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 “In truth,” Maisonneuve says, the CAF have “very little capability to help” due to shrinking ranks and mostly outdated equipment.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 “In truth,” Maisonneuve says, the CAF have “very little capability to help” due to shrinking ranks and mostly outdated equipment.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.
 Accenture |
 DRDC Valcartier Research |
 EZ Raider |
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
20 March 2023
(Thomson Reuters)
The Bank of Canada was among the ranks of the world’s largest central banks which came together on the weekend to stop a banking crisis from spreading as Swiss authorities persuaded UBS Group to buy rival Credit Suisse Group for the equivalent of C$4.4 billion while assuming C$7.4 billion in losses.
20 March 2023
(CNN)
Faced with widespread domestic and international protests, the Israeli government today proposed a change to its planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system. The concession would give the right-wing coalition government less power to appoint new judges, who are currently selected by a committee comprised of politicians, judges and legal experts.
20 March 2023
(CTV)
A national standard test he says would help to address the national shortage of physicians and nurses has been proposed by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. It would fast-track licensing of professionals who trained abroad or are landed immigrants. “If we had all the doctors that are here today […] working in our health-care system, we could reduce our doctor shortage by half,” he said March 19.
20 March 2023
(Thomson Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow today, his first visit since V=his Russian counterpart launched his “special military operation” in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin is framing the event as evidence that it has a powerful ally to counter what he says is an increasingly hostile West. Admidst growing concerns that China is willing to ship arms to Russia, Xi has portrayed China as a global peacemaker hoping to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
20 March 2023
(A Jazeera)
An EU-brokered plan to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia has been tentantive accepted. The weekend deal followed 12 hours of EU talks with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic after the two met separately with EU officials. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 from Serbia, which has continued to claim it as an autonomous province.
20 March 2023
(NY Times)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned today that the planet is likely to cross a critical threshold for global warming within the next decade. It says in a new report that there must be an immediate and drastic shift away from fossil fuels to prevent the planet from overheating further.
20 March 2023
(NY Times)
The World Health Organization says Chinese officials have withheld and possibly deleted research data they say could link the pandemic to wild animals sold at a wet market in Wuhan. Before the data disappeared, international virus expects had downloaded them in January for analysis which they said supported the Wuhan theory. However, the data were removed after the experts offered to collaborate with their Chinese counterparts.
17 March 2023
(CP)
Treasury Board President Mona Fortier’s office says some federal employees will be able to continue working remotely despite an earlier edict that all must be back in their official workplaces to days a week by month’s end. The policy easement affects mostly “high priority” information technology positions.
17 March 2023
(CBC)
The Treasury Board Secretariat says that the Canadian Human Rights Commission discriminated against its own black and racialized employees. It was responding to a policy grievance filed in October by nine employees’ unions alleging that they and others had faced “systemic” racism, sexism and discrimination.
17 March 2023
(BBC)
Russian President Vladimir Putin will play host to his Chinese counterpart March 20-21 to discuss what Kremlin officials said today would be “a comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.” For its part, Beijing said China would uphold “an objective and fair position on the war in Ukraine and “play a constructive role in promoting talks for peace.”
17 March 2023
(Ottawa Citizen)
Supreme Court of Canada Justice Russell Brown, on leave since February 1, says he did nothing to provoke an altercation in Arizona three days earlier which triggered a complaint to the Canadian Judicial Council. Police say a complainant, who at one point was on the verge of being arrested, had accused Brown of being intoxicated and had touched a female companion “inappropriately.”
17 March 2023
(AP)
Finland moved a step closer to NATO membership today Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his parliament would ratify the application. Finland and Sweden applied 10 months ago but Turkey balked, accusing both of being too soft on political opponents it considered terrorist organizations and it still has reservations about Sweden.
