From Lights & Sirens to Resilience

Alexander Landry is a Canadian Army officer of 12 years, with a significant background in operations and emergency management. He also currently serves as a member of the Disaster Recovery Institute Board of Directors. 

Alexander is extensively involved in his community as the Senior Manager for Strategic Initiatives with the Canadian Journal of Emergency Management and a member of the St John Ambulance New Brunswick Council Board of Directors. Alexander brings forward several certifications in business continuity and management, namely as a Certified Business Continuity Professional, Project Management Professional, and Professional Engineer. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Fredericton, and a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada. He is currently pursuing a Masters of International Affairs at King’s College London and is involved in research pertaining to disaster response within the international community. 

A veteran, author and professor specializing in preparedness communications, readiness analytics and community resilience. As the Principal Researcher at Preparedness Labs Incorporated, he provides education on adopting a prepared life for individuals, families and communities through books, online courses and 1-1 mentorship. Jeff lectures in the Disaster and Emergency Management program at Royal Roads University, where he posits the foundations of preparedness are personal responsibility, attitude, relationships and strategic thinking. He serves on the Board of Directors for the International Social Capital Association and local organizations.

Jeff is an avid backcountry paddler and host of Canada’s #2 podcast on emergency preparedness, Inside My Canoehead.

Lisa Paul is a dynamic leader with nearly two decades of experience in law enforcement, emergency management, and community service. As the National Director of Community Programs at St. John Ambulance, she leads initiatives focusing on community safety, youth engagement, and health and wellbeing. Her background includes strategic planning, project management, and crisis intervention. A dedicated mentor and coach, Lisa has also studied at Harvard Business School, contributing to her strong leadership in fostering collaboration and promoting continuous learning. 

Her achievements include serving as a 911 and mental health crisis responder, being a Member of the Order of St. John, and receiving the Ontario Medical Association Centennial Award. In 2024, Lisa was honored with the FortyUnder 40 business award in Ottawa, recognizing her impactful contributions in community involvement, professional expertise and business leadership.

Ernie Polsom brings a wealth of fire and emergency management expertise to his consulting practice after nearly four decades in public service at municipal and provincial levels. His distinguished career includes roles as Fire Chief in Regina, SK, Leduc, AB, and Taber, AB, where he oversaw fire, ambulance, and emergency services. 

Ernie also served in the Alberta Fire Commissioner’s Office for close to eight years and acted as the Director of Field Operations at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, offering support to municipalities, First Nations, and Metis Settlements. Ernie leverages his extensive knowledge in fire, ambulance, emergency management, and governmental policy in his current consulting work. 

Pascal brings with him over 35 years of experience and progressive leadership roles in public

safety and emergency management. He has a breadth of experiences in leading teams on several very large-scale incidents and civic events. He has been a presenter, facilitator and an Emcee at many public events, courses, workshops and national and international conferences.

Pascal is a Certified Emergency Manager, a Certified Healthcare Executive, a Situation Awareness Specialist as well as a Professional Continuity Practitioner. He has an extensive education in public safety and emergency management, a Master of Arts in leadership, from Royal Roads University, certifications from the Emergency Management and Emergency Exercise Design Programs at the JIBC as well as multiple certificates from FEMA. He is currently a Lead Instructor in the Incident Command System in Canada.

Alexander Landry est un officier de l'armée canadienne depuis 12 ans, avec une expérience significative dans les opérations et la gestion des urgences. Il est également membre du conseil d'administration du Disaster Recovery Institute. 

Alexander est très impliqué dans sa communauté en tant que gestionnaire principal des initiatives stratégiques pour le Journal canadien de la gestion des urgences et membre du conseil d'administration du Conseil de l'Ambulance Saint-Jean du Nouveau-Brunswick. Alexander possède plusieurs certifications dans le domaine de la gestion et de la continuité des activités, notamment en tant que professionnel certifié de la continuité des activités, professionnel de la gestion de projet et ingénieur professionnel. Il est titulaire d'une maîtrise en administration des affaires de l'université de Fredericton et d'une licence en génie chimique du Collège militaire royal du Canada. Il poursuit actuellement une maîtrise en affaires internationales au King's College de Londres et participe à des recherches sur la réponse aux catastrophes au sein de la communauté internationale. 

Titulaire d’une maîtrise en sociologie à l’Université Laval, Jean-François travaille depuis plus de 17 ans en sécurité publique. Il a d’abord œuvré en sécurité civile au ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable (MTMD) puis a eu l’opportunité d’occuper ses fonctions actuelles à titre de conseiller en sécurité civile à la Ville de Lévis. Il a été impliqué au niveau gouvernemental et municipal dans la création de plusieurs plans, la réalisation d’exercices et dans la gestion de plusieurs événements anthropiques et naturels. Parmi ses expériences professionnelles les plus marquantes, on compte la gestion des inondations de 2019 sur le territoire de Chaudière-Appalaches au MTMD et la gestion de la pandémie de COVID19 à la Ville de Lévis.

With a master's degree in sociology from Université Laval, Jean-François has been working in public safety for over 17 years. He first worked in civil security for the Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable (MTMD), before moving on to his current position as civil security advisor for the City of Lévis. He has been involved at both governmental and municipal levels in the creation of several plans, the conduct of exercises and the management of several man-made and natural events. His most notable professional experiences include managing the 2019 floods in the Chaudière-Appalaches region for MTMD and managing the COVID19 pandemic for the City of Lévis.

Guy Lapointe est intervenant bénévole en recherche et sauvetage depuis plus de 33 ans, présentement le président de l’association québécoise des bénévoles en recherche et sauvetage, ainsi que le vice-président de l’association canadienne des volontaires en recherche et sauvetage (SARVAC). Ancien enquêteur et policier de la Gendarmerie royale canadienne depuis 1979, Guy amène un profil d'expérience parmi les programmes bénévoles canadiens en aide aux membres et municipalités. 

Guy Lapointe has been a volunteer search and rescue responder for over 33 years, and is currently President of the Association québécoise des bénévoles en recherche et sauvetage, as well as Vice-President of the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC). A former investigator and police officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police since 1979, Guy brings a wealth of experience to Canadian volunteer programs for members and municipalities.  

Entre 1992 et 2020, Christian fut membre de la service de la prévention des incendies de la ville de Montréal. Notamment, il fut membre de l'état-major pendant les 9 dernières années. Durant son séjour avec la ville de Montréal, il a géré de nombreux incendies et quelques événements d'envergures incluant l'emprisonnement de citoyens dans leurs véhicules lors de tempête de neige, d’inondation printanières, de fuite d'eau majeure au centre-ville de Montréal, de risque d'affaissement de terrain au centre-ville de Montréal, et l’affrontement de COVID-19 au centre des mesures d'urgence de Montréal.

De 2020 à aujourd'hui, Christian est directeur du service de sécurité incendie de la ville de Sainte-Thérèse. Il est également enseignant pour le métier de pompier à l'Institut de prévention des incendies du Québec de 2001 à 2020.

Between 1992 and 2020, Christian was a member of the City of Montreal's fire prevention department. Notably, he was a staff member for the last 9 years. During his time with the City of Montreal, he managed numerous fires and a number of major events, including trapping citizens in their vehicles during snowstorms, spring floods, a major water leak in downtown Montreal, a land subsidence hazard in downtown Montreal, and the COVID-19 confrontation at Montreal's emergency measures center.

From 2020 to the present day, Christian has been Director of Fire Safety for the city of Sainte-Thérèse. He also taught firefighting at the Institut de prévention des incendies du Québec from 2001 to 2020.

Gestionnaire de plus de 20 ans d’expérience en sécurité incendie et en sécurité civile, Eric a coordonné l’intervention et le rétablissement lors des inondations majeures de 2017 et 2019 survenues à Rigaud et Pointe-Fortune et plusieurs autres sinistres dans un contexte multi-municipal. Outre ses formations de pompier, préventionniste, officier, instructeur et enquêteur en sécurité incendie, il est titulaire d’un diplôme d’études supérieures spécialisées en gestion des risques majeurs de l’UQÀM, où Il s’affaire désormais à compléter une maîtrise professionnelle en géographie axée sur la résilience, les risques et les catastrophes. Il est chargé de cours au Collège Montmorency depuis 2007, où il enseigne en autre le cours « Concepts de base en sécurité civile » au sein du programme « Attestation d’études collégiales en prévention des incendies ». Il est Secrétaire au conseil exécutif de l’Association de la sécurité civile du Québec (ASCQ) et membre du Comité scientifique du Réseau inondations intersectoriel du Québec (RIISQ).

A manager with over 20 years' experience in fire and civil security, Eric coordinated response and recovery for the major floods of 2017 and 2019 in Rigaud and Pointe-Fortune, as well as several other disasters in a multi-municipal context. In addition to his training as a firefighter, preventionist, officer, instructor and fire safety investigator, he holds a specialized graduate diploma in major risk management from UQÀM, where he is now busy completing a professional master's degree in geography focusing on resilience, risks and disasters. He has been a lecturer at Collège Montmorency since 2007, where he teaches the "Concepts de base en sécurité civile" course as part of the "Attestation d'études collégiales en prévention des incendies" program. He is Secretary to the Executive Board of the Association de la sécurité civile du Québec (ASCQ) and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Réseau inondations intersectoriel du Québec (RIISQ).