Civil security in Laval: a shared responsibility  

Responsibility for dealing with emergencies is shared by Laval residents and their municipal administration. 

What is civil protection? 

The Act respecting civil protection to promote disaster resilience (LSCRS) states that citizens bear primary responsibility for ensuring their safety and safeguarding their property. 

As the responsible authority, the City of Laval has a Civil Protection Plan in place to respond to emergency situations. The plan aims to ensure that the city and its residents are prepared and know what to do before, during and after a disaster. 

Responsibility for civil protection is shared by residents, municipalities and governments with the aim of ensuring public security in the event of a catastrophe or an emergency situation, i.e., natural events or human-caused events that can lead to damages and human losses. Preparations extend to flooding, winter storms, heat waves, high winds, accidents involving hazardous materials, and earthquakes. 

Civil protection refers to all the actions and means put in place to: 

• Identify the risks posed by disasters. 

• Eliminate the risks or reduce the probability of disasters occurring. 

• Mitigate their effects and limit the consequences for the community at large. 

The three objectives set out in the Civil Protection Plan

To meet the requirements of the Act respecting civil protection to promote disaster resilience (LSCRS) and ensure the safety of residents, the City of Laval has drafted a Civil Protection Plan aimed at: 

• Preventing major disasters or mitigating the associated consequences. 

• Preparing residents to deal with such events. 

• Promoting cooperation in the event of an emergency response and accelerating the return to normalcy. 

Laval’s Civil Protection Plan includes a set of objectives for responding to essential needs. These objectives are shared between municipal departments and partner organizations.  

Civil protection policy  

The City of Laval has a civil protection policy that consolidates the municipality’s obligations under the applicable law. With this policy, the City of Laval affirms its prevention, planning and coordination role on issues of civil protection.  

In addition, this policy specifies the roles of city council members, as well as those of the municipal administration and departments at the City of Laval, in the management of civil protection within Laval city limits. In this manner, all municipal staff are called upon to fulfil a shared vision and take a joint approach to civil protection.  

Mobilization in a civil protection context 

When a real or perceived disaster situation is reported to the coordinator of civil protection in Laval or their delegate, the coordinator or delegate must evaluate the situation and respond to the circumstances surrounding the event.  

The coordinator’s role is to effectively coordinate the human, material and technological resources in an effort to respond to disasters. Staff responsible for coordinating civil protection thereby ensure that the City of Laval and its residents are prepared and equipped to deal with a disaster situation. Coordination staff also held develop and update emergency response plans and play a part in training the municipal staff involved. 

An entire organization is then deployed under the civil protection coordination team to implement the actions required on site, including the mobilization of the emergency measures coordination centre and specialized teams.