Fact sheet
Community of Sault Ste. Marie (CA), Ontario Fact sheet
Community of Sault Ste. Marie (CA), Ontario

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In 2014, information on the emergency preparedness of people living in the Census Agglomeration^{Note 1} of Sault Ste. Marie was collected through the Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada (SEPR).^{Note 2} This fact sheet presents information on the risk awareness and level of emergency preparedness of the residents of Sault Ste. Marie, which could help improve the understanding of community resilience in the event of an emergency.^{Note 3}^{Note 4}

Risk awareness and anticipated sources of help in an emergency or disaster

Winter storms (including blizzards, ice storms and extreme cold) (96%) were named by residents of Sault Ste. Marie as the event most likely to occur in their community, followed by extended power outages lasting 24 hours or longer (77%), industrial or transportation accidents (66%), floods (64%) and wildfires (61%).
In the event of a weather-related emergency or natural disaster, residents most commonly named news on the radio (28%), television (26%) or Internet (26%) as the sources of help and information they would turn to first (Table 1.1). News on the radio (27%) or television (27%) were named as the sources of initial help and information in the event of an industrial or transportation accident. Residents commonly anticipated turning to news on the Internet (23%^{Note E: Use with caution}) or television (22%^{Note E: Use with caution}) for help and information in the event of a contamination or shortage of water or food.
Residents most commonly listed their utility company (46%) as an initial source of help and information if faced with an extended power outage, and hospitals, clinics, doctors or other medical professionals (60%) in the event of an outbreak of a serious or life-threatening disease. Police and law enforcement were most commonly named by residents of Sault Ste. Marie as the sources of initial information and assistance in the event of rioting or civil unrest (46%^{Note E: Use with caution}) or an act of terrorism or terrorist threat (37%).

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disaster^{Note 5}

Four in ten (39%) people living in the community of Sault Ste. Marie have personally experienced a major emergency or disaster in Canada in a community where they were living at the time. For two-thirds of these individuals (65%), the emergency or disaster was significant enough to have resulted in severe disruptions to their daily activities.
Extended power outages lasting 24 hours or longer were the most commonly experienced emergencies or disasters faced by residents (68%), followed by floods (17%^{Note E: Use with caution}) and winter storms (including blizzards and ice storms) (14%^{Note E: Use with caution}).
The majority (72%) of people in Sault Ste. Marie who have endured a major emergency or disaster were unable to use electrical appliances as a result, making it the most common type of disruption to daily activities. Other common disruptions experienced by residents included an inability to heat or cool their home (64%), a need to miss work or school (53%) or an appointment or a planned activity (51%), as well as an inability to store perishable foods at home (50%). A more severe, but less frequent, disruption experienced was an inability to use roads or transportation within the community (21%^{Note E: Use with caution}).
The majority (91%) of residents were able to resume their daily activities within five days of the event: 50% within 24 hours, 26% within one to two days and 15% within three to five days.
Less than half (45%) of residents received help either during or immediately following the emergency or disaster. For those who received help, it most commonly came from neighbours (28%^{Note E: Use with caution}).
About one in four (24%^{Note E: Use with caution}) people in Sault Ste. Marie who experienced a major emergency or disaster endured a loss of property or some other type of financial impact.

Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours

Seven in ten (71%) people in Sault Ste. Marie lived in households that were engaged in at least two emergency planning activities,^{Note 6} and half (49%) lived in households with three or four such activities (Table 1.2). Less than one in ten (8%^{Note E: Use with caution}) people lived in a household that had not participated in any emergency planning activities.
Three out of five (59%) residents lived in a household with at least two precautionary measures^{Note 7} taken in case of an emergency, with approximately one-quarter (27%) living in a household with three or four such measures. About one in ten (12%^{Note E: Use with caution}) people lived in a household with no precautionary measures in place.
Most (99%) residents reported living in a household with a working smoke detector (Table 1.3). Four out of five (80%) reported living in a household with a working carbon monoxide detector, and seven in ten (70%) stated that they had a working fire extinguisher. Nearly three out of five (58%) residents stated that they had implemented all three fire safety measures within their households.
The number of emergency planning activities and precautionary measures taken by residents of Sault Ste. Marie did not differ significantly from Ontario residents or Canadians in the 10 provinces. Residents of Sault Ste. Marie, however, were more likely than Canadians to have implemented all three fire safety measures (58% versus 42%).^{Note 8}
A couple of differences were observed between residents of Sault Ste. Marie and Ontarians and Canadians in terms of the types of emergency planning activities they were involved in. Specifically, residents of Sault Ste. Marie (62%) were less likely than both Ontario residents (71%) and Canadians (69%) to have a list of emergency contact numbers, but those in Sault Ste. Marie were more likely to have an emergency exit plan (71%, 63% and 60%, respectively). In addition, residents of Sault Ste. Marie were also significantly more likely to have a working carbon monoxide detector in their home (80%) than Canadians in general (60%).

Social networks and sense of belonging

Approximately half (52%) of Sault Ste. Marie’s residents had a strong sense of belonging^{Note 9} to their community.^{Note 10}
Most (84%) residents described their neighbourhood as a place where neighbours generally help each other.^{Note 11} Of those who did not describe their neighbourhood this way, the majority (80%) still described it as a place where neighbours would help each other in an emergency.^{Note 12}
Nearly two-thirds of residents had a large network of support in the event of an emergency or disaster, with more than five people to turn to for help if physically injured (64%), for emotional support (63%) or in the event of a home evacuation (60%). However, one-quarter of residents had a large network of people to turn to for financial help (26%), and one in ten (10%^{Note E: Use with caution}) reported that they had no one to turn to for financial help.^{Note 13}
Generally, the level of emergency preparedness of residents of Sault Ste. Marie was not impacted by their social networks, sense of belonging or social and political involvement (Table 1.4).

Data tables

Table 1.1
Most commonly anticipated sources of initial help and information, by type of emergency or disaster, residents of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of Most commonly anticipated sources of initial help and information. The information is grouped by Most common sources of initial help and information by type of emergency or disaster (appearing as row headers), percent (appearing as column headers).
Most common sources of initial help and information by type of emergency or disaster	percent
Weather-related emergency or natural disaster
News- Radio	28
News- Television	26
News- Internet	26
Extended power outages
Utility company	46
News- Radio	22
News- Internet	11^{Note E: Use with caution}
Outbreak of serious or life-threatening disease
Hospital, clinic, doctor or other medical professional	60
News- Internet	21^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Television	19^{Note E: Use with caution}
Industrial or transportation accident^{Table 1.1, Note 1}
News- Television	27
News- Radio	27
News- Internet	26
Contamination or shortage of water or food^{Table 1.1, Note 1}
News- Internet	23^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Television	22^{Note E: Use with caution}
Local government	20^{Note E: Use with caution}
Act of terrorism or terrorist threat
Police/law enforcement	37
News- Television	29^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Internet	28^{Note E: Use with caution}
Rioting or civil unrest
Police/law enforcement	46^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Television	28^{Note E: Use with caution}
News- Internet	24^{Note E: Use with caution}
^E use with caution Table 1.1, Note 1. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' were greater than 5% but not above 10% when respondents were asked about their likely sources of initial help and information. Return to Table 1.1, note 1 referrer Note: Respondents who perceived their community was at risk for any form of emergency or disaster were then asked where they would turn to first for information or assistance in the event of the perceived emergency or disaster. Respondents could provide more than one response. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Table 1.2
Number of emergency planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents, community of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of Number of emergency planning activities. The information is grouped by Number of planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents (appearing as row headers), Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Canada, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Number of planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents	Sault Ste. Marie	Ontario	Canada
	percent
Number of emergency planning activities
None	8^{Note E: Use with caution}	8	8
1 activity	20	16	17
2 activities	22	25	25
3 activities	31	28	27
4 activities	18	21	19
Number of precautionary measures
None	12^{Note E: Use with caution}	15	16
1 measure	29	28	27
2 measures	32	29	28
3 measures	20	20	20
4 measures	7^{Note E: Use with caution}	6	7
Number of fire safety measures^{Table 1.2, Note 1}
None	Note F: too unreliable to be published	Note F: too unreliable to be published	1
1 measure	8^{Note E: Use with caution}^{Table 1.2, Note **}	7	14
2 measures	31^{Table 1.2, Note **}	35	38
3 measures	58^{Table 1.2, Note **}	53	42
^E use with caution F too unreliable to be published Table 1.2, Note significantly different from Canada level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.2, note referrer Table 1.2, Note 1. Responses of 'don't know/not stated' were greater than 5% but not above 10% for 'Canada'. Return to Table 1.2, note 1 referrer Note: Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Emergency planning activities include: an emergency exit plan, an emergency supply kit, photocopies/electronic copies of important documents and a list of emergency contact numbers. Precautionary measures include: a battery-operated or wind-up radio, an alternative heat source, a back-up generator and an alternative water source. Fire safety measures include a working smoke detector, a working carbon monoxide detector and a working fire extinguisher. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Table 1.3
Planning activities, fire safety and precautionary measures residents engaged in, community of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of Planning activities. The information is grouped by Residents whose households were involved in the following: (appearing as row headers), Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Canada, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Residents whose households were involved in the following:	Sault Ste. Marie	Ontario	Canada
Residents whose households were involved in the following:	percent
Emergency planning activities
Emergency exit plan	71^{Table 1.3, Note ***}	63	60
Exit plan has been practised/reviewed in last 12 months^{Table 1.3, Note 1}	45	47	46
Designated meeting place for household members^{Table 1.3, Note 2}	41^{Table 1.3, Note *}	30	33
Contact plan for household members^{Table 1.3, Note 2}	55	57	55
Household emergency supply kit	49	47	47
Vehicle emergency supply kit^{Table 1.3, Note 3}	64	62	59
Extra copies of important documents	50	56	53
List of emergency contact numbers	62^{Table 1.3, Note ***}	71	69
Plan for meeting special health needs^{Table 1.3, Note 4}	63	61	62
Precautionary measures
Wind-up or battery-operated radio	64	59	58
Alternate heat source	47	46	48
Back-up generator	26	20	23
Alternate water source	43	44	43
Other^{Table 1.3, Note 5}	19	22	21
Fire safety measures
Working smoke detector	99	99	98
Working carbon monoxide detector	80^{Table 1.3, Note **}	80	60
Working fire extinguisher	70	64	66
Table 1.3, Note * significantly different from provincial level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.3, note * referrer Table 1.3, Note significantly different from Canada level estimate (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.3, note referrer Table 1.3, Note * significantly different from both provincial and Canada level estimates (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.3, note * referrer Table 1.3, Note 1. Percentage based only on those indicating that they have an emergency exit plan. Return to Table 1.3, note 1 referrer Table 1.3, Note 2. Excludes Canadians living in single-person households. Return to Table 1.3, note 2 referrer Table 1.3, Note 3. Excludes those who reported that they lived in a household that did not have a vehicle. Return to Table 1.3, note 3 referrer Table 1.3, Note 4. Percentage based only on those indicating that they or someone in their household has special medical needs. Return to Table 1.3, note 4 referrer Table 1.3, Note 5. 'Other precautionary measures' include having an escape/rescue plan for pets, extra supply of fuel, checking and replenishing emergency supplies, and keeping exits clear. Return to Table 1.3, note 5 referrer Note: Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Table 1.4
High or moderately high levels of emergency planning, fire safety and precautionary measures taken by residents, by social and political involvement, community of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, 2014
Table summary
This table displays the results of High or moderately high levels of emergency planning. The information is grouped by Social and political involvement (appearing as row headers), Percentage of residents who had high or moderately high levels of..., Planning activities, Precautionary measures and Fire safety measures, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Social and political involvement	Percentage of residents who had high or moderately high levels of...
	Planning activities	Precautionary measures	Fire safety measures
	percent
Engagement in political activities^{Table 1.4, Note 1}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	48	30	63
No	47^{Note E: Use with caution}	22^{Note E: Use with caution}	45^{Note E: Use with caution}
High level of civic engagement^{Table 1.4, Note 2}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	47	28	62
No	49	27^{Note E: Use with caution}	56
High level of social support^{Table 1.4, Note 3}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	50	33^{Note E: Use with caution}	66
No	49	27	55
Strong sense of belonging to community^{Table 1.4, Note 4}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	53	28	63
No	48	29^{Note E: Use with caution}	57
High neighbourhood trust^{Table 1.4, Note 5}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	50	35	66
No	48	23^{Note E: Use with caution}	56
High level of self-efficacy^{Table 1.4, Note 6}
Yes^{Table 1.4, Note †}	56	30	61
No	38^{Table 1.4, Note *}	23^{Note E: Use with caution}	58
^E use with caution Table 1.4, Note * significantly different from reference category (p < 0.05) Return to Table 1.4, note * referrer Table 1.4, Note † reference category Return to Table 1.4, note † referrer Table 1.4, Note 1. Includes individuals over the age of 17 years who are eligible to vote, and who have participated in or volunteered for political parties or events in the past 12 months, including municipal, provincial, or federal elections, or expressed views on political or social issues through signing a petition, contacting news agencies or politicians, or attended a meeting involving social or community issues. Return to Table 1.4, note 1 referrer Table 1.4, Note 2. Civic engagement measures individuals over the age of 17 years who were involved in a recreational group or organization in the past 12 months, and includes engagement in political activities. A 'high level' is defined as having been involved in at least 4 activities in the past 12 months. Return to Table 1.4, note 2 referrer Table 1.4, Note 3. A 'high level of social support' is defined as having five or more people whom that individual could turn to for help in an emergency if they are physically injured, require emotional support, shelter, and/or financial assistance. Return to Table 1.4, note 3 referrer Table 1.4, Note 4. A 'strong sense of belonging to community' is rating one's own sense of belonging to their community as a 4 or a 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents "very weak" and 5 "very strong". Return to Table 1.4, note 4 referrer Table 1.4, Note 5. 'High neighbourhood trust' is rating one's own trust in the people in one's neighbourhood as 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents "cannot be trusted at all" and 5 represents "can be trusted a lot", as well as having a response of "very likely" when asked about the likelihood of someone in their neighbourhood returning a lost wallet or purse containing two hundred dollars with the money still inside. Return to Table 1.4, note 5 referrer Table 1.4, Note 6. A 'high level of self-efficacy' is derived from having a high self-rating on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) for the following three categories: an ability to think clearly and solve day-to-day problems, to handle unexpected and difficult problems, and to figure out what to do if faced with an emergency situation. Return to Table 1.4, note 6 referrer Note: Responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents. Households with ‘moderately high’ or ‘high’ levels of emergency planning engaged in 3 or 4 of the following: having an exit plan, an emergency supply kit, extra copies of important documents and an emergency contact list. 'Moderately high' or 'high' levels of precautionary measures include having 3 or 4 of the following: a wind-up or battery operated radio, a back-up generator, an alternate source of heat and additional water. 'Moderately high' or 'high' levels of fire safety measure include having all 3 of the following: a working smoke detector, a working fire extinguisher, and a working carbon monoxide detector. Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Emergency Preparedness and Resilience in Canada, 2014.

Notes

^E use with caution

Footnote 1.

A Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) or a Census Agglomeration (CA) is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (known as the core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more must live in the core. A CA must have a core population of at least 10,000. To be included in the CMA or CA, other adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the core as measured by commuting flows derived from census data.

Return to note 1 referrer

Footnote 2.

The target population for the SEPR included all persons 15 years of age or older, residing in households in Canada’s 10 provinces, excluding full-time residents of institutions (e.g. nursing homes, group homes, hospitals).

Return to note 2 referrer

Footnote 3.

The SEPR covers three types of communities: Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), Census Agglomerations (CAs) with population greater than 50,000, and ‘smaller communities’ which include CAs with population 50,000 or less and those areas that fall outside of CMAs and CAs. All CMAs and CAs (with population greater than 50,000) were included in the SEPR. A sample of households were selected from smaller communities within each province to represent all households within the province in similar communities. Additional information on the SEPR and its sampling methodology can be found in the ‘Survey description’ section.

Return to note 3 referrer

Footnote 4.

Throughout this fact sheet, responses of 'don't know/not stated' are included in the total for the percentage calculation but are not footnoted when representing 5% or less of respondents.

Return to note 4 referrer

Footnote 5.

This section focuses on personal experiences with emergencies or disasters that happened in Canada, in a community where the person was living at the time, and was significant enough to severely interrupt the individual’s regular daily activities.

Return to note 5 referrer

Footnote 6.

Emergency planning activities include: having an emergency exit plan, a household emergency supply kit, extra copies of important documents and an emergency contact list.

Return to note 6 referrer

Footnote 7.

Precautionary measures include: having a wind-up or battery-operated radio, an alternate heat source such as a non-electric stove or heater or a wood-burning fireplace, a back-up generator and an alternative water source such as a well, tank or litres of stored water.

Return to note 7 referrer

Footnote 8.

Unless otherwise specified, differences are statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Return to note 8 referrer

Footnote 9.

A 'strong sense of belonging to community' is rating one's own sense of belonging to their community as a 4 or a 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents "very weak" and 5 "very strong".

Return to note 9 referrer

Footnote 10.

Responses of ‘don't know/not stated’ were greater than 5% but not above 10% when respondents were asked about their sense of belonging to their neighbourhood.

Return to note 10 referrer

Footnote 11.

A proportion (12%) of respondents were not asked questions regarding neighbourhood helpfulness in the event of an emergency and as such these cases are not included in the analysis on neighbourhood helpfulness in general or in the event of an emergency.

Return to note 11 referrer

Footnote 12.

Responses of ‘don't know/not stated’ were equal to 12% when respondents were asked about whether their neighbourhood is a place where neighbours would help each other if there is an emergency.

Return to note 12 referrer

Footnote 13.

Responses of ‘don't know/not stated’ were greater than 5% but not above 10% when respondents were asked about the number of people they could turn to for help if financial support is needed.

Return to note 13 referrer

Date modified:: 2016-10-13

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Fact sheet
Community of Sault Ste. Marie (CA), Ontario Fact sheet
Community of Sault Ste. Marie (CA), Ontario

Risk awareness and anticipated sources of help in an emergency or disaster

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disaster^{Note 5}

Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours

Social networks and sense of belonging

Data tables

Notes

Fact sheetCommunity of Sault Ste. Marie (CA), Ontario Fact sheetCommunity of Sault Ste. Marie (CA), Ontario

Risk awareness and anticipated sources of help in an emergency or disaster

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disasterNote 5

Emergency planning, precautionary and fire safety behaviours

Social networks and sense of belonging

Data tables

Notes

Note of appreciation

Standards of service to the public

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Fact sheet
Community of Sault Ste. Marie (CA), Ontario Fact sheet
Community of Sault Ste. Marie (CA), Ontario

Prior lifetime experience with a major emergency or disaster^{Note 5}