Update on the situation in the NWT

Dear colleagues,

The situation in the Northwest Territories is rapidly changing and a phased evacuation of Yellowknife is underway.

Parks Canada team members who have evacuated or are in the process of evacuating are in good health and in contact with their supervisors.

I know we all want to reach out and provide our kind words of support to our colleagues impacted by the fire situation in the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Understand that most are not in a position to respond immediately.

We are fully committed to supporting everyone affected during this transition and commend Parks Canada wildfire and incident management teams from across the country who are involved in responding to fires. Resources to support team members affected by the fire situation, including a guide to support team members, a guide to critical incident stress management, and a last-minute checklist, are available on Parks(EXTRA)Net.

We recognize that the ongoing fires may cause increased stress, fear and anxiety for many individuals. Remember that the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) offers short-term psychological support to all employees and their immediate family. Contact your EFAP at 1-800-268-7708 (TTY digital service for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing: 1-800-567-5803) or by live chat (password: canada), Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Ron Hallman

President & CEO

#StrongerTogether #ParksCanadaProud

Reminder to managers: In keeping with Parks Canada's procedures for communications with employees, managers are responsible for ensuring all team members under their responsibility receive the information intended for them. It is important that you find a means to transmit this message and, if any, the attachment(s) to employees without access to Parks Canada e-mail or the intranet, e.g. by posting it, circulating a paper copy or by any other appropriate means.