Ottawa should consider permanent workforce to tackle natural disasters, committee says [Video]

A House of Commons committee is calling on the federal government to consider creating a permanent disaster management workforce that can be mobilized quickly in the event of wildfires, hurricanes and other natural calamities.

But the new report by the parliamentary defence committee, quietly tabled on Wednesday after more than two years of study, is vague on what that force should look like and what its mandate should be.

The report stops short of suggesting the creation of a full-fledged federal disaster management agency like the United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Instead, the four-party committee seems to suggest — among the 16 recommendations in its report — that Ottawa simply take a more active role in coordinating and (in some cases) backstopping provinces and municipalities, which take the lead when natural disasters strike.

The study was launched to address the strain the escalating number of climate-related emergencies has …