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Many provincial entities relied primarily on email to receive Lesson # 6 – LEVERAGE RELATIONSHIPS WITH
information updates, situation report content, and requests PARTNERS FOR MOBILIZING SUPPORT
for assistance from partners. It was difficult to manage a The best plans are as strong as the relationships that make
large volume of information this way. them work. The importance and value of individual and team
relationships, with tacit centralized support for planning,
Given the high volume of information – official and preparedness and response, therefore, cannot be underestimated.
unofficial – that is generated during events like Dorian,
respondents noted the value in identifying a “single source NSEMO and BCMO have both invested tremendous
of truth” early on and continuing with it during the storm effort in developing plans and processes, and establishing
and response. For example, Environment and Climate relationships with provincial entities, Critical Infrastructure
Change Canada is the official source for current weather (CI) partners, provincial Local Incident Commanders (LICs)
information and forecasts, the Geographic Information and provincial Business Continuity Coordinators (BCCs).
Services group in the provincial government for mapping
and geographical information, Nova Scotia Power for power Given the lack of a centralized support model, business
outage information. The PCC served to aggregate the large continuity and emergency management planning and
volume of information and became the primary source of preparedness largely rely on voluntary compliance and
truth for many agencies. participation of select partners.
Lessons # 5 – EMPHASIZE MENTAL HEALTH IN Entities that frequently collaborate with NSEMO and
CONTINUITY: BUILD CONFIDENCE IN PEOPLE BCMO, update and test plans described few internal issues
TO INVARIABLY BUILD CONFIDENCE IN THE and concerns during the Dorian response.
PLAN
There must be confidence in the personnel executing the When power outages and telecommunication disruptions
derailed business continuity plans, several Local Incident
plan that they are capable and competent to drive local Commanders leveraged their strong relationships positively
decision-making to build confidence that the plan will and productively to accomplish plan objectives during the
invariably work.
response. During the post incident plan updates, these
For the first time, the Incident Command System was ad-hoc solutions have now been incorporated into the
used to deliver a joint provincial emergency management business continuity plans for future incidents.
and business continuity response. There was a high
degree of professionalism, dedication and collaboration Lesson # 7 – BALANCE CRITICAL RESPONSE
PRIORITIES WITH ONGOING BUSINESS.
among the personnel attending the PCC, despite the
physical and mental demands presented by the hurricane. The amount of coordination and effort that goes into
activating a business continuity plan is significant and
A number of respondents noted there must be criteria requires senior leadership support to balance response
to appoint appropriate people with the capacity for priorities with ongoing business.
planning and decision making in stressful situations such Personnel identified in business continuity plans were
as the LIC role. Hence the selection criteria for LICs
have been defined using the provincial Competency sourced from their regular duties, potentially impacting
regular work schedules. Hence throughout the hurricane
Dictionary, whereas documentation for Incident response, it was vital that senior leadership establish
Management Team members focuses more on duties and rapport with their Local Incident Commanders to prioritize
responsibilities.
and address operational issues.
Respondents also noted, whereas organizational Lesson # 8 – BURST THE EXERCISE BUBBLE
attrition, roles and responsibilities were not always
transitioned properly, yet recently assigned personnel There is a need for realistic exercise scenarios in which
resources are limited or competed for by other response
were expected to perform at a high level under duress.
There was also a lack of sufficient personnel trained agencies.
to serve various roles, making prolonged engagement Generally, business continuity planning and resources are intended
in the PCC unsustainable with a single individual. for short term disruptions, for example a building fire. Hence
Members of the IMT must be frequently trained to tabletop exercises scenarios often assume critical factors that may
ensure optimal performance especially after attrition change how the entity responds to a real disruption; or when
periods. exercises re-use “well worn” familiar scenarios, participants are
not stress testing the limits and assumptions in the plans. In major
Organizations participating in disaster response should incidents when the duration is prolonged, recovery estimates are
also be mindful of the negative psychological effects
on personnel who are operating for extended periods unclear, or the assumptions are invalidated, it becomes difficult to
maintain confidence in the plan and the ability to acquire resources
under stressful conditions.
to support persistent high levels of operational readiness.

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