Provincial Jurisdiction Research Articles

The rise and fall of dental therapy in Canada: a policy analysis and assessment of equity of access to oral health care for Inuit and First Nations communities

BackgroundInequality between most Canadians and those from Inuit and First Nations communities, in terms of both access to oral health care services and related health outcomes, has been a long-standing problem. Efforts to close this equity gap led to the creation of dental therapy training programs. These programs were designed to produce graduates who would provide services in rural and northern communities. The closure of the last dental therapy program in late 2011 has ended the supply of dental therapists and governments do not appear to have any alternative solutions to the growing gap in access to oral health care services between most Canadians and those from Inuit and First Nations communities.MethodsA policy analysis of the rise and fall of the dental therapy profession in Canada was conducted using historical and policy documents. The analysis is framed within Kingdon’s agenda-setting framework and considers why dental therapy was originally pursued as an option to ensure equitable access to oral health care for Inuit and First Nations communities and why this policy has now been abandoned with the closure of Canada’s last dental therapy training school.ResultsThe closure of the last dental therapy program in Canada has the potential to further reduce access to dental care in some Inuit and First Nations communities. Overlaps between federal and provincial jurisdiction have contributed to the absence of a coordinated policy approach to address the equity gap in access to dental care which will exacerbate the inequalities in comparison to the general population. The analysis suggests that while a technically feasible policy solution is available there continues to be no politically acceptable solution and thus it remains unlikely that a window of opportunity for policy change will open any time soon.ConclusionIn the absence of federal government leadership, the most viable option forward may be incremental policy change. Provincial governments could expand the scope of practice for dental hygienists in the hope that it may support enhanced access, consumer choice, and efficiency in the delivery of oral health care to Inuit and First Nations communities in Canada.

Fragmentary provisions for uncertainty disclosure and consideration in EA legislation, regulations and guidelines and the need for improvement

The consideration and disclosure of uncertainties is fundamental to a credible EA process, but little is known about the nature and type of requirements and guidance available to proponents, practitioners and decision makers about how to deal with uncertainties. This paper examines the provisions for considering and disclosing uncertainties in EA. Methods are based on a comparative review of uncertainty provisions in EA legislation, regulations and guidance documents under Canadian federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions. Results show 10 types of provisions applied at different stages of the EA process with considerable jurisdictional variability and incoherence. The most common provision was that decision makers can request that project proponents provide more information, followed by the preparation of contingency plans, and that practitioners document their assumptions about data reliability. Most of these provisions were found in guidelines, versus legislation or regulations; and most addressed impact management, with very few provisions for addressing uncertainty during EA review and decision making. Current practices of uncertainty (non)disclosure and (non)consideration in EA can be explained, in part, by the superficial nature and limited extent of the requirements and guidance made available to EA practitioners, proponents, and decision makers. The existing requirements placed on proponents and practitioners to disclose and consider uncertainties are necessary, but insufficient. Stronger, more coherent and transparent requirements for those tasked with EA review and decision making to consider uncertainty information when disclosed, and the development of practical guidance on how to do so, are needed.

Reconsidering Red Chris: Federal Environmental Decision-Making after MiningWatch Canada v Canada (Fisheries and Oceans)

This chapter considers the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in MiningWatch Canada v. Canada (Fisheries and Oceans) 2010 SCC 2 (also known as “Red Chris”) through the lens of a fictional re-hearing. An intervenor has requested the Court to further explore the constitutional and administrative law issues left unresolved by Justice Rothstein in his judgment on behalf of the Court. Specifically, the analysis focuses on the constraints, if any, on federal decision-making upon receipt of an environmental assessment of a project whose effects transcend federal and provincial jurisdiction. Reiterating the distinction between legislating with respect to a subject on the one hand, and decision-making pursuant to that legislation on the other, the analysis suggests that arguments seeking to constrain federal environmental decision-making are primarily political, rather than constitutional, in nature.

A Policy Brief: Prolonged Precarious Status in Canada

The scope, frequency, and intensity of the recent reforms to Canadian immigration, refugee, and citizenship policies have made the process of gaining access to permanent status in Canada lengthier, more complicated, and more onerous with little opportunity to appeal or review denied applications. The current federal government has an ambitious roadmap outlined for the immigration, refugees and citizenship portfolio. The one-day workshop titled “Prolonged Precarious Status in Canada: Generating policy directions for the new federal government” sought to provide concrete policy recommendations to the new Minister as he responds to his mandate. Twelve experts selected on the basis of their scholarship and engagement with policy makers, civil society organizations, and the broader community found that the problem of prolonged precarious status in Canada touches upon two broad categories of persons: persons with temporary residence (mainly temporary migrant workers, refugees and refugee claimants) and persons with no status (ascribed by the state designating their entitlement to rights and access to services). Their recommendations are divided into three broad categories: revisions, repeals, and proposed additions to current policies. All experts noted that policy action must involve meaningful consultations with activists, labour unions, and civil society organizations, alongside a variety of governmental bodies across municipal, provincial, and federal jurisdictions. There is consensus that current migration management involves a greater but concerning reliance on temporary status and that such reliance leads to abuse, exploitation, family separation, and contributes to racialized and criminalized misinformation about migrants. This policy brief calls for a systemic approach to not only reviewing temporary and precarious status in Canada, but also recommends that permanent status should be used more.

Review of marine recreational fisheries regulations in Argentina

The effects of recreational fishing on marine stocks and ecosystems have raised global concern in recent years. In Argentina, Southwest Atlantic, angling, netting and spearfishing of coastal bony fishes, sharks, rays and chimaeras are very popular pastime activities with more than 50 years of history. Despite the perceived traditional and economic relevance of these activities in the country, marine recreational fisheries were largely unregulated, and no official fisheries monitoring programs at the national level have been ever put in place. Except for a few particular systems for which some catch-and-effort data were collected by research institutions and non-governmental organizations, no comprehensive surveys aimed at describing the ecological, social or economic aspects of these fisheries have been made. Here, an updated review of the regulations in place for marine recreational fisheries along the Argentine coastline is presented. Of the five coastal provinces encompassing ca. 8400km and about 20 latitude degrees (~36°S to 55°S) of coastline, only Buenos Aires province has a thorough legislation for its whole territory, which includes 15 protected areas. In the remaining provinces, the regulations for marine recreational fisheries are limited to a few protected areas (seven out of 37 coastal areas under provincial, national or shared jurisdiction). This lack of legislation encourages alleged recreational fishers to develop small-scale commercial fishing operations that are neither controlled nor monitored as such, contributing to the overexploitation of some key coastal stocks.

Internationally educated nurses in Canada: predictors of workforce integration

BackgroundGlobal trends in migration accompanied with recent changes to the immigrant selection process may have influenced the demographic and human capital characteristics of internationally educated nurses (IENs) in Canada and in turn the assistance required to facilitate their workforce integration. This study aimed to describe the demographic and human capital profile of IENs in Canada, to explore recent changes to the profile, and to identify predictors of IENs’ workforce integration.MethodsA cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational survey design was used. Eligible IENs were immigrants, registered and employed as regulated nurses in Canada. Data were collected in 2014 via online and paper questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the data by year of immigration. Logistic regression modeling was employed to identify predictors of IENs’ workforce integration measured as passing the licensure exam to acquire professional recertification and securing employment.ResultsThe sample consisted of 2280 IENs, representative of all Canadian provincial jurisdictions. Since changes to the immigrant selection process in 2002, the IEN population in Canada has become more racially diverse with greater numbers emigrating from developing countries. Recent arrivals (after 2002) had high levels of human capital (knowledge, professional experience, language proficiency). Some, but not all, benefited from the formal and informal assistance available to facilitate their workforce integration. Professional experience and help studying significantly predicted if IENs passed the licensure exam on their first attempt. Bridging program participation and assistance from social networks in Canada were significant predictors if IENs had difficulty securing employment.ConclusionsNurses will continue to migrate from a wide variety of countries throughout the world that have dissimilar nursing education and health systems. Thus, IENs are not a homogenous group, and a “one size fits all” model may not be effective for facilitating their professional recertification and employment in the destination country. Canada, as well as other countries, could consider using a case management approach to develop and tailor education and forms of assistance to meet the individual needs of IENs. Using technology to reach IENs who have not yet immigrated or have settled outside of urban centers are other potential strategies that may facilitate their timely entrance into the destination countries’ nursing workforce.

Job Satisfaction: Insights from Home Support Care Workers in Three Canadian Jurisdictions.

This mixed-methods study identified the personal and workplace characteristics that drive the job satisfaction of home support workers (HSWs) providing assistance to elderly clients. Data were based on a standardized measure of job satisfaction, along with in-depth qualitative interviews with 176 home support workers from three Canadian provincial jurisdictions (British Columbia, n = 108; Ontario, n = 28; Nova Scotia, n = 40). We anticipated that variability in demographic profiles between the three groups of workers and different job descriptions would be associated with differences in perceived job satisfaction. This was not the case. Results from the qualitative analysis highlight key areas that contributed to job satisfaction. These are job (scheduling, travel, and safety), economic (income security), and organizational (communication, support, and respect) factors. Given these findings, we recommend improvements to workplace communication, increased travel time allowance between clients, and wage parity with equivalent positions in long-term care facilities.

Aboriginal Workplace Integration in Northern Canada

Economic development requires skilled labour yet Indigenous people face persistent educational and labour market challenges across northern Canada. Systemic problems are widely known and relate to political funding cycles, short-term programming, and the lack of collaboration among key stakeholders. Such barriers are not only consistent across northern territorial and provincial jurisdictions, but they are widely known and well-documented. Research and stakeholder interviews suggest that barriers to education and successful transition to the labour market are a result of disjointed and short-term educational and skills-training programs that do not recognize the importance of fully supporting the learner, their families, and their communities. This paper identifies and examines best practices aimed to close the gap between education and skills training to meet successful long-term employment goals. Specifically, we suggest that using a holistic approach to training could help to advance economic development goals that promote Aboriginal participation in the market economy.

Cancer mortality in Yukon 1999–2013: elevated mortality rates and a unique cancer profile

ABSTRACTBackground: Although cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada, cancer in the North has been incompletely described.Objective: To determine cancer mortality rates in the Yukon Territory, compare them with Canadian rates, and identify major causes of cancer mortality.Design: The Yukon Vital Statistics Registry provided all cancer deaths for Yukon residents between 1999-2013. Age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) were calculated using direct standardisation and compared with Canadian rates. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated using indirect standardisation relative to age-specific rates from Canada, British Columbia (BC), and three sub-provincial BC administrative health regions : Interior Health (IH), Northern Health (NH) and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). Trends in smoothed ASMRs were examined with graphical methods.Results: Yukon’s all-cancer ASMRs were elevated compared with national and provincial rates for the entire period. Disparities were greatest compared with the urban VCH: prostate (SMRVCH=246.3, 95% CI 140.9–351.6), female lung (SMRVCH=221.2, 95% CI 154.3–288.1), female breast (SMRVCH=169.0 95% CI, 101.4–236.7), and total colorectal (SMRVCH=149.3, 95% CI 101.8–196.8) cancers were significantly elevated. Total stomach cancer mortality was significantly elevated compared with all comparators.Conclusions: Yukon cancer mortality rates were elevated compared with national, provincial, urban, and southern-rural jurisdictions. More research is required to elucidate these differences.

Decentralized and delegated affairs of a state administration in the field of agriculture

In the Republic of Serbia, the distribution of jurisdiction in the feld of agriculture has a distinctive character. Jurisdiction for the affairs in the feld of agriculture is disposed on different levels of government. This partition is followed by the different legal order of affairs, which non-central entities perform. The measure of the provincial jurisdiction is not closed in advance, but its parameters are determined by the republican jurisdiction to arrange a system and pursue a policy, leaving this level of jurisdiction to the province, which, depending on the current needs in the feld of agriculture, will be determined as issues of provincial interest. These measures necessarily include a normative, planned, organisational, financial and administrative aspect. In regard to delegated affairs, it is mainly about the classical administrative activities of authoritative character, provided that the supervisory powers are much greater. The objective of this paper is to identify original and delegated affairs of a state administration, their content and the relation between the state administrative authorities and the administrative authorities of decentralized units in their performing.

“I sleep better at night:” How peer review of radiation treatment plans indirectly improves quality of care across radiation treatment programs

PurposePeer review of radiation oncology treatment plans is increasingly recognized as an important component of quality assurance in radiation treatment planning and delivery. Peer review of treatment plans can directly improve the quality of those plans and can also have indirect effects on radiation treatment programs. We undertook a systematic, qualitative approach to describing the indirect benefits of peer review, factors that were seen to facilitate or act as barriers to the implementation of peer review, and strategies to address these barriers across a provincial jurisdiction of radiation oncology programs (ROPs). Methods and materialsSemistructured qualitative interviews were held with radiation oncology department heads and radiation therapy managers (or delegates) in all 14 ROPs in Ontario, Canada. We used a theoretically guided phenomenological qualitative approach to design and analyze the interview content. Themes were recorded by 2 independent reviewers, and any discordance was resolved by consensus. ResultsA total of 28 interviews were completed with 32 interviewees. Twenty-two unique themes addressed perceived benefits of peer review, relating to either peer review structure (n = 3), process (n = 9), or outcome (n = 10). Of these 22 themes, 19 related to indirect benefits to ROPs. In addition, 18 themes related to factors that facilitated peer review activities and 30 themes related to key barriers to implementing peer review were identified. Findings were consistent with, and enhanced the understanding of, previous survey-based assessments of the benefits and challenges of implementing peer review programs. ConclusionsAlthough challenges and concerns regarding the implementation of peer review were evident, the indirect benefits to radiation programs are numerous, far outweigh the implementation challenges, and strongly complement the direct individual-patient benefits that result from peer review quality assurance of radiation treatment plans.

Compliance with Canada's Trade and Investment Treaty Obligations: Addressing the Gap Between Provincial Action and Federal Responsibility

Provincial compliance with trade and investment treaty commitments is increasingly important. However, Canada’s federal system makes negotiating treaty obligations in the areas of provincial jurisdiction particularly difficult. This article analyzes the challenges related to treaty commitments in areas of provincial jurisdiction, revisits the Canadian constitutional allocation of responsibility for treaty negotiation, ratification, implementation, and compliance, and explores the prospects for using intergovernmental agreement to address concerns about provincial compliance.

An Appraisal of PakistannS Public Finance Management

Public Financial Management (PFM) is fundamentally the management of financial resources of a country in order to optimally address national and local priorities. Efficient PFM enhances and sustains economic and social growth in the country and should cover aggregate financial management, operational management, asset acquisition & disposal and treasury management. The major components of PFM are Public Revenues, Public Expenditures and Public Debt Management. The legal and institutional frameworks of PFM along with the procedure for assignment financial powers and distribution revenues have been provided in the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973. In Pakistan, all the three major components of PFM suffer from a myriad of problems. These problems are worsened as all three are interlinked and therefore need immediate attention. Revenue Management in Pakistan is plagued with persistently low Tax to GDP ratio, narrow tax base, weak enforcement of laws, skewed tax mix, ad-hoc policies and short-term fixes. Due to inadequacy in tax collection at provincial level, the entire burden of revenue collection has fallen on the Federal Government/FBR alone. Similarly, our poor Expenditure Management and resultantly high fiscal deficit is another point of concern. Since our current expenditure constitutes a major portion of the total expenditure, the development expenditure remains neglected. Moreover, due to misplaced priorities, whatever little is being spent on development projects, has hardly any benefit for the public in general and results in creation of non-productive assets. Adding to the woes is the continuous burden of loss making SOEs, lack of contingency planning and failure of expenditure management reforms.On the Debt Management side, there is an exponential increase in the Public Debt as a result of high Domestic Debt due to unchecked domestic borrowing from SBP as well as commercial banks. This has in turn resulted into increasing the debt servicing expenditure and crowding out the private sector. Debt mismanagement continues in the form of floating government bonds in the international market at high interest rates.Considering the interlinkages of the three components of PFM, their ailments must be addressed as a whole with solutions having long term focus rather than the usual ad-hoc firefighting approach. Long term planning for revenue collection should include broadening the tax base, both at the federal and provincial levels, efficient enforcement measures, monitoring of tax officials’ performance on the basis of KPIs. Long term planning in Expenditure Control is absolutely essential. This refers to investments in developmental projects rather than spending scarce resources on current expenditures. There is a need to freeze the non-development expenditures for at least three years and focus on projects aimed at social and economic development. To break the current debt loop, it is important to begin by giving true autonomy to the SBP and re-evaluate its regulations by including a fixed ratio for fund allocation to the government and to the commercial sector. Another area that needs consideration and attention is the lack of shared understanding between provincial and federal authorities. A Fiscal Coordination Committee should be constituted at Federal Government level with specific timelines and goals, to address and resolve federal and provincial jurisdiction issues.

DNA-based identification of invasive alien species in relation to Canadian federal policy and law, and the basis of rapid-response management.

Managing invasive alien species in Canada requires reliable taxonomic identification as the basis of rapid-response management. This can be challenging, especially when organisms are small and lack morphological diagnostic features. DNA-based techniques, such as DNA barcoding, offer a reliable, rapid, and inexpensive toolkit for taxonomic identification of individual or bulk samples, forensic remains, and even environmental DNA. Well suited for this requirement, they could be more broadly deployed and incorporated into the operating policy and practices of Canadian federal departments and should be authorized under these agencies' articles of law. These include Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Transport Canada, Environment Canada, Parks Canada, and Health Canada. These efforts should be harmonized with the appropriate provisions of provincial jurisdictions, for example, the Ontario Invasive Species Act. This approach necessitates that a network of accredited, certified laboratories exists, and that updated DNA reference libraries are readily accessible. Harmonizing this approach is vital among Canadian federal agencies, and between the federal and provincial levels of government. Canadian policy and law must also be harmonized with that of the USA when detecting, and responding to, invasive species in contiguous lands and waters. Creating capacity in legislation for use of DNA-based identifications brings the authority to fund, train, deploy, and certify staff, and to refine further developments in this molecular technology.

Usefulness of Canadian Public Health Insurance Administrative Databases to Assess Breast and Ovarian Cancer Screening Imaging Technologies for BRCA1/2 Mutation Carriers

PurposeIn Canada, recommendations for clinical management of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer among individuals carrying a deleterious BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation have been available since 2007. Eight years later, very little is known about the uptake of screening and risk-reduction measures in this population. Because Canada's public health care system falls under provincial jurisdictions, using provincial health care administrative databases appears a valuable option to assess management of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. The objective was to explore the usefulness of public health insurance administrative databases in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec to assess management after BRCA1/2 genetic testing. MethodsOfficial public health insurance documents were considered potentially useful if they had specific procedure codes, and pertained to procedures performed in the public and private health care systems. ResultsAll 3 administrative databases have specific procedures codes for mammography and breast ultrasounds. Only Quebec and Ontario have a specific procedure code for breast magnetic resonance imaging. It is impossible to assess, on an individual basis, the frequency of others screening exams, with the exception of CA-125 testing in British Columbia. Screenings done in private practice are excluded from the administrative databases unless covered by special agreements for reimbursement, such as all breast imaging exams in Ontario and mammograms in British Columbia and Quebec. There are no specific procedure codes for risk-reduction surgeries for breast and ovarian cancer. ConclusionPopulation-based assessment of breast and ovarian cancer risk management strategies other than mammographic screening, using only administrative data, is currently challenging in the 3 Canadian provinces studied.

Federal-Provincial Relations and Conservatism in the Canadian West

Regionalism has been a prominent feature of Western Canadian political culture even prior to Alberta and Saskatchewan joining confederation in 1905. One manifestation of this regionalism is through intergovernmental conflict, particularly jurisdictional disputes between the provincial and federal governments. These disputes have generally seen provincial governments of various ideological leanings cooperate, and yet decentralization–or expansion of provincial jurisdiction–is a position that has largely been advanced by conservatives in recent decade.1Is there an ideological connection between expansion of provincial jurisdiction and conservatism? This essay contends that the conservative ideology particular to Western Canada was uniquely influenced by the dynamic of federal-provincial relations in Canada because of particular features of the region’s brand of conservatism. This essay will demonstrate that ongoing disputes between western provinces–Alberta in particular–and the federal government, particularly over natural resource issues, have reinforced a dynamic of regionalism within Western Canadian conservatism, leading it to become the perennial feature of conservative policy, federally and provincially, that it is today.[...]

The Parameters of a Charter Compliant Response to Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 5

The Supreme Court of Canada’s remedy in Carter was a declaration of invalidity: “Section 241(b) and s. 14 of the Criminal Code unjustifiably infringe s. 7 of the Charter and are of no force or effect to the extent that they prohibit physician-assisted death for a competent adult person who (1) clearly consents to the termination of life and (2) has a grievous and irremediable medical condition (including an illness, disease or disability) that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition. (paras. 127 and 147)”The Court suspended its declaration of invalidity in Carter, initially for twelve months, and ultimately for sixteen months, because it recognized the complexity of the issues to be resolved. What the SCC found unconstitutional, and needs to be replaced, is an absolute ban on physician-assisted death. This leaves significant room for Parliament to choose what safeguards are necessary to protect the vulnerable. As the Court said: “Complex regulatory regimes are better created by Parliament than by the courts.” (para. 125) As the Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying said in its Final Report (November 30, 2015): “Although the Supreme Court did not outline the framework for such a system [of safeguards] in the Carter decision, it expressed confidence that such a system could be implemented in Canada.” (p. 15)The overlap of federal criminal law jurisdiction and provincial health jurisdiction raises the possibility of conflicting legislation. If the Criminal Code is stricter than provincial legislation, reliance on provincial legislation will not avail in a criminal prosecution. If the provincial legislation is stricter than the criminal law, the lack of criminal liability would not preclude professional discipline under provincial legislation, meaning the access contemplated under the criminal law would be thwarted. There is thus a high premium on harmonizing federal and provincial law.The Final Report of the External Panel on Options for a Legislative Response to Carter v. Canada (15 December 2015) set out the vastly divergent positions of a broad range of stakeholders; many choices have to be made. There is significant pressure to amend the Criminal Code by 6 June 2016, when the suspension of the declaration of invalidity will expire, in order that a system of safeguards under the criminal law be in place. However, nothing done as of 6 June 2016 is cast in stone. Adjustments based on reconsideration and/or experience will always be possible. Legislating in stages is also an option.In what follows I will explain why, in my assessment, it is consistent with Carter to (1) limit physician-assisted death to end-of-life conditions; (2) include a mechanism of prior review beyond doctors` assessments; (3) preclude reliance on advance directives; and (4) limit availability to those 18 and over.

Thinking regionally: Aviation and development implications in the Karoo region, South Africa

ABSTRACTThis study focuses on regional economic development in South Africa, across provincial political jurisdictions. The article argues that remote hinterlands can be more usefully understood as forming an integrated whole, rather than functioning as the poor rural cousins of their provincial metropoles. This article considers three propositions: that key transport projects (such as airports) may unlock regional development; that this may stimulate regional spatial integration; and that this may spur the South African government to address its weak regional planning system. All three propositions are speculative, drawn from the international literature, but they contribute to an argument for greater spatial coherence in South African planning in rural regions. The argument is illustrated with reference to the Karoo region of South Africa, and the potential of a new airport to impact on regional economic dynamics. Furthermore, the article argues that such impacts will require new regional planning systems, which are currently absent from the South African political system.

An inventory and risk-based prioritization of Steep Creek Fans in Alberta, Canada

In June 2013, heavy rainfall caused flooding on most rivers in the province of Alberta, Canada, producing one of Canada’s most expensive natural disasters with about $6 billion (CDN) in damage. Flooding inundated several municipalities including downtown Calgary, the fourth-largest city in Canada. Debris flows and debris floods caused extensive highway closures and damages to development on alluvial fans. Following these events, the Government of Alberta requested an inventory of all fans intersecting municipal development, major roads and highways in Alberta. Such fans may be subject to debris flow, debris flood (mud flows), and/or flood hazards. The study area spans the entirety of the Alberta Rocky Mountains, approximately 51,000 km2 (7% of Alberta). We characterize 710 fans in terms of hazard level and presence and types of elements at risk. We statistically analyse watershed attributes to predict the dominant fan hydrogeomorphic process types. All fans under provincial jurisdiction are assigned priority ratings based on hazard levels and the presence and value of elements at risk. The prioritization is risk-based as it considers both hazards and potential consequences. Of the fans prioritized, 13% intersected parcels containing land and residential developments with an assessed value of $2.4 billion (CDN), and the remainder were crossed by roads, pipelines or transmission lines. We present the study results on an interactive, searchable web application that can support ongoing hazard and risk assessments and risk reduction planning.

Ready to Go! Canada's new Rapid Response Team.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (the Agency) has an important role to play in collaboration with its provincial/territorial partners to advance preparedness for emerging and re-emerging high-consequence infectious diseases. During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the Agency established Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Rapid Response Teams that were available to any requesting provincial/territorial jurisdiction with a laboratory confirmed case of EVD. Working with provincial and territorial officials, a Rapid Response Team Concept of Operations was developed which outlined the process for Rapid Response Team engagement as well as the suite of technical expertise available. The Concept of Operations was refined further following a series of face-to-face advance planning meetings with individual provincial and territorial jurisdictions. This led to a consensus agreement that the Agency's Rapid Response Team should be available to support management of both confirmed and suspected EVD cases. There was also unanimous support from provincial and territorial jurisdictions that the concept and operationalization of the Agency's Rapid Response Team should be broadened to provide surge-capacity support to the provinces and territories to include any event with significant public health consequences. The Agency will continue to engage with domestic and international partners regarding best practices to maintain a highly skilled and nimble Rapid Response Team that is operationally ready to support both domestic and international public health emergencies.