Having an emergency plan isn’t enough. For colleges in Quebec, Canada, unions are asking them to step up with improved emergency response training, to ensure readiness for an actual event, according to an article in University Affairs. Says Valérie Fontaine, president of the Fédération du personnel de soutien de l’enseignement supérieur (FPSES-CSQ), “Higher education institutions in Quebec are required to have an emergency plan, but all too often, staff aren’t familiar with it and there’s still not enough training.” This is not the first time Fontaine has raised this concern, noting in November, 2022 that “In 2019, Quebec passed a law requiring educational institutions to organize training activities around sexual violence, and we want the government to do the same for emergency preparedness,”
Responses from colleges and universities in the province have varied, with the vice-president of administration and human resources at Université de Moncton, Gabriel Cormier indicating there are challenges with the scope of training that would be needed. Says Cormier to University Affairs, “We’re looking at making some training mandatory for staff, but given how many staff members and students there are, I don’t think it would be feasible to do exercises for every possible emergency.”
Source:
https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/an-emergency-preparedness-wake-up-call/
