At ERAC, our vision is to be the highest quality emergency preparedness and response assistance organization in Canada. For the past 38 years, we have specialized in Class 2 and 3 dangerous goods and worked diligently to meet the needs of our over 300 Plan members, who trust us to develop their plans, and train for and respond to their emergencies for products that include flammable liquids, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), hydrogen, liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas and ammonia.

To successfully achieve our vision means holding regular training and assessments of our 23 partner response organizations to ensure our response teams are well-trained and prepared to act at any time, anywhere. In addition to our commitment to training our responder network, ERAC provides training and education to Canadian-based first responders on how to safely respond to dangerous goods incidents. These training initiatives ensure public and first responder safety, and a regulatory compliant response for those Plan members who activate their Emergency Response Assistance Plans.

This year, we will complete 28 Regional Training and Assessments, along with several LPG Level 1 Operations Firefighting Training sessions. These training events are successful when participants can work in meaningful, “real-world” conditions with live fuel products, equipment and locations. Achieving this level of training requires support from organizations that can provide products (fuel), equipment and/or locations for our various exercises. Special thanks to Federated Co-operatives Limited, Superior Propane, CN, Menzies Aviation (Mississauga) and Canadian Rail Equipment Works & Services, who have sponsored multiple ERAC training sessions in recent months that have greatly benefited both our response teams and local firefighters across the country. Your support is greatly appreciated! We welcome any organization that is interested in supporting our training programs and exercises to contact us through our website.

Spencer Buckland
President

Emergency Response Assistance Canada invites you to join us at the 2024 Dangerous Goods Emergency Management Conference, June 4 - 6, 2024, at Hotel Arts in Calgary.

We're excited to announce our keynote speaker will be four-time Olympic gold medalist hockey legend Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, who will share her thoughts on resiliency, teamwork and success.

We’ll also be bringing in session speakers from oil and gas, hydrogen, transportation, industry partners and more, including:

• Kristina Adler, Transportation Policy and Program Officer, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada
• Sylvain Guimond, Inspirational Speaker, Author, President and Founder of Biotonix
• Mark Jasper, Technical Director – Emergency Management, GHD
• Tim Johnson, Director of Health, Safety and Environment, Northwest Tank Lines
• Dr. Danielle Murphy, Principal Mechanical and Forensic Engineer, WHA International
• Shannon Watt, President and CEO, Canadian Propane Association
• And more.

For more details on the conference or to register, please visit: erac.org/conference.

Every other year, ERAC recognizes the efforts of our outstanding individuals and teams for their professionalism and commitment to safety, training and excellence with three awards in the areas of: (1) Leadership, (2) Safety, and (3) Training and Learning.

Nominations will be accepted until March 31, 2024, with formal award presentations at our National Responder Awards dinner at our Dangerous Goods Emergency Management Conference in Calgary, Alberta on June 5, 2024.

You can find more information on the awards here.

2024 Leo Sichewski Memorial Bursary Applications Close March 31

A little over seven years ago, Leo Sichewski, a valued 24-year veteran of ERAC passed away. In memory of Leo, we created the ERAC Leo Sichewski Memorial Bursary fund that provides financial assistance to qualified recipients who are enrolled in a certificate, diploma or degree program in safety, emergency management or first responder training. The bursary is open to Plan members, ERAC responders, and family members of each group. 

You can find more details about the bursary here.

Deadline for submissions is March 31, 2024.