The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Emergency Response Plan (MERP) provides the overall direction and guidance necessary for ministry staff to take immediate and decisive action in response to emergencies of any kind.

The MERP was developed by the Emergency Management Unit (EMU), of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (the ministry). It complies with the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) and the accompanying Order-in-Council (OIC) (which assign specific roles and responsibilities to provincial ministries and municipalities for emergency planning).

The MERP has recently been updated and Version 2 was released on November 22, 2007. The plan reflects the ministry’s new stewardship structure and emergency procedures, protocols and response activities have been updated to address “lessons learned” from past emergencies and incidents.

The MERP provides the basis for a rapid and coordinated response to any emergency situation. In the event of an emergency, the MERP is used to support and guide the ministry’s response activities when the ministry has a primary response role (health emergencies such as an outbreak of infectious disease); or a supporting role (emergencies such as a flood or forest fire with health service implications).

The plan includes procedures for alerting the ministry to the presence of an emergency and communicating with ministry staff, the health sector, and other organizations or jurisdictions that may have a specific response role.

In addition, the MERP Version 2 details the process for activating the Ministry Emergency Operations Centre (MEOC), as well as outlines the resources available to help local organizations respond to the emergency or incident.

The MERP will continue to be updated annually or when new initiatives, resources and developments in emergency management are incorporated into the response framework.

Should you have any questions on the MERP Version 2, or about the ministry's emergency management program in general, please contact the Emergency Management Unit at (416) 212-0822 or via email at emergencymanagement.moh@ontario.ca

Emergency Response Plan Ministry Emergency Response Plan (MERP) Version 2, November 2007 93 pages | 922 kb | PDF format

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