One of several European Union states to enact emergency measures in preparation for winter as Russia shuts off natural gas supplies, Germany has announced a US$65-billion plan to help its citizens and businesses cope with soaring prices. “Russia is no longer a reliable energy partner,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sept. 4. [node:read-more:link]
A convoy of UN inspectors managed today to reach Europe's largest nuclear power station, in southern Ukraine, despite the presence of Russian forces embedded in and around the Zaporizhzhia plant. Some of the International Atomic Energy Agency team left after only a few hours but Ukraine's nuclear power operator expects five others to remain for two more days. [node:read-more:link]
A federal task force created to improve service at airports as well as passport and immigration offices said today that increased staffing is yielding improvements. However, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller, a task force co-chair, admitted that “we’re not out of the woods yet.” [node:read-more:link]
Three well-known incidents highlight key aspects from which to learn from failure and then improve resilience. Approaching global uncertainty is not unlike going into battle with an unknown adversary. However, there are “known” unknowns, and while recognizing them makes them no less daunting, it does help to better understand the battle space. [node:read-more:link]
Intelligence officers warned the government that if police were used to disperse the “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa earlier this year, according to a redacted memorandum made public through an Access to Information request. The February 24 “threat highlight” advised that extremist “influencers” would leverage the outcome of the protests for recruitment and propaganda and that ideologs likely would “encourage violent revenge or as further evidence of government ‘tyranny’.” [node:read-more:link]
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Aug. 2 that a major nuclear power station in southeastern Ukraine “is completely out of control” since Russian forces seized it shortly after their invasion of the region. “Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated,” he said, demanding IAEA access to the “extremely grave and dangerous” Zaporizhzhya site in the city of Enerhodar. [node:read-more:link]
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and top Polish security officials visited their country’s border last week to mark the completion of a steel wall designed to stem the influx of migrants. Morawiecki’s government also plan to lift a state of emergency that has blocked human ights agencies, reporters and others from monitoring developments along the border. [node:read-more:link]
At the request of a commission of inquiry into the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to address “freedom” protests earlier this year, the Liberals have waived cabinet confidence, only the fourth such move in Canadian history. “This exceptional step recognizes the fundamental importance of the commission's work and how critical these documents are in inquiring into why the government declared a public order emergency,” commission lawyers said. [node:read-more:link]
An earthquake in eastern Afghanistan June 22 left at least 1,000 dead and the Taliban government working with aid groups to bring in resources. In one particularly hard-hit community, Taliban fighters were reportedly seen driving around but only a few evidently were helping with rescue and recovery efforts. [node:read-more:link]
Massachusetts-based Moderna plans a vaccine production facility in Montreal, potentially assuring long-term domestic supplies in the event of future viral outbreaks. “Our government promised to strengthen our capacity,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a joint announcement with Premier François Legault. The facility could be operational by 2024. [node:read-more:link]
Logging and wildfires resulted in the loss of some 11.1 million hectares of tropical forest last year, resulting in increased global carbon emissions, says the Washington-based World Resources Institute. While the loss was less severe than in 2020, the WRI says deforestation, some of it deliberate, continues at an alarming rate. [node:read-more:link]
The federal government waited until the last possible day April 26 to begin a legislated public inquiry into its Feb. 14 invocation of the Emergencies Act to deal with a series of disruptive “freedom” protests in Ottawa and elsewhere earlier this year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Ontario Appeal Court Justice Paul S. Rouleau as the inquiry commissioner with a mandate to report by Feb. 20 next year. [node:read-more:link]
The Ottawa Police Service says the federal government will cover all costs incurred during the “freedom convoy” protest that paralyzed the capital’s downtown for several weeks earlier this year. The overall policing costs, including RCMP support, amounted to some $35 million. [node:read-more:link]
Oleg Stepanov, Russia’s Ambassador to Canada, supports his country’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. “I stand with my president and I stand with the troops on the ground,” he said on the weekend, denying accusations that they are committing war crimes and targetting civilians. “Here at the embassy, we are 100 per cent confident that we stand on the right side of history.” [node:read-more:link]
Pat King, a key figure in the “freedom convoy” which paralyzed downtown Ottawa for weeks earlier this year, now faces three additional charges each of perjury and obstruction of justice related to his testimony during a bail hearing last week. Details of the testimony are protected by a publication ban but King originally faced charges of mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to commit the offence of disobeying a court order, and counselling to obstruct police. [node:read-more:link]
