Home PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-026

Daily Brief

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

DOB06-026 - 7 February 2006

News

Prime Minister Stephen Harper appoints Stockwell Day as Minister of Public Safety
On February 6, newly elected Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the new cabinet members, including Stockwell Day as the Minister of Public Safety.
(Source: PMO Media Centre, 6 February 2006)
Source article

The full cabinet announcement was issued from the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO), which also provides a biography of Stockwell Day.

Illegal Canadian visas allegedly sold in Poland
The Ottawa Sun reports that RCMP officers are investigating an immigration scam at the Canadian Embassy in Poland in which dozens of Poles might have travelled to Canada without proper background checks.

The investigators were reviewing documents at the embassy in reference to the issuance of visas for the past two years. It is also alleged that individuals were charged $8,000.00 per visa to bring relatives into Canada.
(Source: ottawasun.com, 7 February 2006)
Source article

Sea King helicopters returned to full flight duties
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-025, on February 6, CBC News reports that officials from the Canadian military gave permission to lift all restrictions on their Sea King helicopters imposed following the crash of a helicopter off the Danish coast.

The helicopters were restricted to essential operations, such as search and rescue, since February 2, when a Sea King sank in 16 metres of water during night-time exercises aboard the HMCS Athabascan.
(Source: cbc.ca, 6 February 2006)
Source article

South Delta cleanup begins
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-025, on February 6, insurance adjusters and officials will be assessing damage incurred in the Tsawwassen's Beach Grove-Boundary Bay area during the weekend flood storm.

High winds in combination with a five-metre-high tide washed out a section of the seawall along Boundary Bay and damaged more than 150 homes. Approximately 50 residents evacuated their homes after a local state of emergency was declared by the Delta mayor.

Disaster relief will be available from the province to Delta residents for cleanup and repairs not covered by home insurance.
(Source. cbc.ca, 7 February 2006)
Source article

PSEPC Geomatics provides a map (222 kb) of the affected areas.

In brief

Avian Influenza: Update
On February 6, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the Ministry of Health in Indonesia reported four new cases of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. Two of the cases were fatal: the first fatal case was a 22-year-old man from West Java who died on January 26, and the second case was a 15-year-old boy who died on February 1.

Since 2003, WHO has confirmed a total of 165 human cases with the H5N1 avian influenza, including 88 deaths.
(Source: World Health Organization, 6 February 2006)
Source article
Source article

The Public Health Agency of Canada provides information on avian influenza.

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.