When does the Government of Canada use the Canadian Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)?
The Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) is a team of over 200 Canadian Forces personnel that can provide basic non-surgical medical assistance and clean water through its water purification units. The DART is deployed as a stabilization tool that provides a bridge following the first week of a disaster to meet medium term needs until the affected government or humanitarian agencies can restore the essential services that the DART provides. The DART is not designed to provide first response services (e.g. search and rescue or emergency trauma care), which would take place during the first few days of a disaster. The DART can be a useful tool in the Canadian response in situations where the capabilities of local governments and humanitarian agencies to provide primary health care and potable water are overstretched in the first few weeks after a disaster. The decision to deploy the DART is taken by the Government based on a joint recommendation from DFAIT, the Department of National
