B.C. funds cultural safety and humility training for local emergency management

Twelve First Nations and local governments throughout B.C. will receive funding to improve Indigenous cultural safety and cultural humility in local emergency management.

More than $562,000 from the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) will support communities to enhance cultural safety and cultural humility in the delivery of local emergency-management programs and services.

“Indigenous Peoples have cultural practices, beliefs and values that must be respected. In past emergencies, services have not always been inclusive and welcoming for Indigenous Peoples – this has to change,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. “By providing funding for cultural safety training, communities can work to create a culturally responsive emergency response system that recognizes and addresses the specific needs and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples.”

Funding may be used for cultural safety and humility training, adapting emergency-management tools to be inclusive of Indigenous Peoples, and activities related to partnering with or providing assistance to First Nations during emergency mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

CEPF is a suite of seven funding streams, including public notification and evacuation planning, emergency support services, and disaster risk reduction-climate adaptation. The next intake for Indigenous cultural safety and cultural humility is expected to open to communities in fall 2023.

Since 2017, First Nations and local governments have been approved for more than $111 million through CEPF for more than 1,300 projects that help communities mitigate and prepare for disasters and climate-related emergencies.