No community wants to imagine a mass casualty event — a natural disaster, major accident, or act of violence. But preparation is the difference between chaos and coordinated response. Emergency drills test how systems, agencies, and people respond under pressure, revealing both strengths and gaps.
Why Drills Matter
Coordination: Police, fire, EMS, hospitals, and municipalities practice working together.
Timing: Tests how quickly agencies can mobilize resources and share information.
Public awareness: Helps communities understand their role in preparedness.
Weak spot detection: Identifies failures in communication, equipment, or training before a real event.
Canadian Context
Columbine and 9/11 legacy: Triggered widespread adoption of “active shooter” and terrorism drills in schools and public spaces.
Nova Scotia mass shooting (2020): Raised questions about coordination, communication delays, and preparedness.
Wildfires and floods: Alberta, BC, and Quebec regularly test large-scale evacuation and sheltering plans.
Airports and transport hubs: Legally required to run mass casualty simulations (plane crashes, derailments, etc.).
The Challenges
Cost and scale: Large drills demand time, money, and staff capacity.
Realism vs trauma: How to simulate events without re-traumatizing communities.
Fragmentation: Municipal, provincial, and federal agencies often train separately, creating silos.
Follow-through: Lessons identified don’t always translate into policy or budget changes.
The Opportunities
Integrated drills: Cross-agency exercises that reflect real-world complexity.
Community involvement: Including schools, businesses, and residents in planning and simulations.
Scenario diversity: Go beyond terrorism and test for climate-driven disasters, cyberattacks, or infrastructure collapse.
Transparency: Share lessons learned with the public to build trust and preparedness culture.
The Bigger Picture
Preparedness is not paranoia — it’s responsibility. When drills are done well, they save lives by ensuring that chaos doesn’t reign when the unthinkable happens. A strong system doesn’t just protect first responders — it protects communities by making them part of the response.
The Question
If every disaster teaches us something new, then why do so many drills still feel stuck in the last crisis? Which leaves us to ask: how can Canada make emergency preparedness a living, learning process instead of a checkbox exercise?
Mass Casualty Events and Emergency Preparedness Drills
Preparing for the Unthinkable
No community wants to imagine a mass casualty event — a natural disaster, major accident, or act of violence. But preparation is the difference between chaos and coordinated response. Emergency drills test how systems, agencies, and people respond under pressure, revealing both strengths and gaps.
Why Drills Matter
Canadian Context
The Challenges
The Opportunities
The Bigger Picture
Preparedness is not paranoia — it’s responsibility. When drills are done well, they save lives by ensuring that chaos doesn’t reign when the unthinkable happens. A strong system doesn’t just protect first responders — it protects communities by making them part of the response.
The Question
If every disaster teaches us something new, then why do so many drills still feel stuck in the last crisis? Which leaves us to ask:
how can Canada make emergency preparedness a living, learning process instead of a checkbox exercise?