Training and Exercises

Training and exercises take place on an annual basis to make sure employees and responders are capable and competent to respond to an incident or emergency. 

Any PMC personnel, including senior leadership, who may respond to a PMC incident or emergency is trained and familiar with their responsibilities. Through our training program, there are several different streams of training that personnel go through – which depend on the role(s) they may be asked to fill during an emergency. After receiving training, personnel are required to demonstrate competency through live training exercises.

Continuous Improvement is a core part of any successful program. We routinely test our employees’ emergency preparedness through regulated full-scale and table-top exercises, which allow us to practice and assess our preparedness in a safe and controlled setting.  These regulated full-scale exercises are mandatory for each ERP every three years with table-top exercises held annually.

Exercises are opportunities for us to practice the procedures outlined in our ERPs and identify areas for improvement. These exercises are also an opportunity for us to invite and practice responses to various scenarios with local first responders, local authorities, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders. Regulatory officials representing the jurisdictions in which we operate participate in our exercises and evaluate PMC responders on their response efforts. These training exercises allow PMC employees the opportunity to learn from emergency response professionals with a wide range of experience.  PMC also practices Unified Command with authorities and regulators multiple times per year during exercises.

Exercises and training activities also allow PMC to practice responses to a variety of scenarios in all seasons and weather conditions. Scenarios may involve such issues as leaks and fires caused by various impacts, including tornados, flooding or wildfires, or third-party line strikes to our infrastructure. PMC will use and physically deploy spill response equipment on land and on water to simulate a response to a hypothetical product release.

After an emergency exercise is completed, participants discuss what went well and areas for improvement. These “lessons learned” then become items which we use to improve our emergency response efforts and minimize potential impacts to the environment, the communities in which we operate, and our customers.

If you are interested in learning more about ICS and becoming certified in ICS 100, please visit the Incident Command System Alberta website for more information and to take the self-guided online course. 


In accordance with Canada Energy Regulator (CER) Order MO-002-2017 (the Order), PMC has made Emergency Management Program information available on its website for public viewing. Links to additional Emergency Management Program information are provided below:

Emergency Management Program

Emergency Response Plans

Incident Management

Stakeholder Engagement and Continuing Education

What to do in an Emergency