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The procurement efforts follow a promise by Canada’s Liberal Party government that military equipment sent to Ukraine this year would be restocked.

Ottawa, Ontario - Ensuring that Canadian Coast Guard personnel have the equipment they need to keep Canada's waterways open and safe is a key priority for the Government of Canada. Today, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) is announcing the award of a $135.56 million vessel life extension contract for the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Terry Fox. The vessel will be dry-docked and enter an extended maintenance period designed to increase its operational life. Following an open competitive process, Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of CCG, has awarded Heddle Shipyards in St. Catharines, Ontario, the contract to complete vessel life extension work on the CCGS Terry Fox. The vessel life extension contract includes two phases: a 14-month engineering and procurement phase which will prepare the shipyard for the second phase, the 18 month work period where the vessel will be drydocked for the vessel life extension project. A large multitasked icebreaker, the ship is capable of sustained operations in the Arctic archipelago over the summer months and icebreaking escort operations in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and East Coast of Newfoundland in the winter. The vessel also assists in various CCG programs including Arctic scientific missions. While the ship undergoes vessel life extension from late 2023 to Spring 2025, the Canadian Coast Guard will reallocate its other maritime resources to ensure Canada's waterways continue to be safe for all seafarers. This contract award falls under the repair, refit and maintenance pillar of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, which is helping to ensure that Canada has a safe and effective fleet of ships to serve and protect Canadians for years to come, while providing ongoing opportunities for shipyards and suppliers across Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-coast-guard/news/2022/11/canadian-coast-guard-ship-terry-fox-vessel-life-extension-contract-awarded.html

The briefing acknowledged the military is facing a “workforce crisis”.

With Russia’s war against Ukraine raging nearby, NATO air policing over Romania requires additional “capabilities.”

Today, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) officially welcomed His Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Margaret Brooke into naval service with a commissioning ceremony. This ceremony marks a significant achievement for both the RCN and the Canadian shipbuilding industry. The introduction of a second Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) delivered under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, which sustains thousands of jobs annually in Canada, will enhance the RCN's ability to enforce sovereignty and meet the future defence challenges in Canada's offshore and Arctic waters. A ship's commissioning ceremony is both a long-standing naval tradition, and, a special event for the ship's company – proud sailors who – have just returned from the ship's first deployment where they assisted communities in Atlantic Canada affected by Hurricane Fiona. The commissioning of HMCS Margaret Brooke included a symbolic presentation of the commissioning pennant, as well as the symbolic presentation of the “keys to the ship” to the Commanding Officer, Commander Nicole Robichaud. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2022/10/his-majestys-canadian-ship-margaret-brooke-commissioned-into-service.html

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) has released its National Cyber Threat Assessment 2023-2024, alerting that state sponsored and financially motivated cyber threats are increasingly likely to affect Canadians, and that foreign threat actors are attempting to influence Canadians through use of misinformation, disinformation and malinformation in online spaces. This report outlines the most common cyber threats to Canadians and Canadian organizations, the likelihood that these cyber threats will occur and how they will evolve in the coming years. This unclassified assessment found that ransomware is almost certainly the most disruptive form of cybercrime facing Canadians and that it remains a persistent threat to Canadian organizations. It also says critical infrastructure is increasingly at risk from cyber threat activity but, in the absence of direct international hostilities involving Canada, it is unlikely that state-sponsored actors would intentionally disrupt Canadian critical infrastructure. The Cyber Centre has assessed that state-sponsored cyber threat activity is impacting Canadians, with state actors targeting diaspora populations and activists in Canada, Canadian organizations and their intellectual property for espionage and individuals for financial gain. We have also observed cyber threat actors' attempts to influence Canadians using misinformation, disinformation and malinformation (MDM), and we assess that Canadians' exposure to MDM will almost certainly increase over the next two years. In addition, the assessment details that disruptive technologies, such as cryptocurrencies, machine learning and quantum computing, are bringing new opportunities for cyber threat actors and, thus, new threats to Canadians. While threats continue to evolve, the Government of Canada has made cyber security a priority. Investments include the passage of the CSE Act, which gave the Communications Security Establishment the ability to better intercept and disrupt foreign threats. Budget 2022 has allowed $875.2 million to bolster CSE's ability to deter, defend, and prevent cyber-attacks. These investments will protect Canada, our critical infrastructure, our government systems, and our national security. New this year, the Cyber Centre has also compiled its best advice and guidance for Canadians, Canadian organizations and critical infrastructure to address the cyber security threats outlined in the assessment. Background This is the Cyber Centre's third National Cyber Threat Assessment. The first was published in December 2018. In addition to publishing the National Cyber Security Assessment 2023-2024 today, the Cyber Centre has also published an updated edition of its Introduction to the Cyber Threat Environment. This introductory reference document provides baseline information about the cyber threat environment, including information about cyber threat actors and their motivations, their techniques and tools in a Canadian context. About the Cyber Centre Part of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the Cyber Centre is the Government of Canada's technical authority on cyber security and the single, unified source of expert advice, guidance, services and support on cyber security operational matters. The Cyber Centre works with businesses and organizations that have been victim to a cyber incident in order to mitigate the impact of cyber security incidents. https://www.canada.ca/en/communications-security/news/2022/10/canadian-centre-for-cyber-security-releases-national-cyber-threat-assessment-2023-20242.html

Media representatives are advised that senior officials from the Communications Security Establishment's Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) will be holding a news conference to discuss Canada's third National Cyber Threat Assessment report (NCTA 2023-2024). The news conference is open to accredited journalists and will be facilitated by teleconference. Journalists may request an embargoed copy of the National Cyber Threat Assessment 2023-2024 report from the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) Media Relations Office. All information will be embargoed until 11:00 am on October 28, 2022. Press conference Date: October 28, 2022 Time: 11:00 am Location: Teleconference Journalists who wish to participate by teleconference may contact CSE Media Relations for call-in details. https://www.canada.ca/en/communications-security/news/2022/10/news-conference-and-technical-briefing-by-the-communications-security-establishments-canadian-centre-for-cyber-security-on-the-national-cyber-threa.html

Plus, the Bloc will argue in the House that Canada should ditch the monarchy.

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux flagged a couple more torpedoes related to the Royal Canadian Navy’s project to buy new warships.