NEWS BRIEFS: CANADA
9 November 2023
(CP)
Defence Minister Bill Blair said November 8 that he has instructed his team to revise the widely-anticipated policy update to give industry a clearer picture of long-term spending plans. First announced in early 2022 and expected that fall, the update is expected to build on but potentially amend the last major policy paper which in 2017 promised billions in new funding.
9 November 2023
(CBC)
A $4-million project opened in Edmonton two years ago with provincial, city and private sponsorship is giving homeless military veterans a fresh start, setting them up to return to the workforce or school. Taking its cue from a program started in Calgary in 2019, the Homes for Heroes Foundation now is planning similar ventures in Manitoba and Ontario. “Every day I come into work knowing we're helping veterans who want the help,” says caseworker Michael Schneider. “There's honour in that.”
9 November 2023
(CP)
Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon, a variant of its 737-800 civilian jet, evidently doesn’t have a lock on the proposal to replace the RCAF’s CP-140 Aurora surveillance platform. Addressing calls by Bombardier and General Dynamics for an open-source bid, Innovation, Science & Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne now is declining comment. “There is no decision,” he said November 7. “In military acquisitions, it is rarely very, very fast; it's complex, too.”
9 November 2023
(CTV)
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced today that she will present the government’s fall economic update November 21. It is expected to include revised budget estimates as the Liberals try to address a range of challenges amidst a general economic slowdown.
7 November 2023
(Globe & Mail)
Apparently contradicting the government’s stated commitment in its last budget to cut the use of outside consultants, Natural Resources Canada approved $699,650 to hire KPMG to advise it on how to save money on consultants. It was disclosed in a written reply to an enquiry by NDP MP Gord Johns, who said it illustrates “how ridiculous and out of control and absurd it’s getting.”
2 November 2023
(CNN)
A Chinese fighter pilot’s decision to dispense missile-deterring flares close to an RCAF CH-148 Cyclone helicopter recently was a risky move which could have disabled the aircraft. The incident in international airspace, which occurred October 29 over the South China Sea when the helicopter was deployed from HMCS Ottawa, was the second that day.
2 November 2023
(CP)
Global Affairs Canada expects the exodus of foreign nationals to Egypt from war-torn Gaza to continue in the coming days even as stranded Canadians were warned that their safety could not be guaranteed if they opt not to leave. “Canada has one of the largest contingents of nationals in Gaza,” GAC said November 1. “We expect further crossings daily.”
1 November 2023
(AP)
Canada and 27 other countries, including China and the U.S., have agreed to cooperate on measures to contain the potentially “catastrophic” risks posed by evolving artificial intelligence. Endorsed at an inaugural AI Safety Summit in England today, the vaguely-worded commitment is expected to be refined at a virtual meeting hosted by South Korea in six months in preparation for a live meeting in France a year from now.
1 November 2023
(CBC)
Minutes after the government introduced draft legislation today, the Saskatchewan legislature unanimously approved Bill 139 to prevent employers from banning commemorative poppies in the workplace. “Veterans current and past have fought for our freedom and peace,” Labour Relations & Workplace Safety Minister Don McMorris said. The measure was in response to complaints by workers in the public and private sectors
1 November 2023
(Globe & Mail)
Gloria Hooper of St. Claude in southern Manitoba, whose son Chris Holopina died in July 1996 while on duty with Canada’s peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, is this year’s Silver Cross Mother. Chosen by the Royal Canadian Legion, she will represent all mothers who have lost a son or daughter when she lays a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Remembrance Day.
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