Showcase Your Products and Services in the EMLCanada Marketplace

When disasters strike, quick access to the right resources can make all the difference. The EMLCanada Marketplace was created to help businesses and community organizations feature the products, services, and supports that matter most during emergency response and recovery.

Organized into five easy-to-navigate categories—Equipment and Supplies, Facilities and Amenities, Services and Supports, Vehicles and Aviation, and Member Exclusives—the Marketplace connects those who have resources with those who need them most. From pumps, sandbags, and generators to heavy equipment, specialized services, and basic needs, every listing helps strengthen Canada’s emergency management network.

When local communities search for help during a crisis, your Marketplace listing appears directly in their results. That means your business or organization could be identified, contacted, and deployed—simply because you took the time to share what you have to offer.

Beyond emergency readiness, the Marketplace is a powerful promotional tool. Members can share their listings directly to social media right from the EMLCanada platform, helping to boost visibility and highlight their commitment to preparedness. It’s an easy way to support community resilience while also promoting your products and services to a national audience.

To celebrate our growing network, EMLCanada is launching #MarketplaceMonday on our social media channels—featuring member listings, innovative ideas, and resources that are making a difference across the country. Follow along, engage with other members, and help us shine a light on the businesses and organizations helping keep Canada ready.

Your listing doesn’t just promote your business—it strengthens Canada’s collective ability to respond, recover, and rebuild.

Coordination Saves Lives When Disasters Strike

At EMLCanada, we’re committed to strengthening community readiness and supporting the people and organizations who step up when emergencies occur. An important part of that readiness involves understanding deployment protocols—the procedures that determine how, when, and by whom resources are activated during response and recovery operations.

1. Decisions rest with the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)

During any emergency, the authority to deploy resources lies with the organization officially managing the response— typically an emergency management centre belonging to a municipality, Indigenous government, or provincial, territorial, or federal agency. These emergency management organizations assess needs, identify priorities, and determine which products, services, and supports are required. They are also accountable for knowing what resources are deployed, where and for what purpose.

Participation on the EMLCanada platform helps businesses and community organizations become visible and accessible when those decisions are made. However, activation and deployment still depend on the AHJ’s direction. Their decisions ensure that the right resources are mobilized, at the right time, for the right reasons.

2. Self-deployment can do more harm than good.

When disaster strikes, coordination is critical. Well-intentioned individuals, businesses, and organizations that self-deploy—arriving before they are requestedor acting independently—can unintentionally strain local systems, duplicate efforts, or exacerbate the ongoing safety or security issue. Even when needs are urgent, it is always best to offer your support through official channels and await confirmation before taking action.

By following established deployment protocols, every community member —emergency responders, local governments, businesses, and volunteers—contributes to a more efficient, organized, and effective response. Together, we can strengthen coordination, reduce confusion, and ensure that help reaches those who need it most.

October Events

The Resilience Institute

This fall also included a meaningful trip to Ottawa, where EMLCanada partnered with The Resilience Institute to advance a federal budget proposal, which is aimed at scaling our platform nationally, strengthening local capacity, and reducing reliance on federal resources during climate-related disasters. Meetings with MPs, senators, and federal officials were encouraging, underscoring that the conversation around emergency preparedness is gaining momentum at the highest levels.

Member Participation

At EMLCanada, we believe resilience is built one connection at a time. Every member who updates their profile, engages with their neighbours, or adds a new contact to their resource list is helping strengthen a national network of communities and businesses ready to support one another when it matters most.

Participation is about more than maintaining information — it’s about demonstrating readiness. When members keep their profiles current, emergency management organizations can quickly identify local resources, businesses can showcase their capacity, and community organizations can highlight the services they provide. The result is a more reliable, connected, and responsive network.

Inviting neighbouring communities and partners to join multiplies this effect. Each new member adds fresh capacity, expertise, and resources to the system, ensuring that no community has to face emergencies alone. This collective action turns individual efforts into national strength.

Together, we are shaping a whole-of-society approach to preparedness and resilience. From local readiness to regional cooperation to national strategy, EMLCanada members are proving that collaboration is the key to reducing risks and accelerating recovery.

By taking small but important steps — updating your profile, connecting with partners, and engaging with the platform — you are part of building a Canada that is stronger, safer, and better prepared for whatever comes next.

EMLCanada Partners with the Resilience Institute

October events

October is a busy month as we continue this important work. You can see us:

Attending and presenting at Bordering on Disasters in Lloydminster (October 7–9),
Exhibiting at the Ontario Disaster & Emergency Management Conference (DEMCON) in Toronto (October 21–22)
Speaking and exhibiting at the Disaster Forum in Kananaskis (October 28–30)

Each of these events is an opportunity to share the EMLCanada story, connect with new partners, and bring home fresh ideas to support our growing network.

2025 Atlantic Emergency Management Conference (AEMC)

In early September, I had the privilege of attending the 2025 Atlantic Emergency Management Conference (AEMC) in Charlottetown, PEI, that was co-hosted by the North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council (NSMTC), Wolastoqey Tribal Council Inc. (WTCI), and the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM). This year’s theme was “Braving the Uncertain,” which focused on known and unknown issues that emergency management professionals work through daily.

I was honored to attend as a delegate, an exhibitor for EMLCanada, and a presenter, where I gave a talk called Emergency Preparedness Inside Out: A Social Capital Approach to Community Readiness. The presentation looks at the traditional “command and control” model of emergency management through the lens of building community-centric, asset-based strategies that every community (regardless of size or complexity) can use to strengthen local resilience. The reception to these ideas confirmed that we are progressing effectively in assisting communities to enhance their preparedness from within.

Thank You to the Canadian Red Cross – Duplicate – [#8110]

Amplify Your Reach Through Emergency Manager Magazine

One of the unique benefits of being part of the EMLCanada platform is the opportunity to promote your business, organization, or services at a reduced cost in Emergency Manager, Canada’s new magazine for the emergency management sector. Following the successful launch of the inaugural issue in June 2025, the next edition is scheduled for October 2025—and will continue building momentum across the country.

As an EMLCanada member, you can take advantage of up to 20% in savings when purchasing advertising in two issues. This means your message will not only reach emergency management professionals across Canada but will also be featured as the magazine travels with EMLCanada to major conferences and gatherings nationwide.

The impact of the first issue was significant—readership extended beyond Canada into the U.S. and international markets, with new subscribers joining from New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, and the UK. This growing network ensures that your advertising is seen by a diverse and influential audience engaged in preparedness, resilience, and community safety.

We encourage all business members to consider this opportunity to position themselves at the forefront of emergency management conversations. By aligning your brand with Emergency Manager magazine, you’re showcasing leadership and strengthening your visibility in a sector where trust, capacity, and readiness matter most.

Thank You to the Canadian Red Cross

We are grateful to the Canadian Red Cross for their leadership and partnership in making the EMLCanada platform free across Alberta for all municipalities, First Nations, Métis communities, local businesses, and community organizations. This important initiative has helped to ensure that communities of every size have access to the tools and resources needed to strengthen preparedness, response, and recovery.

Through this partnership, access to EMLCanada will remain free in Alberta until September 30, 2025 using the promo code CRCAB. Our hope is to find creative and sustainable ways to continue this offer into the future, ensuring that no community is left behind when it comes to emergency management.

We encourage all members to keep their profiles updated and to invite neighbouring communities and local businesses to join before the offer expires. A robust and connected network means stronger capacity for everyone. Insights from our evaluation and monitoring framework show that participation not only improves knowledge and connections but also supports long-term resilience building.

We also encourage members to explore the Ready Rating program offered by the Canadian Red Cross, accessible directly on the EMLCanada platform. This program provides practical tools to assess and improve organizational preparedness, adding even greater value to your membership.

Together, with your support, we can continue to build stronger, safer, and more resilient communities across Alberta.

Nationwide Strength + Resilience

EMLCanada + The Resilience Institute (TRI): Strengthening Canada’s Emergency Management Network

EMLCanada exists because of a simple but powerful belief: strong communities are safer communities. By building preparedness and local capacity, we can reduce vulnerabilities, improve coordination, and accelerate recovery when disasters strike. That vision is at the heart of our work—and it’s why we are proud to be working with The Resilience Institute (TRI) to advance government relations efforts that support the long-term sustainability of EMLCanada.

Together with TRI, we are actively engaging federal and provincial partners to secure funding that would ensure the EMLCanada platform remains free of charge for municipalities, First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, local businesses, and community organizations across the country. Removing cost barriers helps maximize participation, fosters inclusivity, and strengthens the pan-Canadian emergency management network.

As this work progresses, we invite our members to continue supporting the platform by keeping profiles up to date, sharing the resource with colleagues and community partners, and encouraging new sign-ups. The more connected our network, the greater our collective strength.

EMLCanada is more than a directory—it’s a national collaboration designed to link emergency management organizations with businesses and community groups in every region of the country. Together, we are building the foundation for a more prepared, more resilient Canada.

Access to local products, services and supports critical to emergency preparedness in Alberta

Press Release

Emergency Management Logistics Canada (EMLCanada) is pleased to announce that, effective immediately, the EMLPlatform will be free of charge to all Alberta municipalities, First Nations and Metis communities, local businesses, and the community sector (i.e. churches, non-profit agencies, voluntary organizations, etc.) across the province.

In disaster situations, it is critical for local emergency management organizations to have immediate access to current, relevant, and available products, services, supports, and amenities.

The EMLPlatform is a directory-based, online platform specifically designed to support emergency management. Businesses and community sector organizations can build and maintain current contact information and highlight the products, services, supports, and amenities they have available for disaster response and recovery efforts.

Traditionally, emergency management organizations have manually created contact lists that are inevitably outdated when needed most. The EMLPlatform was designed and built by Alberta-based Emergency Management Logistics Canada (EMLCanada) to facilitate resource identification and sharing using a network and community development approach.

According to Scott Cameron, co-founder of EMLCanada, the platform is “a better way” for local communities to find and access products, services and supports that may be needed to address disaster response and recovery efforts. “Businesses and community agencies aren’t necessarily connected into their local emergency management organizations in a meaningful way, so they miss out on opportunities to provide critical products, services and supports. This can result in delays and potential loss of time, infrastructure, and even lives.” On the EMLPlatform, businesses and organizations build and maintain their own information – the system monitors updates and provides reminders to ensure that information is always current.

Free access to the EML Platform is possible due in part to the financial contribution of the Canadian Red Cross. Canadian Red Cross is supporting local communities to enhance preparedness by helping to improve access to resources, products, and services across the province.

MEDIA RESOURCES

Showcase Your Products and Services in the EMLCanada Marketplace