VZCZCXRO4622
RR RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHON #0118 1131319
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221319Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL TORONTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2451
INFO RUCNCAN/ALCAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS TORONTO 000118 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAN AND CA/OCS/ACS/WHA 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PGOV CASC AEMR CA
SUBJECT: Ontario Struggling with Consular Notification SOP for Mass 
Casualty Emergencies 
 
Ref: Toronto 20 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified - Please Protect Accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Officials from Emergency Management Ontario 
(EMO), other provincial government agencies, local first responders, 
and Toronto's Consular Corps attending an April 12 working group 
meeting discussed a proposed standard operating procedure (SOP) 
framework for informing Consular representatives of the welfare and 
whereabouts of their citizens during a complex emergency.  While the 
working group has made progress in sensitizing government emergency 
management officials to the needs of Consular and foreign 
representatives during an emergency response, we are uncertain 
whether the proposed communication mechanisms would be robust enough 
to proactively push vital information to diplomatic representatives 
during a crisis in Ontario.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) About 25 representatives of Ontario Government Ministries; 
the federal Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAIT); EMS and 
fire departments from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA); and Consular 
officials from the United Kingdom, Portugal, and the U.S. attended 
the April 12 working group meeting, chaired by Emergency Management 
Ontario. The participants generally agreed that existing 
communication structures were adequate to cope with small events 
with limited casualties.  The thornier issue remains the access of 
foreign consular representatives to information collected by first 
responders and the Ontario Government on foreign citizens during a 
major emergency.  Both UK and U.S. representatives recounted the 
difficulty in obtaining information from the Ontario Government 
during the 2005 crash of an Air France jet at Toronto's Pearson 
International Airport. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Emergency Management Ontario presented a "Draft 
Notification Protocol for Consulates Receiving Information 
Concerning Foreign Nationals Involved in Major Events."  UK, U.S., 
and Portuguese representatives noted that they had difficulty with 
the term "protocol" and informed the organizers that any formal 
agreement would require vetting by their respective Embassies and 
headquarters (NOTE.  A copy of the draft will be sent by email to 
WHA/CAN and CA/OCS.  END NOTE).  In lieu of a formal protocol, the 
foreign consular representatives suggested that a simple Standard 
Operating Procedure that reflected the need of Consular 
representatives to aid their citizens in a time of crisis would be 
sufficient. 
 
¶4. (SBU) EMO officials also described in detail an "Incident 
Management Structure" that acknowledged the need for foreign 
representatives to obtain real-time information about their 
nationals in an emergency.  The "Provincial Emergency Operations 
Centre" (PEOC), a 24-hour operation that is rapidly expandable in 
the event of an emergency, would be the notional point of contact 
for all foreign representatives seeking information about a crisis 
and information about their nationals.  The PEOC, which is managed 
by EMO and staffed by representatives of all involved provincial 
ministries, would include representatives of Ontario's Ministry of 
Intergovernmental Affairs, and would have access to a liaison 
officer from DFAIT.  First responders, and Ontario Government 
Ministries, including the Ministry of Community and Social Services 
and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, both of which would 
play major roles in a crisis, would in turn feed information on 
foreign citizens to the PEOC, and assist foreign representatives in 
aiding their citizens. 
 
¶5. (SBU) UK and U.S. representatives noted that while such a plan 
made sense on paper, it is unclear whether information would 
actually flow quickly enough through the government channels to 
foreign representatives in the event of an actual emergency.  Fire 
department representatives noted that first responders in general 
were more immediately concerned about rendering aid to victims, 
regardless of nationality, and would not be in a position to collect 
nationality data, much less ensure that it was distributed to a 
Provincial Operations Centre.   Other Ontario government 
participants suggested that many individuals may have privacy 
concerns and not want their governments to be notified. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT:  While Emergency Management Ontario has made some 
progress in raising awareness of the need of consular 
representatives to be "in the loop" on information that is collected 
on the welfare and whereabouts of their citizens during a crisis, it 
is unclear whether the Ontario government would actually be able to 
do so in a timely fashion during an actual emergency.  The working 
group plans to meet again in mid to late May, hopefully to discuss a 
streamlined draft SOP that will aid the Ontario government in 
responding to the needs of foreign representatives.   END COMMENT. 
 
NAY