News

Strengthening Canada’s Emergency Preparedness at Ready 2026

Earlier this week in Ottawa, SARVAC was pleased to participate in the Ready 2026 Conference, hosted by the Canadian Red Cross. We were represented in person by Lawrence Conway, Humanitarian Workforce (HWF) Program Director, with President Janelle Coultes joining...

For MIST/NIST & Indigenous Unit Leads: Deepening Leadership Knowledge.

For Mission Incident Support Team (MIST)/ National Incident Support Team (NIST) & Indigenous Unit Leads: Additional Training Opportunity Optional training and reference materials are available to support MIST/NIST members and Indigenous Unit Leads (IUL). While...

Alberta Regional Engagement Session Recap!

Earlier this week, representatives from Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations, several Alberta First Nations, SARVAC, and Holistic Emergency Preparedness gathered in Edmonton — on the traditional territory of First Nations and Métis, and covered under Treaty 6  —...

Role-Specific & Leadership Resources

📚 Role-Specific & Leadership Resources As part of SARVAC’s Indigenous Awareness Campaign, we’re offering leadership-level resources to strengthen cultural competency and support respectful, community-centered HWF deployments. This awareness also supports local...

Cultural Awareness Strengthens Search and Rescue Response

Cultural Awareness Strengthens Search and Rescue Response November 2–8 marks Treaties Recognition Week in Ontario— an opportunity for Ontarians, and Canadians more broadly, to deepen understanding and engagement with Indigenous peoples as part of the ongoing process...

Emergency Preparedness Week Toolkit

May 7-13, 2023 This year we are back to take an active role in helping build a culture of preparedness in Canada and Emergency Preparedness Week with this year's theme: “Be Prepared. Know Your Risks.” While governments at all levels are working hard to keep Canada...

National Volunteer Week – Volunteering Weaves Us Together

Let’s celebrate our individual and collective actions in creating a strong, interconnected and vibrant SAR community here in Canada! Being a GSAR volunteer weaves us together, strengthening the fabric of our community by sharing our time, talent and energy to support...

GSAR-NACP: Legacy National Certification

We’re proud to officially roll-out the Legacy National Certification as part of our Ground Search and Rescue - National Accreditation and Certification Pilot (GSAR-NACP). Congratulations to Harry Blackmore for his undivided dedication to service and training as a...

Searcher Training Coursework for members of the Innu Nation

We are proud to share coursework provided by the Newfoundland and Labrador Search and Rescue Association (NLSARA) who have worked hard to offer Searcher training this Fall for members of the Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, Innu Nation communities alongside Royal Canadian...

Revitalization to Enhance All Hazards Response Project

The Search and Rescue Association of Alberta hosted SARVAC at its quarterly Stakeholder Committee meeting on September 29th in support of the objectives of the "Revitalization to Enhance All Hazards Response Project." Key members of Alberta's SAR community were also...

Humanitarian Workforce Project – Phase 2 Update

On May 16, 2022, Public Safety Canada advised SARVAC that a submission for Phase 2 “Supporting a  Humanitarian Workforce to Respond to COVID-19 and Other Large-Scale Emergencies” program had  been approved with the formal agreement signed on July 6, 2022.   The...

Guidelines for SARVAC AdventureSmart Stipend

Guidelines for SARVAC AdventureSmart Stipend

The AdventureSmart Stipend is back! The purpose behind the stipend is to help offset minor travel and meal costs when delivering AdventureSmart programs (for parking, mileage and or meals over lunch time etc.) as no other cost are reimbursed. For teams to qualify for...

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