Advancing Resilient and Inclusive Emergency Response

Indigenous items on table
gather of participants at tables
powerpoint presentation titled Bridging Communities
Individuals in chairs in a half circle
Participants at rectangular tables in training session

On June 10, 2025, the City of Kamloops and Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc brought together a wide range of partners at Tḱemlúps’ Moccasin Square Gardens to host the Bridging Communities Emergency Support Services Preparedness Gathering. 

This collaborative event united municipal and First Nations emergency program leaders, Emergency Support Services volunteers, and agency representatives with a shared goal to strengthen relationships between neighbouring communities, honour and respect the people and territories that house our preparedness work, and co-create culturally safe environments that are emotionally supportive and culturally respectful while building community-led emergency response systems.

Participants engaged in breakout sessions, storytelling, and collaborative discussions to reflect on the lived experiences of evacuation and identify systemic gaps in Emergency Support Services delivery.

The event, hosted by the Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc Emergency Preparedness Program, emphasized the need for proactive, culturally safe planning, including the development of a Community Navigator checklist grounded in cultural knowledge, to support inclusive, meaningful, and locally informed First Nation emergency response.

Key outcomes of the event included:

  • strengthened inter-agency relationships rooted in trust and cultural humility
  • shared learning and co-development of tools like the Community Navigator checklist to guide inclusive, culturally informed emergency planning
  • commitment to culturally appropriate reception centres that are welcoming, empowering, and reflective of Indigenous ways of knowing and being

Together, these efforts reflect a unified commitment to building safer, more resilient communities where emergency response is effective, inclusive, and empowering.

The gathering was made possible through the Indigenous Engagement Requirements Funding Program, supporting the implementation of the Emergency and Disaster Management Act,

Participants included:

  • City of Kamloops
  • Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc
  • Thompson-Nicola Regional District
  • Emergency Support Services volunteers from Kamloops, Chase, and Barriere
  • Facilitators and representatives from:
    • BC Services
    • First Nations Emergency Support Services
    • First Nations Health Authority
    • Health Emergency Management BC
    • Le7 te Melámen Health Society
    • Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
    • United Way
    • Lighthouse Therapy
    • Gisghaast Graphic Recording
    • Survive-It Disaster Co.
    • City of Merritt, Emergency Management Coordinator
    •  Village of Chase, FireSmart Coordinator
    •  Cache Creek, Emergency Support Services Director
    • Tḱemlúps te Secwépemc Elders and Knowledge Keepers.
  • First Nations Community, emergency leaders, including: 
    • High Bar First Nation
    • City of Williams Lake
    • Tŝilhqot’in National Government
    • Neskonlith Indian Band
    • Skeetchestn
    • Splatsin
    • Whispering Pines Clinton Indian Band

To learn more about Emergency Support Services, visit Kamloops.ca/ESS.