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 “In truth,” Maisonneuve says, the CAF have “very little capability to help” due to shrinking ranks and mostly outdated equipment.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 “In truth,” Maisonneuve says, the CAF have “very little capability to help” due to shrinking ranks and mostly outdated equipment.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.
 EZ Raider |
 Polar Knowledge Canada |
 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 April 2019
(National Post )
A preliminary report released Thursday by Ethiopia’s government has found the crew of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed shortly after takeoff last month performed all of the procedures recommended by Boeing when the plane started to nose dive, but they could not control it.
4 April 2019
(Ottawa Citizen)
After 68 days in custody, the Kingston teenager arrested in late January on terrorism charges has been granted bail with strict conditions governing his movements and activities in the community.
3 April 2019
(The Globe and Mail)
Canada should postpone banning Chinese communications giant Huawei’s use of 5G technology because the decision could complicate a fraught relationship with the superpower, says the former head of Canada’s spy agency.
29 March 2019
(National Observer)
Canada’s foreign affairs minister says violent white supremacists and other far-right groups threaten the country's stability and should be the primary focus of the international community’s counter-terrorism efforts, including by stopping the spread of hate online.
29 March 2019
(The Globe and Mail)
Ontario’s top court has ruled that placing inmates in solitary confinement for more than 15 days constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, a resounding legal defeat of Correctional Service Canada’s long-standing practice of isolating prisoners for weeks, months and even years at a time.
28 March 2019
Today marked the conclusion of a week-long event series, organized by the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (Canada Centre), to further the National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence.
28 March 2019
(The Global and Mail)
Canada will focus much of its new anti-money laundering resources in British Columbia, where lax regulation and policing have led to the region becoming a global hub for the crime.
27 March 2019
(National Post)
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told his Russian counterpart Monday that the United States “will not stand idly by” if Russia continues to send military personnel to Venezuela to prop up President Nicolás Maduro.
27 March 2019
(Euronews)
Passengers filmed their scary experience on the Viking Sky cruise ship off the coast of Norway on Saturday (March 23) and Sunday (March 24). Video shows flooding, people waiting in life vests, and large doors sliding open in the dining room.
27 March 2019
(Euronews)
Passengers filmed their scary experience on the Viking Sky cruise ship off the coast of Norway on Saturday (March 23) and Sunday (March 24). Video shows flooding, people waiting in life vests, and large doors sliding open in the dining room.
27 March 2019
(iPolitics)
Canada’s armed forces, the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency spent a total of $158,000 to send 42 employees to what’s billed as the biggest small arms show in the world last January.
27 March 2019
(CTV News)
On Tuesday, a BC Ferries vessel collided with a berthing structure at the Langdale terminal while making a turn, triggering concerns about the ferry's structural integrity. Passengers were trapped on board for 10 hours. A full investigation will be conducted to determine what happened.
