 multi-purpose medical assistance teams, lab technicians, federal nurses, and CAF air and medical resources to support in-province and out-of-province critical care patient transfers. Additional personnel are planned for deployment in the coming weeks along with medical and testing equipment. The federal government has also funded the deployment of the CRC to augment or relieve staff within medical care facilities.
- There has been outstanding collaboration between the responding organizations from all orders of government in response to this emergency, and I want to thank all those on the front lines who continue the battle to keep Canadians safe.
Responsive lines
- Emergencies are managed first at the local level. If they need assistance at the local level, they request it from the provinces or territories. If the emergency escalates beyond P/T capabilities, the provinces or territories seek assistance from the federal government.
- The Government of Canada’s 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.
Background:
Since mid-May, due to the third-wave of the pandemic, the Province of Manitoba (the Province) has reported an extremely high number of active COVID-19 cases. The Province is having difficulty managing these cases due to the strained human resource capacity at isolation sites, intensive care units (ICUs) and laboratory sites. Further, the province is experiencing significant impacts to urban vulnerable populations and remote communities, where health care resources are already limited. All provincial, commercial and non-government organization resources have been exhausted and due to the immediacy of the need, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) support would be a force of last resort for the province.
While the Province is leading efforts to battle COVID-19, the Province requires support to relieve the strain on the health care system. On May 24, 2021, the Province sent a Request for Federal Assistance (RFA) for the assistance of the CAF and the CRC to provide support in the form of human health resources (HHR) in various sectors across the province for 4 weeks, until June 22, 2021. Reassessments will occur weekly to determine the continued need.
The request from Manitoba included the following:
- CAF medical resources to augment and/or relieve staff within alternate isolation accommodations;
- CAF medical laboratory technicians to support epidemiology efforts; and
- CAF aeromedical transport for in-province and out of province critical care patient transfers.
In consultation with CAF/SJS, it has been determined that this RFA falls under the provisions of the comprehensive RFA signed by Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of National Defence, which provides the necessary authority for a CAF deployment to support the provision of humanitarian relief to Canadians. CAF have confirmed their capacity to proceed in providing this support to the Province under the comprehensive RFA. The RFA was approved on May 24, 2021.
In response to this request, the federal government has deployed 75 health human resources with another 20 personnel planned for deployment in the coming weeks. The deployments to date include 2 multi-purpose medical assistance teams from the CAF, one which is already in place at an alternate isolation accommodation site in Winnipeg, and the other which is conducting a reconnaissance to determine where it can best provide support. The CAF has also deployed 3 laboratory technologists and air biomedical evacuation capability to support in-province and out-of-province critical care patient transfers. Ontario and Saskatchewan are accepting patients from Manitoba.
In addition, the federal government has funded the redeployment of the CRC to augment or relieve staff within medical care facilities, with the first 6 nurses arriving on May 28. An additional 8 CRC nurses will be deployed over the coming weeks.
Furthermore, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has redirected its 4 epidemiologists who were on site in Manitoba to work on the COVID-19 response, and is in discussions with the Province to determine additional needs for epidemiologists. PHAC is also providing equipment for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to the Province from the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile (NESS). The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) will provide laboratory technicians to support testing, GeneXpert machines, and logistical support for sample movement if needed.
To further support requirements for health human resources, Health Canada has identified 8 ICU nurses and 8 to 10 other nurses for possible deployment.
Finally, Statistics Canada will provide an additional 50 interviewers, for a total of 120 Statistics Canada employees, to help with contact tracing.
Background on Requests for Federal Assistance
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.
The Government of Canada pandemic response provides provinces and territories with 2 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.
There is a well-established process in place for managing RFAs, through the GOC, that includes interdepartmental consultation and coordination of all departments as required. The GOC has established an RFA Secretariat to receive, evaluate, and prioritize all RFAs. The GOC convenes consultation with implicated departments to review RFAs, as required.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Government of Canada has responded to 84 COVID-19-related RFAs.
Contacts:
Prepared by: Evan Mackintosh, COVID Event Team Lead, Government Operations Centre, 613-293-8874
Approved by: Trevor Bhupsingh, Assistant Deputy Minister, Emergency Management and Programs Branch, 613-993-4325
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