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Emergency Measures Organization

Business Continuity Planning

Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is a component of emergency planning that is intended to minimize the impacts of a disruption on business activities.

In the same way that the generally-accepted best practices for emergency planning call for a flexible, adaptable ‘all-hazard’ approach to dealing with disruptions, BCP is designed to help an organization continue providing its basic and most critical functions during a disruption. This requires an understanding of your obligations to those who depend on your services, the exposure to risk your organization is willing to tolerate, and the requirements (such as equipment, data, personnel and facilities) required to deliver the required services. From this, a plan is prepared to identify the tasks, procedures and organization required to work through a disruption. A thorough BCP also includes provisions for returning to a normal state-of-operations after a disruption has occurred.

In 2006, The Emergency Measures Act was amended to require provincial government departments complete and maintain BCP as a component of their emergency planning. Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization is working with provincial government departments to provide resources and planning tools that will ensure this planning is developed to minimum standards that represent the best practices for BCP. Once departments have completed a general level of ‘all-hazard’ planning, more detailed plans will be developed to address specific scenarios, and to ensure an orderly response from the provincial government to more severe and wide-spread disruptions. The Government of Manitoba BCP Program is being developed to ensure all of the government’s functional areas and services are positioned to provide required services during a disruption, especially in areas related to life safety, the protection of property, and the environment.

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