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The NWT government has awarded the contract for its much-anticipated review of the territory’s emergency response to the 2023 wildfire season.
In a Tuesday news release, the territory announced it had awarded the after-action assessment contract to Transitional Solutions Inc, a management consulting firm based in Edmonton.
The terms of the contract require the company to seek input from community and Indigenous governments, members of the public, chambers of commerce, non-governmental organizations and emergency management partners.
The review aims to assess risk monitoring, emergency preparedness and response, communications and the transition to recovery. It will identify lessons learned and include recommendations for improvement.
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“This government has a responsibility to learn, adapt and strengthen our emergency management systems to safeguard our communities,” Premier RJ Simpson was quoted as saying.
The release states Transitional Solutions was one of five companies that applied for the contract. According to its website, the firm’s specialties include emergency management and fire services.
“We work with organizations in building local capacity to mitigate risk, respond to disaster and build sustainable recovery strategies,” that website states.
News reports indicate the company has worked with Cochrane, the Bighorn, Athabasca County and Edson in Alberta.
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Tuesday’s news release states a three-person oversight committee reviewed the five proposals and awarded the contract. The same committee is tasked with ensuring the review is public and transparent.
The committee is made up of Mike Flannigan, the principle investigator for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s wildfire science and technology network; Danielle Trudeau, founder and executive director of TopShelf Emergency Management; and Todd Orvitz, founder and chief executive officer of Wolf Consulting Group.
The premier said the three “bring a wealth of collective expertise in wildfire, emergency management and northern governance.”
“Under their guidance, I am confident that this after-action review will help identify areas where we can better prepare for, manage, and recover from future emergencies,” Simpson was quoted as saying.
In the legislature late last month, Simpson said work to collaborate on the review and its terms had taken extra time, so the review’s report is now expected in December rather than November as initially forecast.
This is the second territory-wide review of last year’s wildfire season. The Department of Environment and Climate Change previously launched a review specific to wildfire management.
The City of Yellowknife has separately embarked on a review of its own response to last year’s wildfires and evacuation, carried out by KPMG, which is set to be published next month.
