Public Safety Canada

Public Safety Canada
Sécurité publique Canada
Department overview
Formed 2003
Type Department responsible for Public safety
Jurisdiction Canada
Employees 52,000+
Minister responsible
Website www.publicsafety.gc.ca

Public Safety Canada (French: Sécurité publique Canada), formerly known as Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC), legally incorporated as the federal Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for protecting Canadians and helping to maintain a peaceful and safe society.

Legislation for the agency began in February 2001 and the department was created in December 2003 during a reorganization of the federal government, and it became legally established when the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Act came into force on April 4, 2005. The agency Emergency Preparedness Canada was created under the auspices of the Defence department before the establishment of the department by the Emergency Preparedness Act of 1988.

The department was created to have a single entity with responsibility for ensuring public safety in Canada and is a direct result of lessons learned from the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001. The department is in many ways similar to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, though it does not cover the protection of maritime sovereignty (this is covered by the Canadian Forces, Transport Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada).

Most of the department comprises organizations that were previously placed under the Department of Solicitor General of Canada, however the reorganization of several federal departments and ministries added the Canada Border Services Agency to the portfolio, after the two streams of the former Canada Customs and Revenue Agency were split in 2003. In addition, the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness (OCIPEP) from the Department of National Defence was also brought into the Department.

In addition to the department there are five agencies and three review bodies within the Public Safety portfolio headed by the Minister of Public Safety.

Senior officials of PS include:

The annual budget of the Department is $6 billion.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Who we are". Public Safety Canada. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
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