DRIE Central

Providing Networking opportunities and advancing the development of Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery Knowledge.

September 26, 2011 - Tracey Danowski, Assistant Deputy Minister, Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation, spoke on the provincial government response to the recent postal disruption.
June 23, 2011 - Michael Dudley, Research Associate, Institute of Urban Studies at the University of Winnipeg presented on from Crisis to Resilience. How many recent natural disasters that have befallen metropolitan areas in the past several years (forest fires, floods and earthquakes) aren't so much "natural" but are instead the result of (or exacerbated by) poor planning decisions in the past, such as building on flood plains and other vulnerable locations, but that our "psychology of previous investment" prevents us from altering our building patterns? As well, our rigid, centralized "big pipes" approach to city building, infrastructure and commodities makes our cities vulnerable to shocks and system breakdowns, such as those associated with energy prices and availability. The presentation will argue for the incorporation of resilience principles in urban planning, which in many ways will mean a return to historical practices and forms.
February 25, 2011 - Paul Kentziger, Mary Genyk and Gord Novoselnik provided a panel discussion on the topic of developing and executing BCP/DR exercises. This is an excellent opportunity to consult with the experts on ways to initiate or improve your organization’s BCP/DR exercises.

September 15, 2010 - On Sunday, February 4th, 2007, the City of Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service lost two veteran Captains - Harold Lessard and Tom Nicholls - in a tragic house fire. Three others were severely injured when the fire rapidly spread through the house. The loss of these two husbands, fathers and members of our community cannot be measured. Mr. Alex Forrest, President of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg – Local 867 has been centrally involved in the immediate and long-term support to the UFFW members who have struggled with the trauma of losing two of their members. Mr. Forrest discussed the recovery steps and supports that have been put in place to support Winnipeg's fire fighters.
May 5, 2010 - Deo Nawmira from Mennonite Central Committee in Winnipeg was recently deployed to Haiti as part of the international earthquake relief efforts. Mr. Nawmira shared with us his experience in one of the largest disaster recovery efforts in recent history, and lessons learned from his involvement.
February 3, 2010 - Paul Robinson (Risk Management Specialist at Manitoba Public Insurance) In February 2007 the Manitoba Public Insurance Claim Centre in Portage La Prairie experienced a fire in the office space ceiling which caused structural and smoke damage and resulted in the temporary closure of the office. Paul’s presentation will cover the fire and the response to is aftermath including activities related to business resumption and insurance.

September 18, 2009 - Kristina Gordon from the National Microbiology Lab talked about their activities during the H1N1 outbreak this spring. They were at the centre of numerous international-level operations. She will also speak about their Emergency Operation Centre activation and what they were doing through the crisis.
June 19, 2009 - Jeremy Angus, Planning Officer for Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) spoke about the inclusion of education and training in the Government of Manitoba’s BCP Program. Manitoba EMO has worked in partnership to develop an on-line training offering for provincial employees that is going to be made available as part of DRI Canada’s course offerings.
February 27, 2009 - Lois Nickel, Director of Region Relations & Programs for Mennonite Disaster Service shared information about the Disaster Recovery Studies program at the Canadian Mennonite University, including:
- Hesston College program summary – pre CMU
- CMU and MDS partnering – how did this come about? Process to get there?
- Outline of the program – what do students study? Specific courses, rest of their degree – how it fits.
- Objectives of the program for students, for CMU, for MDS, for the wider community
- Where will it go from here?

AGM and Conference - Friday, October 31, 2008

September 12 - Dr. Jones' presentation on "Social Hierarchy and Public Relief during Winnipeg's 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic" provided a unique historical perspective on what actually happened in Winnipeg the last time we faced a pandemic influenza emergency. Dr. Jones' book is titled Influenza 1918: Disease, Death, and Struggle in Winnipeg
(Dr. Esyllt Jones, University of Manitoba)
June 4 - Response and Recovery to the flood at Andrew Mynarski School in February 2007.
(Brent Kolton and Herb Schaan, Winnipeg School Division Number 1)
April 22 - Response and events following the security incident at the University of Winnipeg in September 2007.
(David Mauro, University of Winnipeg)
February 22 - Tornado Recovery Lessons Learned (PDF, 1,660 KB)
(Lee Spencer, Emergency Measures Organization)

Business Impact Analysis Workshop facilitated by Chuck Lovallo, DRI Canada - Thursday, October 18, 2007

Annual General Meeting Presentation (PDF, 252KB)
2007 AGM Meeting Minutes
Conference Theme - FLOOD OF THE CENTURY, 10 YEARS AFTER Conference Brochure (PDF, 601KB)

June 8 - University of Manitoba Emergency Management Program, how does BCP fit in? (PDF, 1,264 KB)
(Kenton Friesen, University of Manitoba)
April 13 - A BCP Tale: From Theory to Practice (PDF, 146 KB)
(Gord Novoselnik, MTS Allstream)
February 8 - Interac Outage-Observation from a BCP Perspective
(Joe Krupnik, MTS Allstream)

Past Events