1. Introduction

The Extreme Incident Response Plan was approved by the Solicitor General on November 28, 2023 for the purpose of Adequate and Effective Policing (General) Regulation made under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019.

“Extreme incident” means, in relation to a police service, a situation in which there is reason to suspect either:

  1. a terrorism offence within the meaning of section 2 of the Criminal Code (Canada) that will cause or has caused casualties or negative impacts to critical infrastructure in the police service’s area of policing responsibility will be or has been committed
  2. a criminal offence that will cause or has caused mass casualties will be or has been committed, and the effects of that offence could potentially exceed the capacity of the police service
  3. a criminal offence that will cause or has caused negative impacts to critical infrastructure, requiring a response by the police service that could potentially exceed its capacity, will be or has been committed
  4. multiple active attacker incidents, at least one of which is in the police service’s area of policing responsibility, will occur or are occurring, simultaneously, and there is reason to suspect the incidents are related
  5. a protest, demonstration or occupation that will pose a serious threat to human life or critical infrastructure will occur or is occurring.

The Extreme Incident Response Plan (EIRP) replaces the current Provincial Counter-Terrorism Plan (PCTP). However, it is important to note that the scope of the EIRP is broader than the PCTP and is not limited to acts of terrorism. Further, the EIRP also replaces the Extreme Event Communications Protocol distributed by All Chiefs Memo (ACM) 19-0050 on July 03, 2019.

Generally, the primary operational response to any extreme incident in Ontario is made by the Police Service of Jurisdiction (PoJ) along with other first responders. Local (that is, municipal or First Nation), provincial governments, entities that own critical infrastructure and law enforcement have varied responsibilities that may require concurrent or complementary action in response to an extreme incident. The EIRP will assist the PoJ in standardizing its training and preparations for responding to any extreme incident. The EIRP focuses on effective police coordination and communication, while acknowledging that a coordinated and effective response to any extreme incident can involve numerous agencies and departments from all levels of government with overlapping responsibilities and mandates.

1.1 Purpose

The aim of the EIRP is to outline the specific responsibilities of the chief of police or designate of the PoJ in Ontario in responding to and effectively managing an extreme incident with the goal of:

  • preventing the continuation of the incident
  • safeguarding human life and property
  • and restoring order.

1.2 Scope and application

The EIRP provides a strategic framework for police services for systematic, coordinated and effective police response to any extreme incident. It will complement other response plans such as the Provincial Emergency Response Plan (PERP) and the Provincial Nuclear Emergency Response Plan (PNERP). The EIRP and other response plans may also be activated simultaneously. Such circumstances may include, but are not limited to, the following: activation of the PERP or the occurrence of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) related extreme incident, which may also result in the activation of the PNERP.

2. Planning

Every chief of police or designate shall:

  1. ensure that the Notification Protocol (Referred to in section 3.3) is disseminated to appropriate front-line members through to senior command of the police service
  2. ensure the protocol is kept current with regard to contacts and positions, titles and roles
  3. undertake risk assessments at a minimum annually or more frequently as required to identify potential targets (for example, persons, places, objects or systems) that are anticipated to be the subject of an extreme incident including, but not limited to:
    1. creating and maintaining an up-to-date inventory of potential targets that are anticipated to be the subject of an extreme incident within the police service’s area of responsibility
    2. assessing the risk of an extreme incident (high/medium/low) associated with these targets
  4. ensure open lines of communication are created and maintained to share information, including intelligence relevant to an extreme incident with other police services and relevant entities including but not limited to OPP Provincial Operations Centre (POC)
  5. Based on assessment of police services’ local needs, ensure that a process is in place to identify and access necessary resources, including but not limited to:
    1. personal protective equipment
    2. specialized services (for example, tactical units)
    3. vehicles
    4. training
    5. temporary accommodation
    6. decontamination equipment
    7. telecommunications equipment (which are also interoperable)
  6. Review, train on and exercise their respective procedures at a minimum every two years, and following legislative and operational changes affecting extreme incident response as applicable. This process will consist of:
    1. Reviewing their respective procedures for compliance with legislative and operational changes, including linkages with the municipal or First Nation emergency plan(s) within their jurisdiction.
    2. Conducting a simulated drill or sequence of events that places participants in a situation requiring them to function in the capacity that would be expected of them in the event of a real extreme incident. The simulated drill or sequence of events shall be performed concurrently with other police services and should also involve other relevant entities (for example, emergency service providers). This simulated drill or sequence of events shall at a minimum, test the interoperability of communication systems between the PoJ and other participating police services and any participating other relevant entities.
    3. Considering how recent extreme incidents were responded to and lessons learned.

3. Operational Response

3.1 Police Service of Jurisdiction response

Based on information received regarding an extreme incident, the chief of police or designate of the PoJ shall ensure that the following responsibilities are fulfilled as the circumstances require in addition to satisfying any other operational priorities that may exist: 

  1. implementing initial response and determining priorities, roles, and responsibilities of responding police officers on the scene(s)  
  2. undertaking the applicable steps from the Notification Protocol (see section 3.3)
  3. establishing an incident command or an integrated unified incident command (as applicable)
  4. co-ordinating actions of responding police officers and specialized responders as applicable, including liaising with other emergency service providers, such as fire and emergency medical services
  5. activating any applicable agreements, as required, including agreements for the transfer of command to other police services or the RCMP, where applicable
  6. following the inter-agency cooperation and information and intelligence sharing protocols (see section 4.0)
  7. providing timely and relevant information to the media, including issuing public alerts, as required (also see section 5.0)
  8. providing assistance to victims and witnesses, including the provision of referrals that are appropriate in the circumstances to emergency services, health care professionals, victim support agencies, social service agencies and other appropriate governmental, non-governmental or community organizations.

3.1.1 Consequence management response

The chief of police or designate of the PoJ shall ensure that notification is given to municipal, First Nation, provincial, and federal government emergency service providers, as applicable, when it is safe for them to start addressing the consequence(s) of an extreme incident.

To ensure a coordinated effort with respect to consequence management response, including rescue and recovery efforts, chiefs of police or designate shall liaise with other emergency services providers, such as fire, emergency medical services, hospitals and public health officials, as applicable.

3.1.2 Criminal investigative response

The chief of police or designate of the PoJ shall exercise primary responsibilities in resulting investigations subject to the Security Offences Act or other legislation assigning primary responsibility to a specific police service or to an agreement pursuant to s. 14 of the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 with another police service to undertake the relevant investigation.

3.1.3 Request for temporary and emergency assistance

Not all extreme incidents are necessarily emergencies within the meaning of subsection 19(4) of the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 (CSPA, 2019) or the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. Whether an extreme incident would be classified as an emergency would depend on various factors including, but not limited to, the level of threat, number of casualties, resources employed, and the overall severity and scope of an extreme incident.  

In accordance with section 19 of the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 a chief of police of a PoJ, who is of the opinion that an extreme incident that exists in their jurisdiction is an emergency, may request the Commissioner of the OPP or chief of another police service to provide assistance. A police service board may also request the OPP's or another police service’s assistance by resolution. The Commissioner shall provide such temporary or emergency assistance as he or she considers necessary. Other chiefs of police may provide assistance or may decline.

If it is determined that existing resources, including those provided under section 14 agreements, are inadequate to respond effectively to an extreme incident, the PoJ may contact the Ministry of the Solicitor General (SOLGEN) through the OPP POC for support and higher-level coordination in accordance with the Notification Protocol.

3.2 Provincial government responsibilities

The efficacy of the ministry’s response is contingent upon the effective communication between relevant partners. Hence, chiefs of police are required to comply with the processes outlined in the Notification Protocol. The Notification Protocol is established to ensure that necessary notifications are made, and a continuous information flow is maintained with relevant entities for situational awareness and to inform strategic decisions as needed.

3.3 Notification protocol

Extreme Incident Response Plan notification protocol - description is below.

 

Extreme Incident

  • In the case of an extreme incident, the chief of police or designate of the police service of jurisdiction shall make prompt notifications to the Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner via the OPP Provincial Operational Centre and continue to provide updates to maintain situational awareness and to inform strategic and operational decisions as needed.
  • The OPP Commissioner or designate shall notify the Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) of Community Safety or designate and the Provincial Security Advisor (PSA) or designate of the extreme incident. In the case of an extreme incident in OPP jurisdiction, the Commissioner shall notify the DSG of Community Safety or designate and the PSA or designate. The OPP shall continue to liaise with the PoJ and other entities as needed to provide continuous updates to the DSG and PSA to maintain situational awareness.

Note: The OPP POC shall also make appropriate notifications to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as required.

4. Inter-agency cooperation, and information and intelligence sharing protocols

4.1 Continuous information and intelligence sharing and inter-agency cooperation

The chiefs of police or designate of the PoJ and other police services shall share information, including intelligence relevant to an extreme incident with each other and relevant entities as necessary to support an effective response, maintain situational awareness and public safety, and facilitate coordination of resources in accordance with local plans and standard operating procedures, or on an ad hoc basis, to the extent such disclosure is legally permitted.

4.2 Situational awareness and monitoring

The chief of police or designate of the PoJ shall provide updates to the OPP Provincial Operations Centre (POC) as per the Notification Protocol included in section 3.3. In addition, the chief of police or designate of the PoJ shall inform their respective Board of the extreme incident and continue providing appropriate updates through the Chair of the Board or their designate.

The members of the OPP POC shall liaise with the PoJ, other appropriate police services, and relevant entities to provide updates to DSG and PSA. For larger scale or protracted events, the responsibility for liaising with the PoJ may be transferred to the OPP General Headquarters Emergency Operations Centre.

The purposes of the updates are to: 

  • maintain situational awareness of the extreme incident
  • issue appropriate notifications and updates on the extreme incident.

5. Communications

5.1 Public communications and media relations

The decision whether to make public any information relating to the extreme incident shall be made by the chief of police or designate of the PoJ. The chief of police or designate of the PoJ shall, where appropriate:

  • disseminate directions to personnel with regards to media scene access restrictions and access to the perimeters of the scene, as appropriate
  • release appropriate information to the media and members of public
  • maintain ongoing liaison with the media.

5.2 Public alerts

The chief of police or designate of the PoJ shall ensure that public alerts are made as required using:

  • social media notification
  • an emergency alert system that delivers alerts through television, radio, and wireless devices.

6. Post incident review

The chief of police or designate of the PoJ shall prepare a report reviewing and evaluating the police service’s response to the incident. At a minimum, it must include:

  • General information regarding the incident, including the nature of the incident, the date, time and location of the incident, the environment in which the incident occurred and the details on the response to the incident.
  • The type of personnel from the police service and other agencies involved in responding to the incident and their role in the response.
  • An analysis of the outcome of the incident, including what worked well and recommendations for improvements, including matters to be addressed through changes to procedures and/or training.
  • As applicable, the impact of the extreme incident and the PoJ's response to the extreme incident as it related to:
    • victims
    • the community
    • the PoJ and other first responder agencies
    • individual members of the PoJ.

When an extreme incident involves the members of another police service, the chief of police of the jurisdiction in which the extreme incident occurred shall prepare the above report in consultation with the chiefs of police of the other involved police services and those chiefs of police are not required to prepare a report.

The chief of police or designate of the PoJ shall endeavour to ensure the report is prepared within 120 days after:

  • The day of the incident, if there is no Special Investigations Unit investigation into the incident.
  • If there is a Special Investigations Unit investigation into the incident, the day on which public notice in respect of the incident is given under section 33 of the Special Investigations Unit Act, 2019 or a report is published in respect of the incident under section 34 of that Act, as the case may be.

If the above timing requirements are not met, the chief of police shall give notice of the status of the report to the board every 30 days until the report is prepared.

Submission and Publishing of the Report:

  • The chief of police or designate of the PoJ shall provide their police service board or, in the case of the Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, the Solicitor General with the report within 30 days after the chief of police or Commissioner’s approval
  • The police service board or the Minister shall publish the report on the internet
    • The board or Solicitor General shall not make any information from the report available to the public without consulting with the chief of police regarding (1) whether any information from the report should not be disclosed and (2) whether the information could be redacted if access to the report were requested under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA)
    • The police service board or Solicitor General shall not redact any information in the report that would be required to be disclosed in response to a request for access under the FIPPA or MFIPPA, as the case may be.

7. Appendix A: glossary

Consequence management: Measures and activities undertaken to alleviate the damage, loss, hardship, and suffering caused by extreme incidents. It also includes measures to restore essential services, protect public health, and provide emergency relief to affected governments, businesses, and populations.

Active attacker: An individual who appears to be engaged in, attempting to engage in, or about to engage in an attack where there is reason to suspect that:

  1. the attack will be sustained
  2. the attacker will cause serious bodily harm or death to other individuals
  3. the attacker will continue to attack more individuals if the attacker is not stopped.

Police Service of Jurisdiction (PoJ): The police service responsible for providing adequate and effective policing in the relevant jurisdiction in accordance with sections 10 and 11 of the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019.

Situational awareness: A continuous process of collecting, analyzing and disseminating intelligence, information and knowledge relating to an extreme incident to allow relevant organizations and individuals to anticipate requirements and to prepare appropriately for responding to an extreme incident.

Critical infrastructure: Processes, systems, facilities, technologies, networks, assets, and services essential to the health, safety, security, or economic well-being of Canadians and to the effective functioning of government including processes, systems, facilities, technologies, networks, assets or services that are interconnected and interdependent with those of another province or territory of Canada, or with the United States.