From weather alerts to cooling centres, here’s how Ontario’s emergency management system works when temperatures become dangerous.
Earlier this week, I wrote an article for Her Money, Her Masterpiece about the recent heat waves in France and Ontario. In writing it, I learned that the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) often calls extreme heat the “silent killer.”
No one can control the weather, so I wondered what a municipality’s role is in helping people through extreme heat.
Municipal Minute
The province of Ontario sets many of the responsibilities municipalities have through the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.9.
It states, in part:
“Every municipality in Ontario must develop and implement an emergency management program, adopt it by by-law, train staff, educate the public, and review its emergency plan annually.”
At first glance, a heat wave looks like a weather story. In reality, it’s also an emergency preparedness story, though it’s important to note that heat warnings do not automatically trigger a municipality’s formal emergency plan.
Ontario’s Harmonized Heat Warning and Information System (HWIS) supports Ontario’s boards of health and public health units (PHUs), which work in partnership with municipalities and community agencies.
So who responds during a heat wave?
Civic Decoder
According to the HWIS:
“The municipalities’ roles may involve a range of various departments/divisions, ranging from recreation to public works to social services, as well as multiple community partners, from the Red Cross and utility companies to landlords, faith-based organizations, and smaller local service organizations.”
The response is a coordinated effort, as the ECCC (Environment and Climate Change Canada) forecasts conditions, monitors the weather, and issues forecasts and alerts.
Health Canada is responsible for providing heat-related health information, while the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit publishes useful information on its website about extreme heat, a link to which is also available on the Town of Innisfil’s website.
Community Connection
How does Innisfil respond?
The Town of Innisfil communicates through the Town’s official channels as well as local news sources. The Town of Innisfil’s libraries have served as cooling centres, as has the YMCA in the past.
The splash pad at Innisfil Town Square is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day until it closes in September.
Civic Lens
As extreme heat can cause severe illness and even death, should municipalities eventually think about heat the way they think about snow?
Since recreation programming is part of the conversation, you can take part in the Parks & Recreation User Fee Review, which includes a survey that is open until July 31, here: https://www.getinvolvedinnisfil.ca/fees.
Amber’s Look to the Future
Heat waves aren’t just weather events—they’re increasingly becoming planning challenges. Municipalities across Ontario are already thinking about issues such as tree canopy, cooling spaces, emergency preparedness, recreation facilities, and long-term infrastructure.
Innisfil is participating in programs such as the Partners for Climate Protection program and has adopted an Integrated Sustainability Master Plan.
Provincially, Bill 81, the Ontario Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Act, 2025, proposes placing greater emphasis on preparing communities for the impacts of climate change if it becomes law.
Whether those initiatives prove successful remains to be seen, but one thing seems clear: municipalities aren’t only responding to today’s weather. They’re beginning to plan for tomorrow’s.
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