During the Yukon portion of Operation NANOOK, the Government of Yukon and the City of Whitehorse activated their emergency operations centre(s) in response to a simulated large scale emergency. Simulated CAP alert messages were sent via satellite to remote communities of Tagish radio station CFET, one of the first in Canada to participate in the new Pelmorex emergency alerting system provided by the Weather Network to relay unattended broadcast intrusive emergency alerts.
The exercise with more than 500 Canadian Armed Forces personnel included the deployment of sprinklers in the greenbelt surrounding Whitehorse, a simulated evacuation of a Whitehorse subdivision, setting up and operating a reception centre for evacuees, and a mass casualty bus crash using Canadian Armed Forces personnel as “victims”.
There was a simulated bio hazard exercise and the coordination of a mini clinic designed to handle a surge in emergency medical capacity. Various exercises included personnel from the Yukon government, the City of Whitehorse fire department, Whitehorse General Hospital, the RCMP and the Canadian Armed Forces.
Yukon Emergency Measures Organization tested the Pelmorex Public Alerting System with CFET Radio 106.7 FM (powered by OpenBroadcaster) from Tagish and the Weather Network on WHTV in Whitehorse. Listeners of CFET Radio heard audio alert tones and CAP alert messaging stating that a test was in progress
Operation Nanook is the most well–known annual training operation held in the North by the Canadian Armed Forces. It is a joint and interagency operation, involving the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force, along with other governmental departments and agencies. The primary purpose of Operation Nanook is to exercise and demonstrate the Canadian Armed Forces’ ability to operate in the Arctic region in support of Canada‘s sovereignty. The operation takes place every year in different locations, with the primary focus of training in maritime security, search and rescue, and air operations. Through these exercises, the Canadian Armed Forces are able to develop and demonstrate the necessary skills and capabilities to respond to security and sovereignty challenges in the northern region of Canada.
