Military & Paramilitary

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki says the force is still trying to understand the fallout of allegations levelled against a senior civilian staffer. Cameron Ortis, director general of the RCMP's national intelligence coordination centre, has been charged with, among other things, preparing to share operational information with a foreign entity or terrorist group in the past year. [node:read-more:link]

Raytheon Co. expects a surge in international sales of its Howler aerial countermeasures technology, which has been field-tested by the U.S. Army. James McGovern, vice-president of mission systems and sensors, says there have been many expressions of industry at various trade shows. [node:read-more:link]

The federal government's latest Arctic strategy includes promises profound change but one policy researcher says it’s short on detail. He says that there is nothing new in the current administration’s approach, that it basically retiterates commitments by previous administrations in Ottawa. [node:read-more:link]

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has withdrawn contentious draft legislation which would have permitted extradition of Hong Kong residents to China. The bill sparked months of protests in the former British colony, raising fears of Chinese military intervention. [node:read-more:link]

A pickup registered to a Canadian Army reservist who was discharged over alleged links to a white supremacy movement has been found in southern Manitoba but police say there is no evidence that Patrik Mathews, a former combat engineer, had crossed into the U.S. Mathews has been missing for more than a week. [node:read-more:link]

The Canada Border Services Agency is the focus of an investigation by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner after a vehicle licence plate reader was subjected to a cyber attack in the U.S. this summer. Imagers of travellers and their vehicles had been collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection with the Perceptics system which also is used by the CBSA. [node:read-more:link]

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has announced that the Royal Canadian Air Force fleet of CH-149 Cormorant search and rescue helicopters is to be upgraded and expanded. Leonardo SpA is partnering with IMP Aerospace and CAE. [node:read-more:link]

Military veterans, especially those who had been deployed overseas, are at greater risk of mental health problems, according to Rand Corp. research. The California-based think-tank warns of long-lasting consequences if the problems are not addressed. [node:read-more:link]

A Canadian woman with scoliosis, a spinal deformity which can cause pain and fatigue, has been blocked from entering the U.S. after border officers found cannabidiol oil in her backpack. The woman, who uses the non-psychoactive cannabis constituent as an analgesic, is now awaiting the results of a re-entry application. [node:read-more:link]