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Daily Brief

The PSEPC Daily Brief is a compilation of summaries of publicly available and PSEPC information concerning critical infrastructure protection and emergency management.

DOB05-241 - 16 December 2005

News

Government of Ontario introduces new emergency management bill
On December 15, the Government of Ontario introduced a new emergency management bill in the legislature. If passed, the new legislation would give Cabinet or the Premier the authority to declare a provincial emergency if the resources normally available to the Ontario government were considered insufficient to respond adequately to the crisis. It would also provide authority to Ontario’s Cabinet for the following:

• restricting travel or ordering evacuations
• establishing facilities for the care, welfare, safety and shelter of individuals, including emergency shelters and hospitals
• fixing prices for necessary goods, services and resources, and prohibiting price gouging
• widening job protection for people who are unable to work due to declared emergencies

Ontario is the only jurisdiction in Canada without this type of emergency management legislation.
(Source: Ontario, 15 December 2005)
Source article

Severe winter storm hits Eastern Ontario , Quebec and Atlantic Canada
A severe winter storm is moving across Eastern Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, bringing ice pellets, heavy snow and wind. Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal has cancelled most flights, and dangerous road conditions throughout the provinces are causing significant traffic delays.
(Source: CBC News , 16 December 2005)
Source article

In brief

CN train derails in B.C.
On December 15, a Canadian National Railway (CN) train derailed in northern B.C., east of Fort St. James. At approximately 04:00 PDT, 15 cars of a 48-car northbound train left the tracks. There were no injuries and no hazardous materials were involved.
(Source: GLOBEANDMAIL.COM , 15 December 2005)
Source article (registration required)

Avian Influenza: Update
The Ministry of Health in China has confirmed its sixth case of human avian influenza H5N1 infection in a 35-year-old man from the southeastern province of Jiangxi. The victim remains in hospital.

Since 2003, the World Health Organization has confirmed that a total of 71 people have died due to infection from the H5N1 avian influenza strain.
(Source: World Health Organization , 16 December 2005)
Source article
Source article

Cyber risk assessment

Over the course of the past 24 hours, the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) has not detected any significant new threats or vulnerabilities. No significant incidents with the potential to affect critical infrastructure have been reported. Accordingly, based on the information available to CCIRC, the cyber risk facing Canadian critical infrastructure is assessed as low. Personnel responsible for information, systems and network security should continue to apply appropriate security precautions and monitor their systems.

Recent cyber alerts and advisories issued by CCIRC can be viewed under “Recent analytical releases” at www.psepc.gc.ca/ccirc.

See also...

• The Weather Office
• FAC - Travel Updates

Note to readers

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) collects information related to cyber and physical threats to, and incidents involving, Canadian critical infrastructure. This allows us to monitor and analyze threats and to issue alerts, advisories and other information products.

Any suspected criminal activity should be reported to local law enforcement organizations. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) National Operations Centre (NOC) provides a 24/7 service to receive such reports or to redirect callers to local law enforcement organizations. The NOC can be reached at (613) 993-4460. National security concerns should be reported to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) at (613) 993-9620.

Links to sites not under the control of the Government of Canada (GoC) are provided solely for the convenience of users. The GoC is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. The GoC does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

Some hyperlinks in the PSEPC Daily Brief direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act. Users should be aware that these sources are only available in the language in which they are written.