During the COVID-19 pandemic the Province of Alberta has declared a Public Health State of Emergency; as well, other municipalities have followed by declaring their own state of local emergency. Town of Valleyview CAO, Ben Berlinguette, would like to inform our community as to why the Town has not declared a state of emergency at this time.

The Town of Valleyview wholeheartedly supports Alberta Health and the technical reasons why they declared a State of Emergency. With that in mind, based on the requirements of a State of Local Emergency, (SoLe), the Town of Valleyview at this time does not meet all the requirements, one of which is “…limit loss of life and damage to property or the environment”. In addition, the key requirement is being handled by Alberta Heath Services, “limit loss of life”, with greater skill sets and resources then our own.

General principles of State of Local Emergency (SoLE)

A declaration of a state of emergency may be issued by a local authority to acquire and exercise the powers set out in The Emergency Measures Act.  Generally speaking, a SoLE is declared when an emergency is imminent or occurring. Upon the declaration of, and during a SoLE, the Minister or the local authority may issue an order to any party to do everything necessary to prevent or limit loss of life and damage to property or the environment. A SoLE is valid for a period of 7 days, beginning on the day the declaration is made. Because local authorities can access the authority of SoLE’s, they also have the responsibility to use them correctly and prudently. A SoLE may intrude on individual and property owner’s rights, and therefore the actions undertaken under these exceptional circumstances must be permitted under The Emergency Measures Act, reasonably necessary in the face of an emergency or disaster, and proportional to the loss or damage that the action seeks to prevent.

Guiding principles during a State of Local Emergency (SoLE)

  1. cause emergency plans to be implemented;
  2. utilize any real or personal property considered necessary to prevent, combat or alleviate the effects of any emergency or disaster;
  3. authorize or require any qualified person to render aid of such type as that person may be qualified to provide;
  4. control, permit or prohibit travel to or from any area or on any road, street or highway;
  5. cause the evacuation of persons and the removal of livestock and personal property and make arrangements for the adequate care and protection thereof;
  6. control or prevent the movement of people and the removal of livestock from any designated area that may have a contaminating disease;
  7. authorize the entry into any building, or upon any land without warrant;
  8. cause the demolition or removal of any trees, structure or crops in order to prevent, combat or alleviate the effects of an emergency or a disaster;
  9. authorize the procurement and distribution of essential resources and the provision of essential services;
    1. regulate the distribution and availability of essential goods, services and resources;
  10. provide for the restoration of essential facilities, the distribution of essential supplies and the maintenance and co-ordination of emergency medical, social and other essential services;
  11. expend such sums as are necessary to pay expenses caused by the emergency or disaster.

Mayor, Council, Administration and Staff would like to extend a thank you to our community for coming together during this evolving pandemic crisis.

Thank you.