The City of Winnipeg will be setting up a “mock clear-air centre” to practise what it would do in the event of an air-quality emergency in Winnipeg.
On Tuesday, the city is planning to host a daylong air-quality emergency exercise at Sergeant Tommy Prince Place on Sinclair Street, a Monday news release says.
The city’s emergency social services team, the Canadian Red Cross and other groups will be setting up the mock centre, where they will practise setting up and delivering support services to volunteers who will act as Winnipeg residents.
Those services include meet-and-greets, health assessments, food service and registration, the city said.
As climate change increases the number of wildfires in Canada, the city might need to set up a clean-air centre, though none have been established in recent history, the city said.
The Emergency Measures Act requires the city to host the exercises regularly.