Government establishes new safety and security program in Regina

Regina will serve as home to the new Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP), which seeks to strengthen the country’s public safety and national security priorities.

The program aims to enhance Canada’s ability to anticipate, prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters, serious accidents, crime and acts of terrorism, notes a statement from the CSSP and the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces.

The program brings together the security work of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological-Nuclear and Explosives Research and Technology Initiative, the Public Security Technical Program and the Canadian Police Research Centre. The harmonization allows investments to be distributed more effectively across the different domains, enables Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) to streamline administrative processes and enhances alignment with Government of Canada priorities.

“This annual federal investment of $43.5 million supports the development of science and technology capabilities to help prevent crises, and enables a better response and recovery should an incident occur,” states national defence minister Peter MacKay.

Supporting development of science and technology capabilities is intended to help ensure collaboration among all levels of government, industry and academia, as well as professionals in emergency management and response, public health, law enforcement and intelligence.

DRDC will manage CSSP investments to build further capabilities in areas such as chemical, biological, radiological-nuclear and explosives threats, border and transportation security, emergency management, surveillance and intelligence, cybersecurity, interoperability and critical infrastructure.