Public Risk Conference Material

Disasters in Alberta: AEMA's Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

Learn from about the new Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) methodology, which once implemented, will be available, for all local authorities (Municipalities, First Nations and Metis Settlements) to evaluate their disaster risk landscape and fulfill the obligation to complete a hazard assessment, as set out in the Local Authorities Emergency Management Regulation (LAEMR).

Pyke v Calgary: The road to clarity from municipal immunity under the MGA – Presented by: Brownlee LLP

The Alberta Court of Appeal has made their ruling in the Pyke v. City of Calgary action regarding municipal liability for roads and public infrastructure. The decision addresses various sections of the Municipal Government Act providing protection to municipalities. This session will explore the Municipal Government Act defenses, their judicial interpretation, and commentary on the recent Pyke decision. It will arm attendees with takeaways and recommendations for best practices.

Asset Management Best Practices– Presented by Alberta Municipalities

Asset Management is the practice of weighing cost, risk, and service levels of assets to support a municipality in achieving its goals. Alberta Municipalities has partnered with several organizations to promote asset management and provide training to elected officials and administrators. This session will provide a high-level overview of asset management, ABmunis’ approach to making the training relevant to communities of all sizes and how risk management has been integrated into the training materials for future use.

Wildfire, Wildland Urban Interface

Get a look at the Alberta Wildland Urban Interface Program, which includes vision, end state, and governance. This session will include a brief retrospective of the 2023 wildfire season to cover the work of the WUI Program, and the successful collaboration with municipal fire departments in protecting Albertans and their property. It will also highlight also discuss briefly any significant changes to the program in 2024 that you need to be aware of.

Cyber Security and Trending Threats, Presented by Norton Rose Fulbright Canada

Join us in exploring the ever-changing landscape of cyber threats, where malicious actors continually adapt their tactics, leaving organizations at risk. Gain valuable insights into the specific types of attacks and discover proactive strategies to mitigate these risks. Attendees will take away practical knowledge on recognizing and avoiding potential threats, empowering attendees to bolster their organization's resilience against cybercriminal activities. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your risk management skills and fortify your organization's defenses in the face of evolving cybersecurity challenges.

Loss Control, Presented by Suncorp Valuations

In this session Suncorp will present the value of a Property Risk Management Survey, outline the structure, and how to interpret the information detailed within. Experts will explain the recommendations, outline next steps once the report is received, and show how to ensure a review and follow-up process is created. Suncorp will also outline some common recommendations and examples that you can look out for in all buildings while you wait for an individual inspection.

Alberta Water Act, Presented by DDC Lawyers

This informative session will delve into the complex challenges associated with the Water Act. The DDC team will comprehensively explore the intricate interplay between the Water Act and the Municipal Government Act. We will analyze practical insights into the implications of these interactions and offer an understanding of how municipal authorities navigate the regulatory landscape. Attendees will gain valuable knowledge about the practical implications of the Water Act and its dynamic relationship with the Municipal Government Act, empowering them with the tools needed for effective decision-making in their respective jurisdictions.

Wrongful Dismissal – Presented by Alberta Municipalities

Employee dismissals are one of the most difficult and complicated situations faced by municipalities. While a departing employee will almost always be entitled to severance, there are ways to reduce the amount owing and mitigate the risk of paying legal fees and other damages on top of that. This session will provide an overview of the law of wrongful dismissal, then set out best practices for: 
- minimizing severance payments
- ensuring that legal costs of defending wrongful dismissal claims are covered by insurance, and 
- avoiding claims of bad faith and other damages

Contractual Risk Management Beyond Insurance, Presented by Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP

Contracts are the lifeblood of getting things done and permeate every area of a municipality’s operations. And often, a core purpose of a contract is to assign where and how certain risks will be assumed. In this session, lawyers Ben Throndson and Mitchell Hayward will present several key areas beyond insurance where effective contractual risk management is especially valuable for municipalities. Join Ben and Mitchell as they discuss risk management in the context of land and real estate transfers, construction and infrastructure projects, indemnities, force majeure provisions, liability caps, and more. Participants will leave the session with valuable knowledge and practical insights they can implement right away.

Have Upstanding Citizens: Slips and Falls and Municipal Duty of Care

In conjunction with recent decisions and the Municipal Government Act, we will discuss the aspects of a municipality’s duty of care and due diligence as it relates to how the work is carried out, components of a contract/snow removal policy and record keeping regarding snow and ice removal. Other important areas of discussion will focus on risk management, what types of systems should be in place to monitor the work and how to address unexpected/significant winter events.

Navigating Property Values in Volatile Economic Times

The presentation will look at the impact the global pandemic had on the Canadian economy and where construction market emerged leaving property owners scrambling to ensure they understand today’s costs and have adequate protection in place.

Water Damage Mitigation

This session illustrates how water damage can occur and its effects on building materials. It will show how quickly secondary damage happens and the actions taken to reduce the damage, including the best water removal processes and equipment. The steps of mitigation as well as mold growth will also be discussed.

Modernizing Liability Insurance for ABmunis members

It is important to stay on top of changes in the insurance market, and keeping the insurance wordings and coverages for your program up to date. In this session we will discuss the changes made to the liability insurance coverage wordings in 2023 and how that affects your organization.

Emerging Issues and Stakeholder Collaboration

Severe weather is increasing in frequency and severity across the country. In 2022, we experienced Canada’s third costliest year for insured damages in our nation’s history. Insurance is all about risk and Canada is becoming a riskier place to do business. What is being done to help develop solutions for some of our biggest severe weather challenges? This session will provide information on what the insurance industry is doing, and the collaborative work with government, to build more resilience across the country.

Trends in Municipal Defences

This session will discuss MGA defences with updated case law on how municipalities are able to use the various statutory defences to immunize themselves from claims and lawsuits. We will discuss the various decisions we have been successful with where the claims has been dismissed either after a summary dismissal application or a full trial. There will also be info on various claims like occupiers’ liability, personal injury, trespass, and collateral attacks. We will discuss the trends in the courts for future claims and interpretation of the MGA.

Workplace Harassment: Risky Business for Employers

Municipalities are unique employers in that their employees deal directly and regularly with the public. Unfortunately, this can often lead to municipal employees receiving harassment in the workplace. This presentation will review many of the risks for municipal employers arising from workplace harassment, and some strategies to deal with it.

How to Manage a Cyber Claim for Public Entities

This session will include examples of Canadian cyber claims that have been experienced as well as the importance of a prepared incident response plan. We will outline the role of a breach coach as well as the possible legal issues during breach response. Learn how to avoid decisions that result in insurance coverage loss.

Waivers, Assumptions of Risk, and Facility Use Agreements - How Local Governments Minimize Risk Through Contractual Means

In this session, we will review the ways in which local governments are able to transfer liability risk by making use of waivers, assumption of risk language, and facility use agreements. They will cover the form and content required to ensure your contracts are enforceable and the importance of how they are presented to the public in advance of their execution.

Building Resilience

In extreme situations, being prepared for disasters can save lives. This presentation will introduce the Government of Alberta’s personal preparedness program, which is created for communities and local organizations to champion preparedness at the local level.

Compensation for Auto Property Damage

There have been changes in how auto insurance claims are settled in Alberta as of Jan 1, 2022. This will outline the changes, and how it affects the policyholder.

Cyber Hygiene

In the ever-changing cyber landscape it is important to keep an eye on new and existing best practices. This will discuss Key Cyber controls and Hygiene.

FireSmart Alberta Strategic Goals

This session will (re)introduce FireSmart Alberta, and unveil the strategic plan which includes 6 goals, supporting objectives, and increase awareness and application of FireSmart Measures in the Province.

Insuring the Public Construction Project - A Real World Application

Successful public projects are built upon a foundation of rigorous project planning and design during the Pre-Construction phase. Learn how to make key insurance and risk management decisions early on that will improve your chances of projects success, such as:

• Timelines for Arranging Insurance Coverage
• Proper drafting of tender specs as relates insurance
• Project delivery models/ impacts to insurance
• Project type and size/ insurance type thresholds

MGA Defences - Your Statutory Shield

Municipalities are treated differently in certain circumstances when compared to other litigants. The MGA provides numerous defences, which will be outlined with real-world examples.

Municipal Enforcement

Deciding whether or not to take enforcement proceedings with respect to contraventions of Municipal bylaws can seem like a no-win situation. We will discuss some of the available options when it comes to municipal enforcement and ways to reduce potential liability.

Policy vs. Operational Decision: Where does the liability line fall?

The Concept of Government Liability in negligence for policy vs. Operational decisions has existed for some time. In City of Nelson v Marchi, 2021 SSC 41, the Supreme Court considered this concept. This presentation addresses the Supreme Court's decision and provides context to its application in Alberta.

Can Local Government "Waive" Goodbye to Liability?

This session gives delegates an overview of the ways in which risk is transferred through the use of waivers. We discuss why waivers are used and the steps that public agencies should take to ensure they are enforceable.