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  March 31, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Canadian military on notice to provide logistic support, help vulnerable populations in wake of COVID-19

  Canada's top general says the military is in the process of determining what forces would be required to assist federal and provincial governments in responding to the novel coronavirus and that response will be geared to supporting vulnerable populations and providing logistics support. There has been no official call yet for the use of military forces from federal, provincial or territorial governments. But Canadian Forces planners are preparing for such a request. “Our tasks will be geared to support Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Municipal governments and agencies in their efforts to suppress the disease, to support vulnerable populations and to provide logistical and general support to communities,” Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance noted in a statement released Friday on social media. “To do this we are now in the process of identifying the forces required, including our incredibly valuable Primary Reserves and Canadian Rangers. These forces will be organized down to individual level into task forces able to deploy by sea, road or air to where they are needed.” More information will come in the next week, Vance said. But defence sources tell this newspaper that the response if needed will, among other areas, focus on providing support to remote Indigenous communities. Such communities have limited resources, particularly in the area of health and medical capabilities. The Canadian Forces has an extensive logistics capability with its fleet of vehicles and aircraft. It can also set up mobile shelters and medical facilities. Vance noted that many military personnel volunteer in their communities but such work must now be restricted to first responder duties since they are required to be ready for Canadian Forces duties at short notice. “When it's time, we will marshal forces, conduct reconnaissance and deploy as, where and when required,” he added. In his message to military personnel and their families, Vance also announced that the Canadian Forces will go ahead with its annual process of shifting personnel around the country for promotions and new jobs, albeit at a reduced level. The annual military posting season comes at a time when federal government officials are advising Canadians to stay at home and practice physical distancing in an effort to reduce the number of cases of COVID-19. “It is our intention to execute as many of the planned postings as is responsible and reasonable to do,” Vance explained. He noted that the overall number of moves will be reduced significantly and they must be vetted and approved by senior leaders as operationally essential. The busiest time for postings and relocations from one community to another is during what is known as the “Active Posting Season” or APS, according to the Canadian Forces. During APS, about 5,000 to 6,000 members receive their posting messages, usually during the spring and most of the movement is carried out in the summer. Vance said the active posting season will be lengthened to conclude by Dec. 31. In addition, Vance warned that the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting normal administration procedures for the Canadian Armed Forces or CAF. “To reduce the administrative risks and to preserve our strength as recruiting has almost ceased, transition out of the CAF and retirements may be voluntarily delayed,” he warned. “Those who are releasing voluntarily but wish to remain in the CAF are welcome to do so and appropriate terms of service will be offered. Those wishing to continue with transition may do so, but you must expect significant delays and disruptions.” Vance also encouraged former military personnel to rejoin the Canadian Forces. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-on-notice-to-provide-logistic-support-help-vulnerable-populations-in-wake-of-covid-19/

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  September 26, 2018 | Local, Security

  Artificial intelligence at border could infringe on human rights: report

  By Anna Desmarais Using artificial intelligence at Canada's official points of entry can lead to serious human rights violations, according to a new report. Released Wednesday by the University of Toronto's International Human Rights Program (IHRP) and the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the report says the use of artificial intelligence (AI) at regular points of entry is “quite risky” without appropriate government oversight. “We know that, in other contexts, AI is not neutral,” report author Petra Molnar told iPolitics. “It's basically like a recipe. If your recipe is biased, then the result that is going to come out of the algorithm is also going to be biased.” What these technologies could do, according to the report, is decide whether a marriage is genuine, an application is complete, or whether someone entering the country is deemed “a risk” to public safety. If the government doesn't provide more oversight, such decisions could rely on appearance, religion, or travel patterns as “proxies” for more relevant data normally gathered by immigration officials. This could compromise some quintessential human rights for immigrants and refugees at the border, including the right to equality and to be protected from discrimination under the law. The report says AI machines could be taught algorithms for how to assess “red flags,” “risks,” and “frauds” based on pre-existing biases in some of the immigration and refugee system's current regulations. For example, the report said the Designated Country of Origin list, which classifies which countries are “safe” for refugee claimants, uses an “incomplete” definition of safety that does not take into account specific risks for minority groups, such as women or members of the LGBTQ community. The use of AI technologies could mean cases are likely to be determined only based on these types of guidelines and might not include the discretion and empathy employed by immigration officials when reviewing the details of a refugee claim. “Depending on how an algorithm is designed, it may result in indirect discrimination,” the report found. “The complexity of human migration is not easily reducible to an algorithm.” If someone is triaged or flagged for early deportation, it could also affect their ability to apply for a visa, appeal a negative immigration ruling, or continue to move between borders. AI technologies also bring up procedural-rights issues, such as how a potential immigrant or refugee claimant would challenge the outcome of his case at the border. “When you introduce AI, if you don't agree with the decision, where do you appeal? And what kind of appeal are you crafting?” Molnar said. “These are all new questions we have to ask ourselves.” The report found that the government has been experimenting with artificial intelligence since 2014. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada confirmed to the report's authors in June it was already using an automated response to “triage,” or separate, simple claims from complicated ones that need further review. This summer, the government sent out an RFI (a preliminary procurement document) seeking an “Artificial Intelligence Solution” to provide legal support for migrants entering at formal points of entry. These investments fit into the federal government's $125-million Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy to “develop global thought leadership on the economic, ethical, policy and legal implications” of AI research throughout the country. Molnar said she heard from government officials that their use of AI is “preliminary” at best. What the government is considering, she continued, is using AI technologies only for preliminary screening. After AI technologies have reviewed a case, Molnar said immigration officers should still be asked to review the decision and make any appropriate changes. Molnar said it's still too soon to tell what AI could look like at the borders, but noted the technological changes could be vast. “It can be as simple as an Excel sheet, all the way to totally autonomous robots in other sectors,” she continued. “In immigration, how this could manifest ... could include a triage system where a traveller might be designated a high risk or low risk, or streamed for high risk and low risk.” To solve these possible human-rights infringements, the report suggests installing an independent, arms-length government-oversight body to “engage in all aspects of oversight,” before the government continues to develop these technologies. This recommendation, Molnar said, is in line with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's review into responsible use of AI throughout government offices. Among other recommendations, the board suggests more transparency from government offices about when AI technologies will be used during a discretionary decision-making process. The report notes this suggestion “is promising, from a human-rights perspective,” but the document is non-binding and is still subject to change. Until the review body is created, the report suggests government freeze “all efforts to procure, develop or adopt” any new automated-decision-system technology before a government oversight process is in place. https://ipolitics.ca/2018/09/26/artificial-intelligence-at-border-could-infringe-on-human-rights-report/

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  October 27, 2020 | Local, C4ISR, Other Defence

  Bombardier Recreational Products suspends delivery of aircraft engines used on military drones

  Canadian company says it only recently became aware the engines were powering military UAVs Levon Sevunts Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) says it has suspended the delivery of aircraft engines to "countries with unclear usage" in the wake of reports that some of those engines are being used on Turkish combat drones deployed by Azerbaijan in fighting against Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Quebec-based company — better known for its Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles — said it became aware late last week that some of the recreational aircraft engines produced by its Austrian subsidiary, Rotax, are being used on Turkish Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). "We have recently been made aware that some Rotax engines are currently used in military UAVs, and have started a thorough investigation immediately," Martin Langelier, BPR's senior vice president and the company's spokesperson, told Radio Canada International in an email statement. "In the meantime, we are suspending delivery of aircraft engines in countries with unclear usage." Export controls and 'civilian' tech Langelier said that all Rotax aircraft engines are designed and produced in Austria exclusively for civilian purposes and are certified for civilian use only. Canada suspended most exports of defence technology to Turkey in October of 2019 following the Turkish invasion of northwestern Syria. Michel Cimpaye, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said exports of items on the country's Export Control List require a permit only when exported from Canada. Controlled goods and technology exported from another country, however, are subject to the export controls of that country, Cimpaye added. Gabriele Juen, a spokesperson for the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Rotax engines are used in various motorsports and drones could be used "for a multitude of solely civilian purposes." "The European Union Control List of Dual Use Items does not list the drone engine in question as a dual use good item," Juen said. "As a consequence, no approval permit is required under Austrian legislation that regulates the export of defence-related goods." A loophole in arms control regimes Kelsey Gallagher is a researcher with the disarmament group Project Ploughshares who has studied Canadian exports of drone technology to Turkey. Gallagher said the matter of BRP recreational aircraft engines ending up on Turkish combat drones exposes a serious flaw in international arms control regimes. "I think this speaks to the fact that components such as engines should more frequently fall under regulations that we see for what we deem to be more conventional weapons," he said. "Frequently, engines are not controlled as weapons systems even though they are integral, like other components, to the operation of a vehicle." The Bayraktar TB2 drones also feature optical sensors and target designation systems produced by L3 Harris WESCAM in Burlington, Ont. On Monday, defence officials in Armenia displayed what they claimed are parts of a Bayraktar TB2 drone and its Canadian-made optical and target acquisition systems, as well as its Rotax engine. A spokesperson for the Armenian Ministry of Defence said another Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone was shot down by Armenian air defence units during fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh on Thursday. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has called on countries that supply components for the Turkish drone program to follow Canada's example and suspend all exports of such components to Turkey. Fighting in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which is populated by ethnic Armenians, began on Sept. 27. It's the most significant outburst of violence since a Russian-brokered ceasefire paused hostilities in 1994. Armenia has repeatedly accused Turkey of supplying Azerbaijan with arms — including drones and F-16 fighter jets — as well as military advisers and jihadist Syrian mercenaries taking part in the fighting. Armenian officials also have accused Azerbaijan of using the Turkish drones to not only target military forces but also to conduct strikes against civilian infrastructure across Nagorno-Karabakh and in Armenia proper. Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied these reports. The Turkish embassy did not respond to a request for comment Officials at Global Affairs Canada said they are investigating allegations regarding the possible use of Canadian technology in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and "will continue to assess the situation." Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne suspended the export permits for WESCAM optical sensors and target acquisition systems on Oct. 6. However, senior Global Affairs officials speaking at Thursday's briefing for MPs on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh could not explain why an exemption was made for these exports in the first place, given the embargo announced in 2019 and renewed in April of this year. Appearing before the standing committee on foreign affairs and international development, Shalini Anand, acting director general for export controls at Global Affairs Canada, said she could not discuss the issue of the permits because of "commercial confidentiality." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau specifically discussed the issue of WESCAM exports to Turkey with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a phone conversation in April, according to sources who spoke with Radio Canada International on condition of anonymity. The issue was discussed again during their phone conversation on Oct. 16, according to the Prime Minister's Office. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/turkey-armenia-azerbaijan-drones-bombardier-1.5775350