Nature-Triggered Extreme Events: Who Might/Could Respond?

Hosted by The Canadian Defence and Security Network (CDSN-RCDS) at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto. Co-directed by Dr. C. Emdad Haque, Professor, Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Nirupama Agrawal, Professor, Disaster and Emergency Management Program at York University and moderated by Dr. Kawser Ahmed, Adjunct Professor, Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba.

“The pace of extreme events has accelerated due to Climate Change, but our ability to respond and our preparedness has not kept up. Now, more than ever, the security of Canadians depends on whether and how our politicians mitigate or exacerbate the impact of weather.”
–Dr. Stephen Saideman, Director, CDSN

COVID-19 and recent storms have raised questions for everyone, including the CAF: i) What are the sub-regional institutional capacities to prepare for, respond to and recover from extreme events? ii) What are the current arrangements and practices in multi-level and cross-sectoral institutional coordination? iii) How can the prevention and mitigation measures be improved? What can we learn about the role of armed forces from other comparable countries by studying contemporary emergency cases? This theme will: i) research existing response systems; ii) build networks among CAF, civil society actors, provincial and municipal governments; and iii) prepare future generations to deal with emerging challenges. Building on the strengths of CDSN and the Canadian Risk and Hazards Network, this theme draws together reserve forces components in Manitoba; the Royal Military Institute of Manitoba; and CDSS.

The Canadian Defence and Security Network consists of more than 40 partners in Canada and beyond, including over one hundred scholars. Based at Carleton University, we aim to bring together academics, policy-makers, military officers, and civil society in Canada and connect them to those elsewhere. We use traditional and social media to amplify the research of our themes, and we will be developing a variety of training and networking activities to foster a more inclusive next generation of defence and security scholars, scientists, and policy officers.

For more information, visit the CDSN website.