Greater Sudbury has a new general manager of emergency services. Alan Stephen has had an impressive career with the military, leading Canadian troops in United Nations operations in Bosnia, Croatia, Italy and Germany. He also led the Canadian ForcesÂ? response to the 1998 Ice Storm. He took a few minutes before his first priorities committee meeting to speak with Northern Life.
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What kind of skills did you pick up in the military that will help you in Sudbury?
ItÂ?s taught me several things. One is to be myself. The second is there are a lot of valuable tools around, a lot of valuable people. The life in the military was a lifestyle as opposed to a job. The majority of the people IÂ?ve run into here in the city, especially at city hall - this isnÂ?t a job to them, itÂ?s a lifestyle. They live here, they breath here, so they have a vested interest to make sure the city runs in accordance with the wishes of our elected officials.
Where were you were raised, and where did you live before coming to Sudbury?
I was raised across the country, I come from a military family. WeÂ?ve been in Barrie now for the past four years, going on five. I came to Sudbury because both our boys are here in school. ItÂ?s a great city that was looking for an emergency services manager.
YouÂ?ve said you wanted to get out of the big city.
Barrie is a bedroom of Toronto, which is great, but what weÂ?re looking for is something a little smaller. My roots are in Nova Scotia, so we were looking for a slower pace and Sudbury is the gateway to the north. It provides a great opportunity for us as a family.
Talk about your experience leading the Canadian Forces during the 1998 Ice Storm.
I was in CFB Borden at the Canadian Forces training group at the time and I was asked to put together the support for the are south of Highway 401, basically from Trenton through to the Quebec border. We ran the operation there working with several communities along the way.
What was it like playing such a big role in an emergency on that scale?
Although itÂ?s a hierarchical organization, thereÂ?s a whole bunch of consultation that takes place especially within your own organization. In this case, we were working with a lot of non-governmental organizations, a lot of councils and a lot of volunteers. It was a lot of challenges, but lots of fun.
What are some of the things you plan to do here in Sudbury?
I think to start with is to look, to watch and to listen. I have an enormous division: a composite fire service with career and volunteer firefighters on the emergency services side. Although itÂ?s a career force, itÂ?s to try to figure out what they do and where they do it. On the emergency management side of the house, I have to make sure that we in the city are prepared in the event we have a disaster or an emergency.
