Emergency measures

Objectives of the impact analysis and management team activities

 

• Establish a single point of coordination and consultation for the Quebec poultry industry to manage the impact caused by the outbreak of a reportable or emerging disease.
• Quickly respond to requests from the Decision-Making Team on the best options to implement to minimize the impact of the crisis on stakeholders in the sector.
• Collaborate in the management of the movement of birds and poultry products in order to minimize the risks of spreading the disease concerned in the Quebec poultry herd while meeting the needs of the supply chain.

Roles and responsibilities of the impact analysis and management team

 

In normal situation

• Keep the Team’s intervention plan current, analysis and impact management.
• Advise the Decision-Making Team on the development and implementation of tools and strategies enabling rapid intervention in crisis situations.
• Identify and maintain current information, statistics, resource persons or references deemed relevant to include in the team’s Intervention Plan.
• Define criteria that will facilitate decision-making in a crisis situation (e.g. prioritization of herds to be tested in areas under movement control)

In times of crisis

 

• Advise the Decision-making Team on the strategies to be implemented to minimize the impact on the Quebec poultry industry.
• Collect the data and information necessary for the analysis required by the Decision-Making Team.
• Obtain the geomatic map(s) from the Support and Logistics Team as well as the inventory of poultry flocks within the identified perimeters and validate this data with the help of the corresponding federation.

Restriction of movements

 

• Collaborate with the CFIA in prioritizing herds to be tested for the affected disease.

Supply chain

 

• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to adapt production, transportation, slaughter, inventory management and market supply schedules according to needs.
• Assess impacts at all levels of production (i.e. hatcheries, egg production, chicken growers, turkey growers, feed), live bird transport, slaughter, processing, warehousing and distribution in order to identify solutions to minimize crisis management costs.

Financial aid

 

• Assist the Decision-Making Team in identifying the best financial intervention strategies to help the sector get through the crisis and possibly revive the Quebec poultry industry.
• Assist breeders with compensation files for losses incurred.

 

Objectives of the communication plan

 

Organizational:

• Ensure the coherence and consistency of messages between the different emergency measures plan teams and reduce the risks of circulating erroneous information.
• Clearly identify each person’s roles and responsibilities

Communication:

• Inform breeders and other industry stakeholders about the risks of spreading the disease and encourage them to apply the biosecurity measures necessary to control and eradicate the disease.
• Ensure that all external target audiences are adequately informed about the prevailing situation.
• Protect and maintain the reputation of the poultry sector and its products

 

Role and responsibilities of the communications team

 

• Advise the Decision-making Team on the applicable communication strategies;
• Plan and design the strategies, messages and communication tools necessary to achieve the objectives;
• Collaborate with members of the Decision-making Team on the designation and training of spokespersons;
• Coordinate a press review service to guide messages.

 

Operating structure

 

Organizational structure of communications in crisis situations

• The organization proposes a mode of action for the work of the Communications Team and sharing of responsibilities between the members of the Team.
• The Communications Team must maintain direct links with identified stakeholders in Quebec and Canada and provide information for the development of messages to various target audiences. Regarding messages intended for the media and the public, the objective of consultation with the Communications Team is not necessarily to have joint press releases issued by the crisis unit, although this could be done with the agreement of the partners involved, but at least to agree on common messages that each can subsequently release as they wish.
• EQCMA professionals will prepare messages on the operational situation of the spread of the disease and the actions taken for its control. These messages will be similar to those developed during the avian influenza cases. The EQCMA already has an email distribution network comprising of more than 250 recipients including regular members of the EQCMA, partners in the sector and government authorities (ACIA and MAPAQ), veterinary doctors who are members of the AVIA, OMVQ, AMVPQ, UPA, etc. Depending on the nature of these messages, the Communications Team may be asked to comment on them or improve them.
• The Communications Team is responsible for disseminating these messages directly to breeders and other industry stakeholders in their respective distribution networks including their counterparts at the Canadian level. The Communications Team will have primary responsibility for all public communications. EQCMA professionals will play a support role at this level as needed (e.g. technical and operational issues).

Objectives of the Traceback Team’s activities

 

• Assist the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in the collection of information allowing rapid and efficient tracing of all entries and exits (i.e. birds, products and by-products, equipment, visitors, etc.) of a production site declared infected during the critical period determined by the CFIA.
• Allow the Quebec poultry industry to intervene more effectively in voluntary control activities of animal trafficking as well as in the application of regional biosecurity measures.

 

Role and responsibilities of the Traceback Team

 

Maintains the collection of specific information requested by the CFIA so that tracing is effective and concerted, while respecting the confidential nature of the information.

Traceback Team Leader:

• sits permanently on the Operations Team;
• leads the Traceback Team along with the deputy;
• is responsible for exchanges with the CFIA regarding the team’s work;
• receives and distributes traceback requests to team members according to priorities established by the CFIA;
• allocates the resources necessary for collecting information.

Responsible for quality control:

• collects, sorts and collates, in a clear and concise format using the form provided for this purpose, the information received from those responsible for collecting the information and forwards it to the team leader and the CFIA using the email corresponding to each initial request.

Objectives of the support and logistics team activities

 

Role and responsibilities of the support and logistics team

• Identify the space, equipment and telephone services necessary for meetings of the Emergency Measures Plan teams and mobilize these resources as necessary.
• Identify the types of goods, services and human resources that teams might need in a crisis situation, identify their characteristics and potential suppliers as well as expected prices. Establish agreements with suppliers when deemed relevant.
• Establish the necessary links and processes with MAPAQ to quickly obtain geomatic maps in crisis situations.
• Identify the processes for collecting production data that may be required in a crisis situation (e.g.: identification of farms, poultry populations, etc.).
• Provide, in times of crisis, for requests from other teams in the Emergency Measures Plan.
• Collaborate with the accounting services of the Emergency Measures Plan on financial management in crisis situations and keep the crisis unit informed periodically.

Objectives of the depopulation and elimination team activities

 

• As part of the activities of the Operations Team, establish a single point of coordination and consultation for the Quebec poultry industry to manage the depopulation and elimination activities necessary following the outbreak of an animal disease exotic or emerging.
• Quickly respond to queries from the Decision Team on the best options to implement for bird euthanasia and carcass disposal.
• Collaborate with the Impact Analysis and Management Team in the implementation of depopulation strategies that this team may have to propose to the Decision-making Team.

 

Roles and responsibilities of the depopulation and elimination team

 

In normal situation

• Keep the Depopulation and Elimination Team response plan current.
• Advise the Decision-Making Team on the development and implementation of tools and strategies allowing rapid and cost-effective intervention in crisis situations.
• Identify and maintain current information, statistics, resource persons or references deemed relevant to include in the team’s Intervention Plan.
• Identify the material and human resources that may be needed in a crisis situation.
• Define criteria that will facilitate decision-making in a crisis situation (e.g. euthanasia and elimination options based on each type of breeding).

In a crisis situation

• Advise the Decision-Making Team on options to optimize the implementation of depopulation and carcass disposal activities for both infected birds in support of CFIA activities, those subject to movement restrictions and all production surplus caused by a partial or total closure of borders to shipments of products outside Quebec or Canada.
• Mobilize the material and human resources necessary for the execution of the adopted strategies.
• Validate planned activities in a timely manner with the Communications Team and the Health Technical Team based on considerations such as public opinion and animal welfare.

Objectives of the health technical team’s activities

 

• Minimize the risks of spreading exotic and emerging animal diseases in Quebec’s poultry herd.
• Minimize the consequences of these diseases on animal and human health.
• Promptly respond to queries from the EQCMA Decision Team on any matter relating to poultry health and human health.

 

Roles and responsibilities of the health technical team

 

In normal situation

• Keep the Technical Health Team intervention plan up to date.
• Advise the Decision Team on the development and implementation of any exotic and emerging animal disease prevention strategies.
• Collaborate with the Communications Team to develop messages intended for audiences affected by targeted diseases.
• Advise the Decision-making Team on training activities for poultry production stakeholders.
• Maintain an up-to-date list of experts on relevant exotic and emerging animal diseases.

In times of crisis

• Advise the Decision-Making Team on the evaluation of any report or suspicion of exotic or emerging animal disease as well as on the activation or not of intervention plans following a report.
• Advise the Decision-Making Team on any questions of a scientific and technical nature concerning the management of the disease concerned.
• Collaborate with the Communications Team and other poultry health stakeholders to develop coherent messages intended for clients affected by the disease.