Joint Emergency Preparedness Program

• Introduction
  • General
  • Objectives
• Process and Critical Dates
  • Preparation and Submission of Proposals
  • Approval
  • Project Update
  • Claim Reimbursement
• Project Selection
  • Eligibility Criteria
  • Selection Criteria
• Eligibility & Limitations
  • Ineligible Expenses
  • Funding Limitations
  • Taxes
• Application Form

Introduction

General

The Joint Emergency Preparedness Program (JEPP) is a federal government initiative that provides financial cost sharing with municipal and provincial governments to help meet the costs of approved emergency preparedness projects. The Emergency Measures Organization jointly administers the program with Public Safety Canada (PS) and is the interface for municipalities and provincial government agencies to access the JEPP program.

The amount of funding available under JEPP is limited and the program is therefore a competitive one. It is important to note that eligible projects may not receive funding if there are projects of a higher priority. It is therefore critical that applications be prepared appropriately so that they are as competitive as possible.

This guideline is a supplement to the Federal JEPP Guidelines and is designed to provide your community with the information necessary to prepare a JEPP application that is competitive and therefore more likely to be successful in obtaining funds for your emergency preparedness project. For complete information on the JEPP program contact your EMO Regional Emergency Officer to request a copy of the Federal JEPP Guidelines.

Objectives

The JEPP program promotes:

• Achieving an appropriate and reasonably uniform level of national civil preparedness for emergencies
• Provincial civil preparedness and through the provinces, community civil preparedness
• Providing education and training related to civil preparedness for emergencies
• Enhancing public awareness and understanding of matters related to civil preparedness of emergencies
• Analyzing and evaluating civil preparedness for emergencies and conducting related research.

In order to achieve these objectives a series of national priorities are established from time to time through consultation between federal and provincial officials. Please check with EMO to ensure that you have the latest information before preparing your application.

Current national priorities are (in no particular order):

• Training and Education
• Telecommunications
• Prototypical Initiatives
• Urban Search and Rescue

For addition information, also visit the JEPP page on the Public Safety Canada (PS) website.

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Process and Critical Dates

Since there is no guarantee that federal funds will be approved yearly by Parliament, a commitment to approve a JEPP project beyond the current federal fiscal year (April 1st - March 31st) cannot be undertaken.

Preparation and Submission of Proposals

Deadline December 1

1. Review Provincial and Federal JEPP guidelines and request an annual update to obtain the information necessary for developing a successful proposal:
   • Eligibility
   • Evaluation Criteria
   • National Priorities
2. Request advice and assistance as required from your EMO Regional Emergency Officer.
3. Use the Project Application Forms or provide the required information in a similar format to prepare your application proposal. Information and hints for proposal preparation are provided with the forms.
4. Submit two complete, original copies of your proposal, including attachments and cost estimates to your EMO regional emergency officer by December 1.
   Do not proceed with any project work or purchases prior to receiving approval from EMO.
   
   Be prepared to supply additional information if requested.

Approval

April

Your municipality will receive a letter form EMO in early April with information on acceptance, acceptance with caveats or non-acceptance from Public Safety Canada (PS).

Once approved you may proceed with the project as proposed. If changes are required to the project an amendment may be requested to reallocate approved project funding. Additional funding will not be considered.

Proposals not approved, due to JEPP financial limitations, will be held by PS for consideration should additional funds become available.

Project Update

October 1

In mid September EMO will forward a survey to all municipalities with approved JEPP projects to determine the status of these projects and determine if any funds may become available to the national JEPP pool. Municipalities should complete these surveys and return them to EMO head office as soon as possible and no later than October 1.

Claim Reimbursement

Deadline March 1st

Claims may be submitted at any time following completion of the project but no later than March 31.

Claims should be well organized and include:

• Paid invoices only for that equipment approved as part of the JEPP proposal.
• An itemized summary of all purchases

Claims will be processed as quickly as possible and a cheque presented to the municipality. Processing typically takes 6 to 12 weeks depending on the date of claim submission and any unforeseen circumstances (emergencies).

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Project Selection

Eligibility Criteria

The following criteria apply in determining those projects eligible for funding under the JEPP.

Each project must:

• Have a clear objective which supports national priorities aimed at enhancing the national emergency response capability
• Have an agreed identifiable beginning and end with measurable progress points as appropriate
• Include a statement of the nature and extent of federal involvement and show clearly how federal participation is to receive visibility and recognition
• Include a provincial/municipal financial commitment to the project
• Not be started prior to receiving Public Safety Canada's approval to proceed
• Not include costs incurred for previously purchased equipment or services
• Conform to applicable terms and conditions prescribed by the treasury board of the federal government

Selection Criteria

Provided that the criteria described above are met, a project proposal will then be assessed against the following guidelines ranked and compared against other projects.

Criteria	Weight	Detail
National Emergency Application	8	The degree to which the project is considered to enhance the overall national emergency response capability and contribute to a co-operative approach to emergency preparedness.
Urgency of Requirement	8	The relative urgency of the project from both a municipal and provincial perspective.
Wide Area Applicability	6	The degree to which the project supports other communities outside the municipality.
State of Emergency Plans	6	The relative degree of emergency preparedness practiced within the municipality (resources, training, planning and exercises).
Level of Integration	5	The degree to which the proposal conforms to current JEPP national priorities.
Degree of Visibility	3	Indication that the project contains arrangements to appropriately acknowledge the federal government's participation.

The final step to gain approval is the availability of funds. It is important to note that eligible projects that score well may not be approved if they are of a high dollar value.

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Eligibility and Limitations

Ineligible Expenses

The following specific expenses are ineligible for JEPP funds:

• Functions and equipment which are considered to be the routine responsibility of first responder agencies such as police, fire and ambulance
• Ongoing operating and maintenance costs
• Administrative support costs which are not directly related to a specific JEPP project
• Inflation allowance
• 9-1-1 emergency services systems
• Public warning systems (bells, sirens, etc.)
• Personnel pagers/alerting devices (Note that these may be considered for organizations in very remote areas.)
• Cellular/mobile telephones
• Cascade air-recharging systems
• Property numbering systems
• Lap top computers
• Major capital costs which are considered to be the responsibility of local government (buildings, extensions to buildings and other complex capital projects)
• Other expenses as may be detailed from time to time in the PS annual update

Funding Limitations

Response Vehicles

Applications submitted for the acquisition of Response Vehicles are limited to a maximum Federal contribution of $40,000.00 (including taxes) to the vehicle itself (i.e. cab and chassis/box). The following example illustrates how the cap is applied on a project that has been approved on a 50 - 50 basis:

	Total Cost	Eligible Federal Share
Vehicle:	$100,000	$40,000 (limited by cap)
Equipment:	$30,000	$15,000 (50%)
Total:	$130,000	$55,000

Rescue Vessels

Applications submitted for the acquisition of Marine Rescue Vessels may be approved on a cost-shared basis of a 30% Federal share.

Taxes

JEPP projects are subject to all applicable taxes and the cost of such taxes is an allowable project expense. It is important to identify the taxes or tax exemptions at the application stage and to provide documentation at the claim stage to support the tax arrangements. Municipalities are entitled to claim 57.14% of the GST they pay out through a rebate program administered by Revenue Canada. Therefore, only 42.86% of the GST is eligible for JEPP cost sharing; similarly consultants' fees are subject to GST if the individual earns a sufficient annual amount from this sources. As an example, an application should either include the amount proposed for a consultant's fees plus GST or state that the consultant is exempt form the GST.

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Application

Contact EMO for a copy of the JEPP application form, or get it here as a PDF file (14 KB).