Lloydminster will play host to emergency management professionals this fall at their annual Bordering on Disaster conference. The one-day conference focuses on how municipalities and other entities can prepare for emergency events that may hit their communities.
The conference began in 2015 and since then has been growing. Last year the conference had about 200 people from both Alberta and Saskatchewan attend. Manager of Emergency Services Ernie Polsom says there will be a wide range of discussions taking place.
“We’re gonna have speakers in talking about regional agreements. We’ve got folks coming in from Saskatoon Police Service to talk about the use of social media and practical applications about social media being used to inform the public and support response operations.”
The conference will have six breakout speakers and two keynote speakers including the previous City Manager of Kelowna. Alberta Health Services and the Saskatchewan Health Authority will also be present discussing world health events and how they affect local communities.
Polsom says in Lloydminster they have extensive emergency plans that are currently being updated and redeveloped.
“We have an all-hazard emergency plan that we can apply to manage any type of emergency from a hazardous material event to a storm event.”
He adds that the city is working on developing an emergency social services plan with the help of various non-profit organizations. The conference will be taking place on September 18 and tickets are available on the city’s website.