Home PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-038

Daily Brief

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

DOB06-038 - 23 February 2006

News

Labour walkout averted in Ontario
Further to PSEPC Daily Brief DOB06-037, on February 23, the CBC reported that the Ontario chapter of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) called off the threat of a walkout by union members scheduled for February 23. The walkout was avoided after the Ontario government and CUPE continued to discuss labour issues, including the review of proposed pension legislation.
(Source: CBCNews, 22 February 2006)
Source article

CUPE Ontario is the political wing of CUPE, Canada's largest union.

Health Canada warns of weight loss products
On February 22, Health Canada (HC) issued a warning to consumers regarding the use of two unapproved natural health products for weight loss because they could lead to serious side effects or injury. Two Brazilian diet products, Emagrece Sim and Herbathin, are not authorized for sale in Canada but are imported and distributed in the U.S. The warning states that consumers who are taking these products are advised to continue taking them and consult with their physicians immediately. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently indicated that both products contain active drug ingredients and could cause serious interactions with other drugs or natural health products.
(Source: Health Canada, 22 February 2006)
Source article

Health Canada provides timely information on issues that concern the health of Canadians through advisories, warnings and recalls.

In brief

Slovakia finds first cases of H5N1
On February 22, the Slovakian Ministry of Agriculture announced that two cases of the H5N1 avian influenza virus were discovered in a grebe and a wild falcon.
(Source: Reuters AlertNet, 22 February 2006)
Source article

Second case of H5N1 found in France
On February 23, authorities in France confirmed that a new case of H5N1 avian influenza virus was found in a wild duck. The bird was discovered on February 19 in the eastern region of Ain where the first case was also discovered.
(Source: Reuters AlertNet, 23 February 2006)
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.