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 “In truth,” Maisonneuve says, the CAF have “very little capability to help” due to shrinking ranks and mostly outdated equipment.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 “In truth,” Maisonneuve says, the CAF have “very little capability to help” due to shrinking ranks and mostly outdated equipment.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 |
 Accenture |
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
4 March 2019
(Global News)
South Korea and the U.S. are eliminating their massive springtime military drills and replacing them with smaller exercises as part of efforts to support diplomacy aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis.
28 February 2019
The opening of the Arctic and the stirring of Russian and Chinese interest along the U.S. and Canadian northern borders is a major worry for the top officer at U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command.
28 February 2019
(The Chronicle Herald)
More than a thousand passengers were affected after Air Canada partially suspended service to India due to the closure of Pakistani airspace as tensions mount between the two nuclear powers.
28 February 2019
(CTV News)
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is urging India and Pakistan to “exercise maximum restraint” as tensions over the disputed Kashmir region mount. Freeland issued a statement Wednesday afternoon calling on both countries to “avoid any further military escalation” following Pakistan’s shooting down of two Indian military aircraft in response to Indian airstrikes.
27 February 2019
(OCanada.com)
Under pointed questioning from senators, the top U.S. general for homeland defence said Tuesday that he sees no military threat coming from the southern border with Mexico, but his focus is on “very real” threats from China and Russia.
26 February 2019
(Narcity News)
Narcity News has gathered up a list of countries that the Government of Canada is advising Canadians not to travel to or advising Canadians where they should exercise extra caution during their travels.
23 February 2019
A review has led the Government of Canada to add one more group to the listing of terrorist entities under the Criminal Code. Harakat Sawa’d Misr (HASAM), a group attempting to overthrow Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, was added.
21 February 2019
(CBC)
A shortage of paramedics and ambulances is likely compromising public safety, according to statistics the union representing Toronto's frontline paramedics has shared with CBC News.
20 February 2019
(The Globe and Mail)
President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday of a resolute response if the U.S. decides to station missiles in countries neighboring Russia. He said that Russia would respond to any deployment of new intermediate-range missiles in Europe by targeting the United States itself and not just the countries where they are deployed, according to a Reuters translation.
19 February 2019
One of Australia's senior military figures says the threat of cyber attacks against the nation's infrastructure and military networks is on the rise. MGen Marcus Thompson says the job of protecting Australia from serious cyber threats was only becoming more challenging.
19 February 2019
(Financial Post)
Canadian cities rate highly among the most desirable in the world, but also the most unaffordable. The culprit has been money laundering – by criminals, kleptocrats and tax evaders, says Diane Francis. Their favourite means of hiding money is real estate.
19 February 2019
(The Globe and Mail)
Toronto police say they have seized four kilograms of hard drugs, including a kilogram of fentanyl, and a number of firearms in a bust that they hope puts a significant dent in the city’s narcotics trade.
