Public Safety and Security in Greenland, Arctic Canada, and Alaska

Public Safety and Security in Greenland, Arctic Canada, and Alaska Julie Kitka, President Alaska Federation of Natives 3000 A Street, Suite 210 Anchorage, AK 99503 December 2018 Public Safety and Security in Greenland, Arctic Canada, and Alaska TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 5 Disaster Organization in Greenland 6 Shared Jurisdiction Greenland Department of Environment and Contingency Management Joint Arctic Command Chief Constable of Greenland Danish Emergency Management Agency Additional Greenland Observations Disaster Organization in Arctic Canada 9 Canadian Armed Forces Canadian Coast Guard Public Safety Canada Example of Another Federal Department’s Involvement Yukon Emergency Measures Organization Northwest Territories Emergency Management Organization Nunavut Emergency Management Royal Canadian Mounted Police ADDITIONAL CANADA OBSERVATIONS Disaster Organization in Alaska 14 U.S. Northern Command U.S. Coast Guard Alaska (Seventeenth District) Alaska National Guard Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Federal Emergency Management Agency Example of Other Relevant Agencies: Secretary of State Village Public Safety Officer Program Public Safety and Community Policing … Department of Justice Additional Alaska / United States Observations Selected General Disaster References Relevant for the North American Arctic 18 INTRODUCTION This short report provides a brief overview of public safety and security organizations in Greenland, Arctic Canada, and Alaska. This summary focuses primarily on disaster preparedness and response. Disaster resilience and disaster risk reduction are also important areas areas of concern, but they are only briefly touched upon here. The primary concerns that fall under public safety and security can be defined in many ways. One useful set of definitions, from a Northern perspective, is that used by the Government of Iceland1 that includes natural catastrophes, epidemics, terrorist actions, international organized crime, environmental threats of various types, the risk of pandemics, risk of nuclear accidents, proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons, disruption or destruction of the country’s infrastructure, such as computer, telecommunications, energy and financial systems, clashes between cultures, etc. The information in this report is intended to provide an overview comparing and contrasting disaster preparedness and response organization in these three countries at a high level, without extensive, in-depth analysis. One can observe that in Greenland, disaster preparedness structures are organized to deal with three principal issues: oil spills; search and rescue (including cruise ships); and, to a lesser degree, terrorism. Whereas in Alaska, being located on the Pacific ring of fire adds substantially to the risk of earthquakes and tsunamis. Other factors such as erosion, related in part to climate change, are also significant challenges in Alaska. It is accurate to say that wildfire risks in Alaska and the Yukon outweigh similar risks further east. Another conspicuous difference is the organizational complexity in Greenland. One analyst observes: “The governance structure consists of both Danish, Greenlandic and mixed Danish-Greenlandic authorities, with and without decision-making power, with or without operational control over available search and rescue resources, which are either fully or only partly available for search and rescue and oil spill response purposes, with military or/and civil tasks, and with overall national or/ and local authority.”2 1 Government Offices of Iceland, Public Safety and Security, https://www.government.is/topics/public-safety-and-security/ 2 “Maritime preparedness systems in the Arctic: institutional arrangements and potential for collaboration” Nord University, Bodø, May 4, 2018, https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2501164/FoURapport272018.pdf?sequence=5 5 DISASTER ORGANIZATION IN GREENLAND Shared Jurisdiction3 The institutional framework and governance structure of the preparedness system of Greenland are complicated. As a self-governing sub-state within the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland has only limited responsibility for emergency preparedness. As part of the self-governance arrangement of Greenland a number of policy areas have been transferred to Greenlandic authorities, while other policy areas remain with Danish authorities. Generally speaking, Greenlandic authorities for the environment are responsible for ocean areas that are within three nautical miles from land. Denmark has jurisdiction of the marine environment from the three nautical mile limit and out to 200 nautical miles. The operating authorities in Search and Rescue situations are the Greenland Police in case of situations in coastal waters and the Danish Joint Arctic Command in situations outside coastal waters. In the case of Oil Spill Response, there is also a division of labor and responsibilities between Danish and Greenlandic authorities. The Government of Greenland, in practical terms the municipal fire brigades, has response responsibility within the three nautical miles limit. The Government of Denmark, in practical terms the Danish Joint Arctic Command, is responsible within the 200 nautical mile limit. One source notes that, formally, the level of Terrorist Threat is the same for all parts of Denmark and, therefore the same level in Greenland as in Denmark. Currently, according to the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, the threat is “serious.” There is no actual example of a terrorist attack in Greenland. Counterterrorist actions would have to rely on resources based in Denmark or abroad. Greenland Department of Environment and Contingency Management The principal Greenland government agency for disaster matters is the Department of Environment and Contingency Management.4 The department concerns itself with the safety of citizens and measures related to accidents and disasters. Particularly relevant aspects of the Department’s work include Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Contingency Management. The Greenland Department of Environment and Contingency Management also provides the secretariat function for the Emergency Services Commission. The purpose of Environmental Emergency Preparedness is to combat oil and chemical pollution that can harm the environment. Activities are divided into two areas of responsibility, land and sea. Environmental emergency preparedness personnel and equipment are located at fire stations in 12 Greenland towns. 3 “Maritime preparedness systems in the Arctic: institutional arrangements and potential for collaboration” Nord University, Bodø, May 4, 2018, https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2501164/FoURapport272018. pdf?sequence=5 4 Department of Environment and Contingency Management, Government of Greenland, https://naalakkersuisut.gl/en/ Naalakkersuisut/Departments/Natur-Miljoe/Miljoe-og-beredskabsafd 6 The Department defines Contingency Management as all about being prepared. Activities include the management and control of import, storage, distribution, and use of explosives. In collaboration with the police, announced and unannounced inspections are carried out at explosives magazines and construction sites where explosives are used. With regard to fire service, advisory services and training are provided to municipal fire services related to the Emergency Preparedness Act and daily operations. Other departments of the Government of Greenland may also be involved in disaster activities. For example, the Environment Agency for Mineral Resources Activities is responsible for the marine environment in relation to mining activities, regardless of where the activity takes place. To support crisis management, the Emergency Services Commission is the organizational focal point for policy and crisis management between the Greenlandic and Danish authorities. It has the mandate to advise and inform the political system, including the Government of Greenland, municipal mayors, and state authorities on matters of emergency. The Emergency Services Commission’s objective is the coordination of measures and resources to ensure that there is the necessary political backing and financial support for operational efforts during a crisis. Authorities at the operational level request the Commission to rule on selected issues. While the Commission provides a basis for a coordinated use of Greenlandic and Danish resources in case of catastrophes, it has no independent decision-making power. Its primary role is to ensure the preparation of a contingency plan for all of Greenland, and that this plan is continuously updated. Joint Arctic Command The Danish Joint Arctic Command is headquartered in Nuuk, Greenland. The Command’s main tasks are surveillance and enforcement of sovereignty and the military defense of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Its other tasks include fishing vessel inspection, search and rescue, maritime pollution prevention, hydrographic surveys, and miscellaneous support to the civilian society. The Joint Arctic Command is a joint operational command with personnel from each of the three services.5 The Joint Arctic Command organized search and rescue exercises in 2012 and 2013 in Greenland waters, including a focus on an oil spill scenario. Lessons learned include: • The Joint Arctic Command needs to review and update contingency plans for major accidents at sea. • The sparse population and the distances involved in the high Arctic put a limit to what ships can be made available

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