Calgary鈥檚 mayor, Naheed Nenshi, joined emergency managers, public servants and Dalhousie researchers and students last week for a round table themed Leadership in a Crisis.听
The talk was hosted at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance on December 6, the centennial anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.听
Speaking to guests via video conference, Nenshi discussed the emergency management challenges that his government faced during the 2013 Alberta floods.听
The floods displaced more than 100,000 people and cost over $6 billion in damage losses and recovery costs.
Nenshi stressed the importance of communication, reassurance, and community goodwill during crises like these.听 聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 our job as public servants, at a time like this, when people feel like they鈥檝e lost their entire life, to make sure that we鈥檙e there to remind them that they live in a community,鈥� said Nenshi. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to help them get back their lives.鈥�
The importance of leadership
Attendees at the event included representatives from Halifax Water, The Public Health Agency of Canada, Nova Scotia Health Services Emergency Management, and students from Public Administration, Business, and Environmental Studies.听聽
With many working and studying in the field of emergency management, the need for prepared mayoral leadership was not lost on the audience.听聽
鈥淐ommunication and coordination under good leadership play the key role in reducing damages during an emergency,鈥� said Farzana Karim, a Master鈥檚 student in Environmental Studies and one of the attendees at Wednesday鈥檚 round table.听
鈥淭he story of the people of Calgary鈥檚 response and their willingness to help flood-affected people touched my heart,鈥� Karim said. 鈥淚 believe that the mechanism that Alberta applied during the 2013 flood and the measures they are working with could be an important lesson for other provinces.鈥�
Learning the lessons of the past
With dozens of Halifax Explosion memorials and events taking place this past week in the City of Halifax, organisers at the MacEachen Institute focussed on the need to use these events as learning opportunities.听
鈥淥ur role at the Institute is to bring together policy makers, planners and academics, and provide them with an opportunity to exchange views about complex problems, and hopefully gain insights from each other鈥� said Dr. Kevin Quigley, Scholarly Director of the MacEachen Institute. 鈥淭he centennial of the Explosion gives us the opportunity to reflect on important emergency management issues.鈥�
It鈥檚 a sentiment expressed by Nenshi as well.听
鈥淣o matter how much we think we have control over the world in which we live, that鈥檚 nature鈥� said Nenshi. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the kind of world that we have to be ready for as public servants, as people who are concerned about emergency preparedness, who are concerned about resiliency, who are concerned about ensuring that we keep our citizens safe every single day.鈥�