25 août 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Sécurité
Flying a drone to drop drugs and weapons inside a prison seems like something out of an action movie — yet it happened this month near Toronto and in the last few years, the problem continues to get worse.
Warkworth Institution, a medium-security prison about two hours east of Toronto, found drugs, tattoo paraphernalia, handmade weapons and drug paraphernalia in a search of the facility, which ended on Aug. 21. The items were thought to have been brought in via a drone.
This isn't the first time contraband items have entered Canadian corrections facilities. Drones dropped weapons and phones in a Kingston prison earlier this year. In June four people were arrested in a drone plot to smuggle drugs and weapons into a Kingston prison.
The Canadian government has been working on solving the issue and planned to spend $6 million on a pilot drone detection program at several institutions. The project has been delayed after the contract was cancelled in January 2020, Veronique Rioux, a spokesperson for Correctional Service Canada (CSC) told blogTO in an email.
While drone sightings over Canadian correctional facilities have increased over the past several years, Rioux said they don't have a big impact on the number of drugs in correctional institutions.
“The use of drones as a method to introduce drugs into correctional institutions is one of many methods used by drug traffickers in an attempt to circumvent CSC's drug interdiction efforts,” she said.
For security purposes, Rioux said she cannot say how many items are smuggled through drones or how the drones are used.
But they are working to stop contraband items from entering through searches of offenders, visitors, staff, cells, vehicles, buildings and cells with ion scanners and detector dogs.
“CSC continues to research and introduce new technology as it becomes available to better facilitate the detection of contraband, including drone detection,” Rioux said.
https://www.blogto.com/city/2020/08/drugs-weapons-drone-ontario-prison/
23 mars 2023 | Local, Autre défense
U.S. President Joe Biden?s long-anticipated first trip to Ottawa this week is expected to put the state of North America?s defences and Canada?s military spending back under the microscope.
24 avril 2020 | Local, Aérospatial
David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen The Canadian Forces is hoping to purchase what it is calling an aeromedical bio-containment evacuation system that can be outfitted on its C-17 or C-130J aircraft. The equipment, also known as ABES, will be capable of transporting highly infectious disease patients on the aircraft. The Royal Canadian Air Force is looking to have these delivered to 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario by Oct. 31, 2020, said Department of National Defence spokesman Dan LeBouthillier. “This project is in support of federal efforts to assist civil authorities and non-governmental partners in responding to major international and domestic emergencies,” he explained. “As required, this acquisition will provide the whole of government approach with additional tools to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.” He noted the Canadian military already has interim capabilities in this area as the RCAF can transport a patient with a highly infectious disease in a specialized isolation unit by aircraft. “The ABES will enhance our ability to move more patients much more efficiently over a longer distance,” he noted. The ABES must be able to accommodate a minimum of four patients, according to the industry notice the federal government put online. The RCAF is also interested in acquiring additional isolation units to supplement those that will be available through the ABES. The units will be able to be transported by the majority of RCAF aircraft and will consist of individual, hard-shell, durable isolation units that can be reused by the Canadian military as well as lightweight, single-use isolation units. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/covid-19-prompts-purchase-of-new-medical-transportation-system-for-rcaf-aircraft/
13 mai 2024 | Local, Naval
The panel aims to keep submarine construction on track by paying for part of a second boat in fiscal 2025, which the Navy planned to nix.