Government of Canada announces call to launch intellectual property collective

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  February 4, 2024 | Local, Land

  Conservatives call on Canada to donate rockets to Ukraine — but not all are battle-ready | CBC News

  The federal Conservatives are demanding that the Liberal government donate to Ukraine tens of thousands of surplus air-to-ground rockets that are slated for disposal. But the weapons may not be ready for the field.

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  October 13, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  5 ways the U.S. election result could impact Canada

  CBC News Trump and Biden have different ideas about trade, defence, China, energy and migration The fallout from an American election touches countries around the world — starting with its neighbours next door. And on some issues with clear implications for Canada, Joe Biden and Donald Trump offer contrasting positions. The CBC has explored a few of these topics, in stories summarized here with links to a deeper dive on each. Here are five areas where the Nov. 3 presidential election might affect Canada. Energy and the environment There are striking differences between the candidates. Trump promises more oil drilling, more pipelines — and less regulation. Joe Biden, on the other hand, says he'd cancel Trump's permit for the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada. Biden wants to invest massively in clean energy; rejoin the Paris Accord; and, finally, name, shame and potentially punish countries with green tariffs if they fail to cut emissions. International trade Some irritants would remain no matter who wins. For instance, Biden promises more Buy American policies and perennial disputes like softwood lumber would not disappear. But Biden says he'd drop some of Trump's most aggressive moves against allies, like the steel and aluminum tariffs based on alleged national-security grounds. He has also hinted he might, eventually, try negotiating U.S. re-entry into the pan-Pacific trade pact now known as CPTPP. Trump's administration prides itself on a hard-nosed, transformative trade policy that includes lots of tariffs and duties, and has essentially paralyzed the World Trade Organization's dispute system. His trade team says it has a long-term plan; its critics say the results so far offer more chaos than benefits. Canadian defence policy has long rested on the assumption of an unshakeable partnership with the United States. Yet old alliances suddenly seem less sturdy. Trump has rattled old assumptions, repeatedly criticizing NATO allies for under-spending on their military. Past administrations have made similar complaints. But under a barrage of demands from Trump, allies have, in fact, upped their spending. Some defence analysts, and a top former aide to Trump, still fear he might withdraw from NATO in a second term. That uncertainty lingers over a deployment of Canadian troops in Eastern Europe. Biden is a staunch NATO advocate, and under his watch, Canada could face a different challenge: conversations about NATO's future role and missions. One major issue continues to hover over the continent: whether Canada will wind up spending billions to install new radar over the Arctic. China When the globe's two superpowers clash, Canada risks getting sideswiped. Just ask the Canadians in Chinese jail cells and the canola, pork and beef farmers punished by Beijing after Canada executed a U.S. arrest warrant against a high-profile Chinese telecom exec. China-U.S. tensions now loom over myriad global issues, touching the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, agriculture, educational exchanges, journalism, new technologies and sanctioned goods. Trump made these issues top priorities. And they're not going away. Biden, however, says he wants to approach things differently — for starters, by working more closely with allies. He plans to host a summit of democracies to discuss ways governments and private-sector companies like banks and social media platforms might push back against global authoritarianism. One thing Trump has not clearly articulated — and it's something Biden would be pressed to offer — is a sense of the long-term goal: How does the U.S. intend to coexist with China? Immigration Trump has indicated that for a second term, he would carry on with some of the more restrictive temporary work visa programs he established during his first term. Just recently, for example, he announced a major overhaul for H1-B visas. He is also seeking to end the temporary humanitarian protection of thousands of migrants who face threats back home, and decrease the overall number of refugees who come to the U.S. All this could put pressure on Canadian borders. Meanwhile, Biden has said he would reverse Trump's H1-B visa freeze, review the decision to end humanitarian protection for migrants, repeal Trump's travel ban and increase the number of refugees coming into the U.S. to 125,000. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/5-ways-the-u-s-election-result-could-impact-canada-1.5753574

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  September 24, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  'Shields Up': Defence Department looks for new ways to protect Canada's satellites, with a nod to Star Trek

  Enemy action against satellites could include cyber-attacks, jamming, lasers or missiles, while natural threats could be solar flares or space weather The Defence Department wants to take a page out of Star Trek and has asked researchers to develop ways to protect Canadian satellites from such threats as laser attacks and missiles. Dubbed the “Shields Up” project, the plan would see the development of innovative capabilities that could be incorporated into the design and operation of Canada's space-based systems. The Shields Up terminology is a nod to the sci-fi TV and movie series Star Trek in which the USS Enterprise starship is protected by deflector shields that can be instantly activated in response to a threat. “Satellites are vulnerable to natural and artificial threats as well as, increasingly, threats from adversaries who seek to disrupt or destroy allied space systems,” said Dan Le Bouthillier, a spokesman for the Department of National Defence. Enemy action against satellites could include cyber-attacks, jamming, lasers or missiles, while natural threats could be solar flares, space weather or collisions with debris in space. The Defence Department and the Canadian Forces are the only Canadian entities with the mandate of protecting and defending the country's space capabilities, Le Bouthillier noted. The call for proposals is part of a DND science innovation program. Ideas that are accepted will receive $200,000 to further the proposal over a six-month period. The most promising solutions could receive another $1 million for additional development, Le Bouthillier said. Most satellite services are commercial in nature and defensive measures have not been a primary criteria in their design. But the DND wants that to change. The concepts or designs have to provide a reasonable method to deal with the threat. They also have to take into account Canada's international relations and obligations and the fact that various satellites operate in different orbits, which could influence the type of threats they face. There are 1,950 operational satellites in Earth orbits. Le Bouthillier said militaries are increasingly dependent on space-based systems for communication, surveillance, environmental monitoring and navigation. The DND has a growing interest in keeping Canadian space systems safe. In August the department put out a request to Canadian scientists to try to come up with a way to rid the Earth's orbit of the millions of pieces of space junk that pose a threat to satellites and other spacecraft. But the task is daunting; no other researcher has figured out how to collect the debris, which can be as small as one millimetre. The DND noted that the request at this point is not about funding a system but investigating new ideas to eliminate the space junk. The total number of “debris objects” in orbit is estimated to be about 129 million. That includes 34,000 objects greater than 10 centimetres in size, 900,000 objects one cm to 10 cm, and 128 million objects one mm to one cm, according to the DND. The debris has been created by decades of space travel and operations. In 2007, for instance, China conducted a military test using a missile to destroy one of its satellites. The warhead obliterated the spacecraft, creating an estimated 300,000 pieces of debris. The U.S., Russia and India have conducted similar military experiments. “There are no operational debris removal capabilities in use, globally, and existing prototypes lack important capabilities and have proven ineffective,” the DND noted in its request to researchers. DND is also interested in ways to track some of the smaller pieces of space junk as well as methods to remove multiple pieces of debris of any size. Space surveillance networks regularly track about 22,300 objects in Earth orbits. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/shields-up-defence-department-looks-for-new-ways-to-protect-canadas-satellites-with-a-nod-to-star-trek