Speaking about the results that public education and awareness programs on emergency management have in Canada, it is important to understand that there exist two groups of individuals with different circumstances as regard to the implementation of the program: those who appear to benefit from the public education and those who do not have such an opportunity due to a variety of personal problems. Doubtless, people who participate in the above-mentioned programs acquire numerous advantages, as well as those who fail to do so put themselves at the risk to appear in an emergency without proper training. In the following paper, the pros and cons of the given programs will be considered along with the conclusion on their significance in the Canadian context.
First of all, public education and awareness programs on emergency management have manifold advantages in the life of common people. The major vantages the participants of such programs gain are the skills of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery in complicated situations (Coppola 8). To illustrate, a young boy from Ottawa, Nathan Lewandowski, was able to provide help to his cousin occurring in an emergency. This act of kindness eventually saved the boy’s life (Greenway para. 1).
Another example is the situation that took place in the Sandy Meas family. The girl managed to save her baby sister due to the sufficient knowledge that she acquired within the frames of public education and awareness programs on emergency management (Greenway para. 3). From the two real-life experiences that took place in the houses of Canadian civilians, it is evident that public programs providing training and guidance for dealing with emergencies are of great value in the Canadian context.
Next, public education and awareness programs on emergency management are not effective in the situation when people fail to participate in these programs. People do not benefit from the programs for many reasons. Mainly, they lead too busy lives or become subjected to other factors such as living in remote or isolated areas. For such people, the lack of sufficient knowledge turns into significant problems. In addition, many people are destructed due to personal life hardships, and thus, they become unable to implement the knowledge they received during the training.
For them, the programs are ineffective. For instance, in his article tracing the safety issue on a board of a plane, Nosta speaks about Canadians that get severe injuries or even lose their lives due to being unfocused as they are trained regarding emergencies (para. 2). According to this author, the essence of the problem is that “most people are too busy or distracted to pay attention to flight safety information” (Nosta para. 1).
Judging from the above-mentioned, public education and awareness programs on emergency management may be both effective and unproductive depending on people’s attitude and participation. However, evaluating the question from the point of view of an ideal state of affairs when people find time and opportunity to implement the training they receive within the emergency management programs, they are a powerful tool for helping individuals avoid hazards in difficult situations.
In conclusion, public education and awareness programs on emergency management are effective in the Canadian context, which can be seen from numerous real-life examples. At that, it is important to understand that the level of those programs’ effectiveness depends on an individual’s reaction and zeal in the implementation of the acquired knowledge.
Works Cited
Coppola, Damon. Introduction to International Disaster Management, London: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2011. Print.
Greenway, Trevor. “Brave Kids Earn Award for 911 Calls.” Metro. 2014, Web.
Nosta, John. “The Tragedy Of The Life-Saving Device That Is Largely Ignored.” Forbes.” 2013. Web.