Latest News & Updates
Start Early. Arrive Prepared.
Virtual Workshop on Managing Mental Health & Wellness for Emergency Management Professionals
Sep 3, 2026 | 10:00 AM–1:00 PM MT
Call for Speakers
Are you leading innovative work in emergency management, disaster response, or climate resilience? We want to hear from you – share your insights and strategies.
Apply NowBuilt for the North. Ready for What’s Next.
From wildfires, flooding and ice-jam events to permafrost-related infrastructure failure and compounding climate impacts, northern communities must respond and recover under conditions unlike anywhere else in the country.
DREMS North addresses these realities head-on—equipping EM leaders with practical, DFAA-aligned playbooks for evacuation, continuity, and recovery. Bringing together territorial and Indigenous governments, healthcare leaders, critical infrastructure operators, insurers, and emergency management professionals, the symposium focuses on strengthening coordination, embedding Indigenous partnership as an operational capability, and translating lessons from recent crises into actionable strategies. Attendees will leave better prepared to make faster decisions, protect funding access, and deliver resilient response and recovery in the face of increasingly complex emergencies.
Conference Co-Chairs
Mellisa Mercredi
Senior Advisor, Regional Economic Development
Rio Tinto
Nick Mauro
CEO
Yukon First Nations Wildfire
Keynote Speakers
Honourable Dawn Anderson
Senator-Northwest Territories
Senate of Canada
Honourable Vince McKay
Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs
Government of Northwest Territories
Featured Speakers
Paul Gruner
Chief Executive Officer
Tłı̨chǫ Investment Corporation & Group of Companies
Charles Klengenberg
Director of Lands, Inuvialuit Land Administration
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
Joshua Mitchell
Senior Advisor Indigenous Fire Policy, Northern Forestry Centre
Natural Resources Canada
Stephanie Yuill
Taiga Region, Wildfire Knowledge Network Coordinator
Wildfire Resilience Consortium Canada (WRCC)
Rick Doman
Co-founder, Chairman, Director
Boreal Carbon Corporation
Kearney Coupland
Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture
University of Guelph
View All Speakers
Featuring Key Topics
Northern Evacuation & Emergency Communications
How to coordinate evacuations, communicate with remote communities, and support vulnerable populations during emergencies.
Wildfire Resilience & Indigenous Fire Stewardship
Lessons from recent wildfire seasons, Indigenous-led solutions, mitigation strategies, and building long-term resilience.
Critical Infrastructure Continuity
Protecting power, transportation, utilities, communications, and essential services during disasters and extreme weather events.
Disaster Funding & Recovery Readiness
Navigating EMAP, territorial funding mechanisms, disaster assistance programs, and funding-ready recovery planning.
Permafrost, Flooding & Climate Adaptation
Preparing communities and infrastructure for permafrost degradation, flooding, coastal erosion, and climate-driven disruptions.
Indigenous Leadership & Cross-Jurisdictional Coordination
Strengthening collaboration between territorial, municipal, and Indigenous governments before, during, and after emergencies.
Health, Wellness & Human Impacts of Disasters
Supporting evacuees, displaced populations, and the mental health and wellness of emergency management professionals.
Innovation & Data for Emergency Management
Exploring AI, GIS mapping, predictive analytics, wildfire modelling, flood forecasting, and next-generation emergency management tools.
What You Will Learn
How to Plan and Execute Evacuations in Northern Contexts
Build evacuation strategies that work with limited routes, remote communities, and real-world constraints—grounded in lessons from the 2023 NWT evacuations.
How to Align Recovery with DFAA and Secure Funding
Translate updated Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) requirements into audit-ready documentation, mitigation planning, and faster, more reliable access to recovery funding.
How to Maintain Critical Infrastructure Continuity
Strengthen resilience across fuel, food, healthcare, telecom, and transportation systems despite wildfire, flooding, permafrost, and supply chain disruptions.
How to Operationalize Indigenous Partnership & Cross-Sector Coordination
Embed Indigenous leadership into response and recovery while improving cross-sector coordination that holds under real operational pressure.
Who You Will Meet
- EM Directors & Coordinators
- Public Safety & Protective Services Leaders
- Indigenous Chiefs, Councillors & Emergency Managers
- Healthcare Emergency Planners & Hospital Administrators
- Medevac & Patient Movement Coordinators
- Infrastructure Operations & Continuity Managers
- Risk, Insurance & Claims Professionals
- Engineers, Resilience & Recovery Consultants
- Government Policy & Program Advisors
- GIS, Data & Emergency Technology Specialists
From:
- Federal & Territorial Governments
- Indigenous Communities & Organizations
- Healthcare Systems & Hospitals
- Power, Utilities & Energy
- Fuel Supply & Distribution
- Water & Wastewater Infrastructure
- Telecommunications & Connectivity
- Transportation & Logistics (Air, Road, Marine)
- Insurance & Reinsurance
- Engineering, Consulting & Professional Services
- Technology, Data & EM Solutions
Sponsors & Partners
Media Partners
Sponsor Opportunities
With conferences in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, the C5 Group of Companies: American Conference Institute, the Canadian Institute, and C5 Group, provides a diverse portfolio of conferences, events and roundtables devoted to providing business intelligence to senior decision makers responding to challenges around the world.
For more information please contact:
Jason Kanagalingam
Business Development Manager
Phone: 647-649-2438
Email: [email protected]
