3. Context The Emergency Management Framework for Canada defines a collaborative approach to emergency management and establishes a federal, provincial and territorial partnership for enhancing the public safety of Canadians. The Framework identifies principles of cooperation (i.e. responsibility, comprehensiveness, partnerships, coherency of action, risk-based, all-hazards, resilience, clear communications, and continuous improvement) and it recognizes that emergency management is comprised of interdependent risk-based functions: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Based on the principles of the Emergency Management Framework for Canada, the Strategy presents a collaborative approach to strengthening the resiliency of critical infrastructure in Canada, ensuring that federal, provincial and territorial critical infrastructure activities are complementary and respect the laws of each jurisdiction. Consistent with the principles established in the Emergency Management Framework for Canada, the Strategy will be interpreted in full respect of each government’s jurisdiction. Critical infrastructure refers to processes, systems, facilities, technologies, networks, assets and services essential to the health, safety, security or economic well-being of Canadians and the effective functioning of government. Critical infrastructure can be stand-alone or interconnected and interdependent within and across provinces, territories and national borders. Disruptions of critical infrastructure could result in catastrophic loss of life and adverse economic effects. The Emergency Management Framework for Canada defines resilience as the capacity of a system, community or society potentially exposed to hazards to adapt, by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure. The Strategy recognizes that defining ‘acceptable levels’ and the concept of ‘criticality’ is a matter of relativity. Therefore, the Strategy aims to support a collective approach to managing risks and interdependencies, and establishes a collaborative approach to strengthening the resiliency of critical infrastructure in Canada. The Strategy is also based on the recognition that enhancing the resiliency of critical infrastructure can be achieved through the appropriate combination of security measures to address intentional and accidental incidents, business continuity practices to deal with disruptions and ensure the continuation of essential services, and emergency management planning to ensure adequate response procedures are in place to deal with unforeseen disruptions and natural disasters. What are the risks to critical infrastructure in Canada? The risks are increasingly complex and frequent. They include natural, intentional and accidental hazards. Recent events illustrate the importance of protecting critical infrastructure from all types of hazards: the 1996 Saguenay Flood, the 1997 Red River Flood, the 1998 Ice Storm, the terrorist attacks of September 2001, the 2003 Power Blackout, the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak, the 2005 London Bombings and Hurricane Katrina. As the rate and severity of natural disasters increases, so does the possibility that disruptions of critical infrastructure could result in prolonged loss of essential services. The risks and vulnerabilities are heightened by the complex system of interdependencies among critical infrastructure, which can lead to cascading effects expanding across borders and sectors. The implications of these interdependencies are compounded by society’s increasing reliance on information technologies. 4