In the event of an emergency or disaster where a resident or residents of the Halifax Regional Municipality have been impacted, Joint Emergency Management (JEM) Teams will respond accordingly in compliance to the policies and procedures stated within the JEM Team Plan (JEMP). The purpose of the JEMP is to outline the roles, responsibilities, and procedures for a JEM Team activation. This information has been developed based on HRM policies, consultation with JEM team leaders and associated reference materials. This document is an addendum to HRM’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and is intended to provide further guidance in support of Appendix ‘G’. The aim of the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) Municipal Emergency Plan (MEP) is to prescribe the organization and measures required to protect human health, property and the environment given an imminent or actual emergency affecting the municipality.

Roles and Responsibilities

Halifax Regional Municipality 

The responsibility is to ensure the communities within the municipality are 
as resilient as possible by coordinating and implementing a robust and comprehensive 
emergency management program encapsulating the four pillars of emergency management. 

HRM EM

is responsible for the coordinating Emergency Response Planning, Evacuation 
Planning and Crisis Communication Planning. This division coordinates the municipal response 
to natural and human caused emergencies and disasters that may impact the residents of HRM.
HRM EM will all public information templates, public education literature, promotional material 
all other public facing needs to each of the teams. 

JEM Committee

The JEM Committees are comprised of each JEM Team chair and HRM EM representatives. 
This committee meets regularly to discuss the overall JEM program, JEM training opportunities, 
and team challenges, success and needs. JEM Chairs will also discuss event response to 
share lessons learned and general operations at the following committee meeting. 

JEM Team Chairs

JEM Chairs have overall responsibility for function of their JEM teams. This person facilitates
meetings and is the main point of contact between HRM-EM and the team. This individual is 
elected/appointed by the teams. This person is responsible for ensuring teams are equipped to 
respond by organizing monthly meetings, providing training opportunities, and advising HRM of 
any administrative needs required for the teams to function. For more information on JEM 
Team Chair responsibilities, see Annex 2 - Position Descriptions.

Duty Officers

Duty Officers play a key role during emergencies and disasters. The Duty Officer functions as 
the liaison between the EOC and the comfort/reception centres. This person maintains overall 
operational responsibility for their regions JEM Team’s response. 

JEM Volunteers

JEM Volunteers have a responsibility to follow the JEM Volunteer Code of Conduct and to be 
aware of their Rights under this plan.

Residents Receiving Support

Residents who receive support from the JEM program have a responsibility to know which 
services are available and are provided. They are to understand that volunteers do not have 
decision making authority around HRM EM service provision or program administration and that
they are members of HRM communities answering the call for service in times of crisis. 
Residents are required to register with the comfort centre if the wish to receive service from the 
program. Residents who refuse to register are refusing to receive service and will not be 
permitted to enter the Comfort Centre. 
There is no tolerance for abusive behaviour towards JEM Team volunteers. Abusive behaviour 
in any form will result in termination of services for the individual. 

JEM Guidelines