The City of Cold Lake is known for lending other communities a helping hand in times of crisis or emergency and was recently acknowledged by the Province of Alberta for its commitment to compassionate support during emergencies.

On October 2, City of Cold Lake Emergency Management and Emergency Social Services received the Community Justice Award in the Supporting Disaster Readiness and Community Resilience category. This award recognizes the people, teams, and organizations who make extraordinary contributions toward community justice, public safety, and emergency management.

“We are very proud of our staff,” said Mayor Bob Mattice. “Whenever our community is called upon for assistance, our emergency management and emergency social services teams step up without hesitation. Although this work is incredibly rewarding, it does require a tremendous amount of personal sacrifice, and we applaud our staff’s commitment to assisting others when they need it the most.”

The award highlighted the collaborative and people-centred approach taken by Cold Lake to ensure its emergency management plans are in place, and residents and evacuees receive effective and compassionate support when called upon. Cold Lake has made a commitment to have as many staff members as possible trained to minimum Incident Command System standards, with many staff taking more advanced training and courses that cover specialized roles required for handling emergency situation. Incident Command System is a standardized framework used to coordinate emergency responses and is used extensively throughout most North American jurisdictions by civilian agencies called upon to respond to emergency situations.

“Many of our staff are trained to various levels of emergency management,” said Mattice. “Not just for that could arise here at home, but also to assist with other municipalities or groups that might need our aid. Together, we can remain strong in the face of adversity.”

The City of Cold Lake has been called upon to send staff to other communities experiencing emergencies and has also been called to stand up reception centres as well as host emergency shelters.

Cold Lake and District FCSS Manager Kim Schmidtz accepted the award on behalf of herself and Manger of Protective Services, Jeff Fallow, during the 2026 Alberta Community Justice Awards in Lethbridge.