Councillor Foster says it needs to reflect today's problems, such as pandemic or cyber crime
Niagara regional council wants the Ontario government to review and update the Emergency Management Act.
That tool, from 1990, is used to declare states of emergency.
Councillor Robert Foster says it lacks teeth to address situations that are much worse now than years ago. "Does not provide opportunities to tap into other resources through the province, to declare a State of Emergency on homelessness, for instance... the Act doesn't contemplate it, and essentially reaches a dead end when it reaches the province."
He acknowledged his colleagues in Lincoln for taking action on this.
He also questioned how the Act relates to today's pandemic, or cyber threats.
"What the heck was an internet at that time? Climate related events come into play, the mental health crisis of today, and homelessness that we're dealing with... the opioid crisis that we've got... none of these things were really seen."
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