CBC news reports today that the provincial government knew about the Titan rocket launch as early as 31 March 2005. But for some reason that information didn't make it to Premier Danny Williams until 05 April 05, more than a week later.
Officials are said to be investigating the reasons for the delay.
As noted here last week, the problem is a systemic one within government and will need more than a quickie "review" to fix. It involves more than just the supposed delay in passing information to the premier.
It should involve how information is gathered, assessed and acted on. The review should include development of an integrated provincial emergency plan, similar to the ones in Nova Scotia and British Columbia.
In addition, the review should address specific issues that rose during the Titan case. These would include the collapse of public emergency communications on the first day of the crisis in a way that mirrored the collapse on September 11, 2001.
Smart organizations always go through a lessons-learned process after every incident. The one for the provincial government should be much more detailed and has much greater implications than the CBC story suggests.
As for the rest of the story on CBC - the launch delay - there's nothing surprising in that. The delay is caused by technical problems, as we reported here shortly after the initial launch delay.
Expect more.
