To manage emergencies in Canada we have a committee called the Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management, or SOREM. It is made up of the senior people in each province, and we have developed a system that allows us to work together. Something like H1N1 is national, but if there are floods in B.C. it's one thing, or if there are forest fires in northern Ontario it's another thing. The system we have allows us to deal with all hazards, and H1N1 is obviously one hazard. So we have a process for them to request assistance, and we have a process for us to provide assistance. We also have regular conference calls. During the spring we had a conference call a week. Not all emergency management organizations in each province were involved to the same level, so it was of more or less interest to some. Now there's a greater commonality in the process.
Two weeks ago we had a meeting of deputy ministers responsible for emergency management here in Ottawa. We addressed the issue of H1N1.
So the process we have very much involves conference calls. Public Safety has a regional office in each of the cities where they have their operations centres. We exchange information and get a different perspective on their challenges. What is the situation with their own populations? What decisions are their own health authorities taking? How will it affect Canadian society as a whole, and how will it affect federal employees as well?