Saskatoon emergency planners look to learn from Toronto

Saskatoon emergency planners are keeping on eye on how cities around the world respond in the wake of Monday’s deadly van attack in Toronto.

Pamela Goulden-McLeod, Emergency Planning Co-Ordinator with the City of Saskatoon, said members of her department follow up with their counterparts following any major incident.

“When events like this happen we are connecting with our partners across those jurisdictions and making sure that our situational awareness is up-to-date.”

When it comes to vehicles being used to attack pedestrians, she said Saskatoon already has many streets with design features that improve security.

“We’re really lucky to have large mature trees, boulevards, things in place that help create safety,” she said.

Goulden-McLeod said planning on future streets would have to consider a number of factors, including protection for pedestrians.

“Now we have to balance that with the importance of always having areas that our first responders can easily access and get to,” she said.

Goulden-McLeod said security planning was already well underway ahead of Saskatoon’s busy festival season, but said she was limited in what she could disclose as far as specifics about the preparations.

—With files from Chris Vandenbreekel