ITS NOT JUST THE RESCUE THE ROLE OF LAW AND COMMUNICATIONS IN MAJOR - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

IT’S NOT JUST THE RESCUE THE ROLE OF LAW AND COMMUNICATIONS IN MAJOR INCIDENTS O M A A S p r i n g W o r k s h o p F r i d a y , M a y 1 3 , 2 0 1 6 J o h n S a u n d e r s | H i c k s M o r l e y L L P K a r e n G o r d o n | S q u e a k y W h e e l C o m m u n i c a t i o n s I n c .

EAST GWILLIMBURY March 2013 Chief and Deputy Chief 6 Suppression Full-time Firefighters 1 Training Officer 1 Fire Prevention Officer 81 Volunteer Firefighters

72 HOWARD AVENUE Family of four dies in fire Response time questioned Lack of working smoke detectors questioned Dryer operation questioned Home inspection questioned

WHAT WE ARE GOING TO COVER TODAY: Dealing w ith a major incident:  The first 48 hours  What can happen  Preparing for your day in court  The fallout

THE FIRST 48 HOURS - Communications  Assess  Monitor  Plan  Sign Off

THE FIRST 48 HOURS - Communications Assemble a crisis team: Decision maker Operations Communications Government relations Legal counsel Determine the Spokesperson: Only one spokesperson Determined based on severity of incident Used for all communications Media training/spokesperson training

THE FIRST 48 HOURS - Communications The Audiences Who are you talking to? And how do w e reach them? Families Staff Public Mayor/Council Government – Local, Provincial, Federal Regulators Office of the Fire Marshal Others – WCB, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Health, Attorney General, Solicitor General

THE FIRST 48 HOURS - Communications Key Messages What do w e have to say? What do w e w ant to say? What do w e know ? What do w e NOT know ? What is our story?

WHAT CAN HAPPEN – Communications Continued media coverage Social media campaigns Support of elected officials can vary Incident can get national attention Incident can get increased political attention In-depth coverage of incident/topic

WHAT CAN HAPPEN – Communications  Assess  Monitor  Plan  Sign Off Between the Incident and the end of the litigation/inquest/inquiry ALL communications have to be viewed within the context of the legal situation. What to w atch for:  Speculation  Blame  Factual Error  Grieving families  Activists  People w ith vested interest

What Can Happen Civil Liability Criminal Charges Coroner’s Inquests Judicial Inquiries

Civil Liability Municipality established and maintained a Fire Department Municipality decided the “needs and circumstances” of their community Municipality can be held liable, in law, for any damage caused to anyone through the fault of the municipality and/or its employees

Civil Liability Common law duty to take care established Residents are entitled to receive from the Fire Department: best performance they are capable of, given resources Department to respond in a reasonable manner w ithout negligence

Criminal Charges Bill C-45 changes to Criminal Code of Canada creates “organization” liability for action of “senior officers” anyone with authority to direct how another person does work must take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to any person arising from their work

Criminal Charges Metron Construction  four of six workers die when swing stage collapses  equipment improperly constructed not enough life lines  fine of $750,000 against company  3½ years in jail for project manager

Coroner’s Inquest Coroner’s Motto “We speak for the dead to protect the living.” Investigative Function Social or Prevention Function

Purpose of Inquest – Investigation Function Where an inquest is held, it shall inquire into the circumstances of the death and determine, (a) w ho the deceased w as; (b) how the deceased come to his or her death; (c) w hen the deceased came to his or her death; (d) w here the deceased came to his or her death; and (e) by w hat means the deceased came to his or her death.

Means By Which Deceased Came to His/Her Death Answ ered in few words:  accident  natural causes  homicide  suicide  undetermined

Purpose of Inquest The jury shall not make any finding of legal responsibility or express any conclusion of law on any matter. The jury may make recommendations directed to the avoidance of death in similar circumstances or respecting any other matter arising out of the inquest.

Policy Reasons for Function of Coroner's Inquest (1) The identification of the exact circumstances surrounding a death serves to check public imagination and prevents it from becoming irresponsible; (2) Examination of the specific circumstances of a death, and regular analysis of a number of cases, enables the community to be aw are of the factors w hich put human life at risk in given circumstances; and

Policy Reasons for Function of Coroner's Inquest (3) The care taken by the authorities to inquire into the circumstances, every time a death is not clearly natural or accidental, reassures the public and makes it aw are that the government is acting to ensure that the guarantees relating to human life are duly respected.

Jury 5 person Selected by coroner’s constable Names from the jury list Jury members can ask questions Jury findings or verdicts may be made by a majority of Jurors (not unanimous)

Judicial Inquiries Similar to Coroner Inquests except: conducted by judge not coroner judge makes determination, not jury sometimes public funding is available to assist special interest groups

Preparing For Your Day In Court Create a record Use a scribe Who did w hat w hen? Take pictures – lots Individual statements from firefighters Preserve the tapes

Preparing For Your Day In Court Full inquiry v. Restricted inquiry Take Blame v. Point Blame Admit mistakes? Issue apology?

Preparing For Your Day In Court Why didn’t you call mutual aid? Why did you not conduct a home inspection before the fire? Why did you conduct the fire attack first and not a rescue? Why did the police kick dow n the door? Why is dispatch done by three different bodies?

Preparing For Your Day In Court Conduct your ow n investigation "Law yer Up" – w hose law yer? Joint Retainer Indemnification

East Gwillimbury Coroner’s Inquest Coroner’s Inquest makes 33 recommendations on May 29, 2016 including:  Automatic sprinklers in new residential buildings  Increased flexibility for fire services to issue tickets  Increased fines under the Provincial Offences Act  Mandatory training and certification for firefighters employed in communications, inspection, public education

East Gwillimbury Coroner’s Inquest  Expand public education to include “get out, stay out” message  Public needs to be aw are that fire department may not be able to effect a rescue and, therefore ,the public need to be vigilant to ensure their ow n safety

IT’S NOT JUST THE RESCUE THE ROLE OF LAW AND COMMUNICATIONS IN MAJOR INCIDENTS O M A A S p r i n g W o r k s h o p M a y 1 3 , 2 0 1 6 J o h n S a u n d e r s | H i c k s M o r l e y L L P K a r e n G o r d o n | S q u e a k y W h e e l C o m m u n i c a t i o n s I n c .