An anonymous veteran federal public servant was identified today as the source for a series of internationally embarrassing disclosures about foreign interference in Canadian affairs and about seeming government indifference or reluctance to act over the years. Acknowledging the prospect of eventual prosecution if identified, the whistleblower explains the reasons for sharing concerns about an evolving threat.
Canada’s Veterans Ombud is challenging Veterans Affairs Canada’s arbitrary reduction in the pensions of some retired RCMP officers and civilian employees because they received a one-time lump sum compensation for many years of “horrific” on-the-job abuse and harassment which drove many into early retirement.
ALEXANDER LANDRY and CONNOR HUNERFAUTH
All future activities in the Northwest Passage should be assessed through an Environmental, Social, and Governance lens, advise Hunerfauth and Landry as they provide an overview of key considerations.
(National Post)
As the Army officer who oversaw Canada’s refugee verification mission in Kosovo some three decades, retired Lieutenant-General J.O. Michel Maisonneuve is asking why the internationally-respected Disaster Assistance Response Team hasn’t been deployed to help in the aftermath of the earthquakes that have killed more than 25,000 persons in Turkey and Syria. “In truth,” Maisonneuve says, the CAF have “very little capability to help” due to shrinking ranks and mostly outdated equipment.
(National Post)
As the Army officer who oversaw Canada’s refugee verification mission in Kosovo some three decades, retired Lieutenant-General J.O. Michel Maisonneuve is asking why the internationally-respected Disaster Assistance Response Team hasn’t been deployed to help in the aftermath of the earthquakes that have killed more than 25,000 persons in Turkey and Syria. “In truth,” Maisonneuve says, the CAF have “very little capability to help” due to shrinking ranks and mostly outdated equipment.
Mar 27
(CTV)
The multi-billion-dollar renovation of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill, which is not expected to be finished until at least the end of this decade, is being managed effectively, Auditor General Karen Hogan said today. However, she cautioned, “rigorous” cost management will be needed “as the program moves more into the construction phase, where making changes to elements that are built or in the process of being built becomes more difficult.”
Mar 27
(National Post)
Auditor General Karen Hogan reported today that 1.4 million Canadian households in rural and remote areas do not have access to the level of Internet services promised by the federal government. “When services are of poor quality, unaffordable or unavailable, people are effectively excluded from participating fully and equally in the digital economy, accessing online education, banking, medical care and government services or working remotely,” she said.
Mar 25
(CTV)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden used a day of talks in Ottawa March 24 to tackle a range of shared issues, including defence and security, third-country refugees, Haiti, clean energy and trade in what Trudeau said was a demonstration of how their countries’ interests are “interwoven.” Biden, on his first visit to Canada as President, agreed, saying, “I can't think of a challenge we haven’t met together.”
Mar 23
(CP)
The Transportation Safety Board says that the capsize of a Nova Scotia fishing boat with the loss of six crewmembers during a gale in December 2020 can be linked to federal inaction on recommended stability standards. Modifications by the vessel’s owners, Yarmouth Sea Products, had raised its centre of gravity but the TSB said in its March 22 report that Transport Canada inspectors had had not told the company about the heightened risk of instability.
 Polar Knowledge Canada |
 EZ Raider |
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Aug 18 –
Interference is typically an extremely valid and indisputable concern, but in the case of the NS shooting spree, that argument is being used to obfuscate the real issue of communication negligence which resulted in deaths that could have been avoided.
Aug 10 –
Alberta awarded third prize of “Her Vision Inspires” contest to an essayist who argues that women should pick babies over careers, writing that importing "foreigners to replace ourselves is a sickly mentality that amounts to a drive for cultural suicide.”
Jun 27 –
Keeping Russia "at bay" is not a solution to the carnage happening in Ukraine. With Russia firing 10 times the amount of ammunition than Ukraine, Putin knows he will win, unless something changes.
Jun 20 –
It is now 11 years since I served in Afghanistan, and almost a year since those who helped us were abandoned to the increasing brutality of Taliban rule, it's time the govt cut the red tape and made good on its promises.
TBD July/Aug 2023
St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
21 March 2023
(CP)
Environment & Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault said March 20 that the government will take a “hard long look” at the latest UN climate change panel’s latest warning about carbon emissions. “It's one thing to simply say, ‘well, you know, we want to reach this goal’ but we have to give ourselves the means to get there,” he said. “We do that now in Canada for 2050. We will obviously need to take a second hard long look at what the IPCC is proposing for 2040.”
21 March 2023
(CP)
The federal government said March 20 that it expects that the Nexus trusted-traveller program with the U.S. to be back in full operation in about a month. Registration for the program has been on hold for nearly a year, partly because of bureaucratic and legal issues, resulting in backlogged applications. Enrolment centres will reopen at the Halifax and Winnipeg airports on March 27, followed by Vancouver April 3, Calgary and Edmonton April 12, Montreal April 17 and Toronto and Ottawa April 24.
21 March 2023
(BBC)
Six foreign nationals “from across the eastern border” have been charged by Poland with preparing acts of sabotage and spying for Russia. “Their tasks included recognising, monitoring and documenting weapons transports to Ukraine,” says Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski. “The suspects were also preparing sabotage actions aimed at paralysing the supply of equipment, weapons and aid.”
21 March 2023
(Al Jazeera)
Confirmation that the RCMP are investigating two Chinese “covert police stations” in Quebec has prompted China’s foreign ministry to say that Canada should “stop sensationalizing and hyping the matter and stop attacks and smears.” The stations ostensibly are supposed to be helping expatriates with paperwork, among other things, but there have been allegations of intimidation and harassment the RCMP say “won’t be tolerated.”
21 March 2023
(CTV)
Federal Justice Minister David Lametti’s stated commitment to “targeted” Criminal Code and bail reforms should rebalance what some of his provincial counterparts agreed were “unintended consequences” of 2019 reforms. “We have a broad consensus on a path forward, one based on a set of shared principles and clear objectives,” says Lametti. “That starts with a commitment from […] the federal government to move forward quickly.”
21 March 2023
(CP)
Statistics Canada reported today that the annualized inflation rate in February was 5.2 per cent compared with the previous month’s 5.9 per cent and it was the largest deceleration since April 2020. Despite the overall cooling, grocery prices remained elevated, up 10.6 per cent from a year ago because of supply constraints and bad weather in some food growing regions.
21 March 2023
(Thomson Reuters)
A recent comment by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly about “potential regime change” in Russia predictably ruffled feathers in Moscow. The Kremlin said today that Canada’s chargé d’affaires, Brian Ebel, had been told off about the “Russophobic attack.”
21 March 2023
(EuroNews/AP)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began a three-day visit to Ukraine today by laying flowers at a town which has become a symbol if Russian atrocities against civilians. “I represent the Japanese citizens to express my condolences to those who lost their lives,” said Kishida, the last G-7 leader to visit. Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister expressed gratitude for Japan’s “strong support and contribution to our future victory.”
21 March 2023
(CTV)
A $3.2-billion liquefied natural gas export terminal near the northern coastal city of Kitimat has received environmental approval from the B.C. government. The floating Cedar LNG project is majority-owned by the local Haisla Nation in partnership with the Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp.
21 March 2023
(CTV)
Former Governor-General David Johnston, tasked with looking into foreign interference in Canadian politics, has been promised “complete access” by the Prime Minister. While he has two months to decide whether a public inquiry is warranted, Johnston’s mandate letter gives him more time to dig into the “extent and impact of foreign interference”, to determine “what the government did to defend Canada”, and how it could be improved.
21 March 2023
(CTV)
Draft changes to Ontario labour law would leave employers who withhold foreign workers’ passports or work permits facing stiffer penalties. “One group of workers who are often forgotten are migrant workers,” Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said March 20. during a press conference on Monday. “My message to those scumbags out there abusing migrant workers is this: you can run, but you can’t hide. We will find you, fine you, and put you behind bars.”
20 March 2023
(CNN)
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government survived a pair of votes on motions of no confidence in the National Assembly today after pushing through pensions overhaul which has seen ongoing protests across the country in recent weeks. The opposition is now looking to appeal to France’s constitutional council in a bid to block part or all of the pension reforms.
