Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response (CEPR)

2006 Report of Activities

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Director's message

A year of consolidation and transition

2006 will be remembered as a year in which the Public Health Agency of Canada, Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response (CEPR) came to full maturity under the capable direction of long-time Director General Dr. Ron St. John.

Dr. St. John, who recently retired from the Centre, oversaw a series of initiatives this past year to consolidate CEPR progress and ensure the Centre's ongoing leadership in health emergency management. These initiatives – including a strategic realignment of CEPR resources and the adoption of increasingly innovative approaches to emergency coordination – stand the Centre in good stead as it moves through 2007 and beyond.

Those of us charged with building on Dr. St. John's legacy know that continued success hinges on our ability to identify risks and opportunities and take appropriate action to increase national emergency preparedness and response (EPR) capacities. This process begins with vigorous consultation across our entire network of EPR partners and stakeholders.

The most striking example of the CEPR's dynamic consultative approach was our groundbreaking 2006 National Forum on Emergency Preparedness and Response. The Forum, which fostered unprecedented dialogue on EPR issues across multiple sectors and jurisdictions, bodes well for the Public Health Agency of Canada as it works to enhance our country's ability to anticipate, prepare for and respond to any type of natural or human-caused public health emergency.

From a leadership perspective, it has been gratifying to see the Centre's dedicated EPR professionals spearhead so many remarkable successes in 2006, including: key innovations in emergency planning and training; the development of vital EPR legislative and regulatory tools; the enhancement of domestic "all-hazards" emergency response capabilities; and the provision of outstanding leadership and direction in global public health security.

  Dr. Howard Njoo, Director General

As this report demonstrates, the CEPR's experience, expertise and dynamic consultative approach greatly enhanced the Public Health Agency of Canada's ability to manage emergency preparedness and response challenges in 2006. In the coming year, the Centre will continue to play an important leadership role in building a dynamic, robust and collaborative national emergency management system to serve the health safety and security needs of Canadians.

Dr. Howard Njoo
Director General
Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response
Public Health Agency of Canada

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