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  September 23, 2024 | Local, Naval

  First submarine in new Canadian fleet won't be operational until 2037, navy confirms

  No budget details have been released, but former naval officers estimate it could cost in the $100 billion range.

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  November 15, 2018 | Local, Security

  Ottawa to spend $90M to build, repair First Nations police stations

  Funding comes on top of $291M announced earlier this year to hire staff, buy equipment Kathleen Harris · CBC News The federal government will spend nearly $90 million to build and repair police stations in First Nation and Inuit communities. The money is meant to address "pressing needs" in policing infrastructure by repairing, renovating or replacing facilities, many of them in remote or fly-in communities. The program, which is cost-shared with the provinces and territories, will help ensure policing infrastructure complies with current building, policing facility and health and safety standards. The first two-year phase of the $88.6 million program will fund communities in need of urgent repairs, while a second phase will fund projects based on merit. The funding will roll out over seven years. The federal government will launch a bidding process to assess First Nation and Inuit police service facilities, which will help guide the selection of phase two infrastructure projects. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the First Nations Policing Program serves about 400,000 people in 450 communities through "culturally relevant" policing. "Building on our government's major investments in new officers, salaries and equipment, we are making new investments in policing facilities so officers can do their jobs properly and keep their communities safe," he said in a statement. Indigenous forces complain of underfunding The money announced today comes on top of the $291 million over five years Goodale announced earlier this year for First Nations policing operations. That announcement came after years of complaints and legal challenges from Indigenous police forces that claim they've been chronically underfunded. At the time, Goodale said the figure nearly triples the basic amount earmarked in 2017, representing the largest federal financial commitment since 1991. The money will go toward improving salaries, hiring new officers and buying new equipment. Some underfunded forces had been struggling to replace expired bulletproof vests and update officer training. Kent Elson, a lawyer who has acted in cases involving policing in Indigenous communities, said the new funding represents "good progress" but doesn't go far enough to fix widespread problems. He said the funding ought to follow an essential service model based on need. Deadly conditions "If a police station is unsafe, then you have to replace it," he said. "You can't just put it on a waiting list and say, 'Sorry we're maxed out this year.' "People have died and more would die if the stations are not adequate." Elson said conditions have improved since a deadly fire at an isolated northern Ontario reserve's police station in 2006, but the inequities remain "stark." Ricardo Wesley, 22, and James Goodwin, 20, burned to death on Jan. 8, 2006, while being held for public intoxication at the Kashechewan First Nation police detachment. Community constable pilot The RCMP has a special pilot program to address gaps in policing, including Indigenous communities, but a recent evaluation of that program found that it is not focused on its mandate. The Community Constable pilot program currently has 19 armed, uniformed peace officers with local knowledge of the communities they serve, including their languages, cultures and geography. While the program's mandate was to prevent crime through community engagement, the evaluation found that most of the constables weren't clear on the mandate, and participated in more enforcement activities than prevention activities. RCMP Staff Sgt. Tania Vaughan said community constables are meant to enhance, not replace, existing RCMP services in a community. "At this time, the community constable program remains a pilot program, and no final decision on its future has been made," she said in an email. "The purpose of the evaluation was to provide senior management with a neutral, timely and evidence-based assessment of the pilot program to help inform decision-making on its permanency. The RCMP is now better informed in order to enhance the CC Program, and make changes to it that will better serve our communities." Vaughan said the RCMP is responding to the evaluation by responding to questions and concerns from the community constables and developing a clearly defined program mandate. It will also better track performance information and formalize the governance structure, roles and responsibilities. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/first-nations-policing-infrastructure-1.4566311

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  December 18, 2018 | Local, Aerospace, C4ISR

  Maxar's MDA and Orbital Insight Announce Expanded SAR Satellite Imagery Agreement

  Orbital Insight will use MDA high-resolution imagery to strengthen oil inventory product RICHMOND, BC and PALO ALTO, CA, Dec. 17, 2018 /CNW/ - MDA, a Maxar Technologies company (NYSE: MAXR) (TSX: MAXR), and Orbital Insight, a leading provider of geospatial analytics, today announced the latest agreement providing new datasets for Orbital Insight's product offerings. MDA will provide high-resolution imagery from its RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite to Orbital Insight, which will process and transform the data into actionable intelligence for the energy industry. "Building on an already strong relationship with a second Orbital Insight contract award, MDA will provide valuable insight into energy supply chains by enabling timely, reliable imaging of global oil storage sites, regardless of cloud cover," said Mike Greenley, group president of MDA. "This solution reinforces the unique and powerful combination of RADARSAT-2's large imaging capacity and timely data delivery, with Orbital Insight's geospatial analytics capabilities, to grow the market for information derived from SAR imagery." MDA's RADARSAT-2 has global monitoring capabilities, including a large collection capacity and high-resolution radar imaging. The satellite acquires data regardless of light or weather conditions, due to its active imaging mechanism. As a result, RADARSAT-2 provides an accurate and reliable source of information about ground activity such as changes in oil tank inventories. Orbital Insight will use the imagery to create oil inventory information that is incorporated into its energy products, which include the Global Geospatial Crude Index, a single number that objectively captures global crude inventory insights on a daily basis. Orbital Insight's customers use the Global Geospatial Crude Index to make economic decisions with confidence in global energy markets. "Having access to cutting-edge datasets strengthens our product offerings, so we're pleased to deepen our relationship with MDA as a key imagery provider," said Dr. James Crawford, founder and CEO of Orbital Insight. "SAR imagery is valuable because it provides information even if conditions on the ground aren't visible due to weather or lighting. Expanding this partnership delivers direct customer value." This new contract expands Orbital Insight's relationship with Maxar Technologies. The geospatial analytics firm also has a multi-year partnership with DigitalGlobe focused on high-resolution electro-optical satellite imagery and DigitalGlobe's Geospatial Big Data platform (GBDX). Orbital Insight refines its analytic capabilities using DigitalGlobe's satellite imagery at petabyte-scale on GBDX, revealing insights for industry use cases such as estimating harvest yields, making more accurate retail predictions, and monitoring global energy and natural resource markets. About MDA MDA is an internationally recognized leader in space robotics, space sensors, satellite payloads, antennas and subsystems, surveillance and intelligence systems, defence and maritime systems, and geospatial radar imagery. MDA's extensive space expertise and heritage translates into mission-critical defence and commercial applications that include multi-platform command, control and surveillance systems, aeronautical information systems, land administration systems and terrestrial robotics. MDA is also a leading supplier of actionable mission-critical information and insights derived from multiple data sources. Founded in 1969, MDA is recognized as one of Canada's most successful technology ventures with locations in Richmond, Ottawa, Brampton, Montreal, Halifax and the United Kingdom. MDA is a Maxar Technologies company (TSX: MAXR; NYSE: MAXR). For more information, visit www.mdacorporation.com. About Maxar Technologies As a global leader of advanced space technology solutions, Maxar Technologies (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates) is at the nexus of the new space economy, developing and sustaining the infrastructure and delivering the information, services, systems that unlock the promise of space for commercial and government markets. As a trusted partner, Maxar Technologies provides vertically integrated capabilities and expertise including satellites, Earth imagery, robotics, geospatial data and analytics to help customers anticipate and address their most complex mission-critical challenges with confidence. With more than 6,500 employees in over 30 global locations, the Maxar Technologies portfolio of commercial space brands includes MDA, SSL, DigitalGlobe and Radiant Solutions. Every day, billions of people rely on Maxar to communicate, share information and data, and deliver insights that Build a Better World. Maxar trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com. About Orbital Insight Orbital Insight develops geospatial analytics to help its clients unlock societal and economic trends at a global scale. The company works with petabytes of geospatial data, including imagery from satellites, drones and other sources. Using computer vision and machine learning technologies, it processes and transforms this data to enable businesses, governments and NGOs to make better decisions. Learn why Fast Company voted Orbital Insight one of the most innovative companies of 2017 and 2018 at www.orbitalinsight.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements and other information included in this release constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. Statements including words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "plan", "potential", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate" or "expect" and other words, terms and phrases of similar meaning are often intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and uncertainties, as well as other statements referring to or including forward-looking information included in this release. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this release. As a result, although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the risk factors and other disclosures about the Company and its business included in the Company's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with Canadian and U.S. securities regulatory authorities, which are available online under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, under the Company's EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov or on the Company's website at www.maxar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. All such forward-looking statements are based upon data available as of the date of this release or other specified date and speak only as of such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release as a result of new information or future events, except as may be required under applicable securities legislation. Contact Wendy Keyzer | MDA Media Contact | 1-604-231-2743 | wendy.keyzer@mdacorporation.com Jason Gursky | Maxar Investor Relations | 1-303-684-2207 | jason.gursky@maxar.com SOURCE Maxar Technologies Ltd. Related Links www.maxar.com https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/maxars-mda-and-orbital-insight-announce-expanded-sar-satellite-imagery-agreement-702924451.html