National News Executive Summary / Sommaire des nouvelles nationales
ADM(PA) / SMA(AP)
February 23, 2014 / le 23 février 2014
- Il n'y a aucune couverture médiatique francophone pertinente aujourd'hui. -
MINISTER / LE MINISTRE
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CDS / CEM
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OTHERS / AUTRES
Exercise Arctic Ram 14
On the far northern tip of mainland Nunavut live approximately 800 people in the isolated community of
Kugaaruk. Formerly known as Pelly Bay, the hamlet holds the record for the coldest wind chill ever in
Canada at -92C. The only way in and out of the community is by air. When Captain Cole Petersen -operations officer of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI) -- was
searching for locations to conduct Arctic training exercises for the military, he noticed many planes bound
for Europe fly over Kugaaruk. The community is also located near key areas of development for natural
resources, said Capt Petersen, making it a vital area of Canada. With a budget of $5 million, planning for
Exercise Arctic Ram began last April. A five hour flight from Edmonton, it is the distance and harsh winter
climate that Capt Peterson knew would pose the biggest challenges. Since crews are limited by the size
of the airfield and what can be left on the ground in the frigid temperatures, the military has to be a lot
more self-contained. On the first day, a Hercules plane arrived with 26,000 pounds of cargo. As crews
unload, it was a race against time to conserve fuel and make sure the running plane did not freeze (P.
Roth, QMI: ESun 3).
- An article highlighting the Arctic training that members of Edmonton's 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia's
Canadian Light Infantry Group are undergoing near Kugaaruk (NU) on the first of nine nights camping in
the Arctic as part of Exercise Arctic Ram 14. The soldiers have trained in winter conditions at Cold Lake
and Wainwright, but Cpl Rick Nelson, a medic, said the difference between Kugaaruk and Alberta is like
night and day. For him, the toughest part is carrying 110 pounds of Arctic gear and medical supplies -some of which he stuffs inside a sports bra (P. Roth, QMI: ESun 2, CSun 12).
LGen (ret) Andrew Leslie: Comment
Toronto Sun comment editor Adrienne Batra: Federal Liberal insiders attended Justin Trudeau's
debutante ball in the form of a national Liberal convention this weekend. The keynote address was
delivered by General Andrew Leslie. That's Mr. Trudeau's adviser, and probable Liberal candidate, who
lacked the common sense not to bill taxpayers $72,000 for a move a few blocks away from his Ottawa
home, even if was allowed under Department of National Defence rules. Disrespect for taxpayers is one
of the main reasons the Liberal Party of Canada was sent packing in 2006 (TSun O2).
CSEC Activities: Comment
Columnist David B. Harris: You know about Edward Snowden's purloined U.S. National Security Agency
secrets, and allegations that Canadian, British and other allied cyber-spy organizations are misbehaving.
But have you considered that things could be more complicated than this? Or that targets of cyber-spying
-- including you and I -- should assume more responsibility for dealing with computer threats? Assume
that one day the NSA, GCHQ and CSEC were to be reined in to the point of paralysis. What about
Chinese, Russian, Iranian and other hostile cyber threats? Who's to say these adversaries aren't already
in our servers, like the mysterious hackers who penetrated Canada's Treasury Board system? Yes, we
must monitor agencies under our control. But with or without NSA and CSEC, the truth is that genuine
enemies menace our security and privacy (OSun 22, TSun O7, CSun 19, ESun 18, WSun 11).
Section: Editorial/Opinion
Lead: As Canadians are enjoying the final hours of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and watching our talented
athletes going for gold, Canadian politicos are watching their leaders scrape by in what seems to be a
perpetual race to the bottom.
Headline: Week of highs and lows We marvelled at athletic glory, and endured more political
disappointment
Page: O2
Byline: ADRIENNE BATRA
Outlet: The Toronto Sun
Illustrations:
ceremony for the women's freestyle skiing skicross event at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics on Friday.
photo by STAN BEHAL/TORONTO SUN FILES Premier Kathleen Wynne testifies last March before the
Standing Committee on Justice Policy reviewing the cancellation of gas plants. The OPP has announced
new search warrants for deleted e-mails at a Mississaugadata storage facility.
Date: Sunday 23 February 2014
As Canadians are enjoying the final hours of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and watching our talented
athletes going for gold, Canadian politicos are watching their leaders scrape by in what seems to be a
perpetual race to the bottom.
Federal Liberal insiders attending Justin Trudeau's debutante ball in the form of a national Liberal
convention this weekend, were treated to a talk from Larry Summers, former U.S. president Bill Clinton's
treasury boss and a man many blame for the economic environment which created the great recession.
In what must seem like a throwback for the party that gave us David "entitled to my entitlements"
Dingwall, the keynote address was delivered by General Andrew Leslie.
That's Trudeau's advisor, and probable Liberal candidate, who lacked the common sense not to bill
taxpayers $72,000 for a move a few blocks away from his Ottawa home, even if was allowed under
Department of National Defence rules.
Disrespect for taxpayers is one of the main reasons the Liberal Party of Canada was sent packing in
2006.
But even with a new leader -- and his wonderful hair -- the more things change, the more they stay the
same.
===
Closer to home, the race to the bottom for the Ontario Liberals continues.
Last week, the OPP executed search warrants at a data storage facility for deleted e-mails by disgraced
former premier Dalton McGuinty's political staff. You may recall, as 2013 came to a close, the OPP's antirackets division also paid a visit to Premier Kathleen Wynne's office.
This is all related to senior Liberal staff communications regarding the decision to cancel the Oakville and
Mississauga gas plants, at a cost of up to $1.1 billion to taxpayers.
You have to hand it to this Liberal government. When they waste taxpayers' money, they go for gold and
make sure it's an amount so big, most of the public cannot even relate to the monstrous figure.
Wynne can claim she is being open and transparent in dealing with the OPP investigation, but actions
speak louder than words.
The fact a work environment in which deleting e-mails and creating policy on the fly, in order to save a
few Liberal seats at a public cost of up to $1.1 billion, was deemed acceptable by the Liberals, tells us all
we need to know about that party.
Cancelling power plants for political gain? Improperly if not illegally deleting emails? Wasting taxpayers'
money? It seems like a complete disconnect between the political elite and the citizenry they represent.
Didn't that happen in 1790s France?
===
PC leader Tim Hudak won what may be the political equivalent of a gold medal last week. But as he was
getting on the podium, he missed a step.
Coun. Doug Ford, the older brother of scandal-plagued Mayor Rob Ford, announced he will not be a
candidate for Hudak's party in the expected spring election.
Hudak and his team undoubtedly sighed in relief at the announcement.
Even if Ford was able to pick up Etobicoke North for the Tories -- and he likely would have--the seat
would have come at a cost of volunteers, donations and credibility across the rest of the province.
A Doug Ford candidacy would have also knocked Hudak off whatever daily message he had during the
election campaign.
Though it is unknown what the backroom conversations between Ford and Hudak were, it showed a rare
glimpse of skill and discipline on the part of Hudak & Co.
But the next day, while still soaking up that victory, Hudak did a flip-flop on his controversial "right to work"
policy.
Hudak is right, not everyone in Ontario supports "right to work." The McGuintuy/ Wynne Liberals -McWynnety for short--have left voters wanting new and honest leadership for the province.
Many voters care less about what a politician says, as long as he or she seems like someone who says
what they mean and means what they say.
Reversing long-held positions will not make Hudak more electable, just as a change of course at the
eleventh hour on his support for publicly funding faith-based schools didn't save John Tory in the 2007
Ontario election.
So it has been a spectacular week of disappointments from our elected officials. Business as usual.
At least our athletes are making us proud.
-- Batra is Comment Editor of the Toronto Sun and host of Straight Talk on Sun News Network
© 2014 Sun Media Corporation
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Section: Editorial/Opinion
Lead: You know about Edward Snowden's purloined U.S. National Security Agency secrets, and
allegations that Canadian, British and other allied cyber-spy organizations are misbehaving.
Headline: Cyber spying, Snowden and you and me
Page: 23
Byline: DAVID B. HARRIS
Outlet: The Ottawa Sun
Date: Sunday 23 February 2014
You know about Edward Snowden's purloined U.S. National Security Agency secrets, and allegations that
Canadian, British and other allied cyber-spy organizations are misbehaving.
But have you considered that things could be more complicated than this? Or that targets of cyber spying
-- including you and I -- should assume more responsibility for dealing with computer threats?
The Snowden files, gleefully retailed by journalists like Glenn Greenwald, grabbed our attention. We were
told, for example, that Canada's CSEC -- Communications Security Establishment Canada -- signals
intelligence organization spies on Brazil's energy ministry. Also, that CSEC spies on Canadian airport
travellers. NSA listened in on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone.
There's even a penguin story. Dressed like a hotel character, plus a crown, the tuxedoed one is the logo
of British GCHQ intelligence operations identifying foreign diplomats' hotels, so bugs and snitches can be
prepared. Program name? Royal Concierge.
No reasonable person denies that democracies must scrutinize even their most devoted guardians, such
are the powers available to them.
But a close look reveals the complexities.
It turns out that Canada's Brazil ops seemed largely an academic exercise, with just the senders' and
recipients' e-mail addresses being collected.
And maybe that more extensive Canadian penetration could be justified by Brazil's influence in mining,
energy and other critical sectors.
Canada's economic policy and our jobs rely on knowing Brazil's decision-making and trends. Neither is
there evidence that Canuck spying profited private interests.
Meanwhile, breathless accounts of airport spying were deflated by the CSEC chief. He testified that this
was a two-week, one-airport mathematical exercise involving metadata -- no content of travellers'
messages -- to understand international communications, and prepare for future foreign combat or
hostage-rescue. Rights' advocates insist this overreaches government's legal powers, and maybe they're
right; the point is that reasonable people differ, and there is no reason to demonize either side.
Even the intercepting of Merkel's phone talk could be more complicated than advertised. The NSA has a
proper interest in the activity, including security, of its allies. Cold War West Germany was infiltrated at the
highest levels by East German communist operatives, compromising intelligence shared by western allies
with Bonn.
The Royal Concierge operation could similarly be justified, especially when dealing with hostile powers.
Complaints that the NSA gained unauthorized access to Google and other search systems? Could be.
But what about companies' selling information about Internet users' private web habits? Perhaps
everyone has explaining to do.
These are among the subtleties which have been studiously ignored in some Snowdenophilic coverage.
So, assume that one day the NSA, GCHQ and CSEC were to be reined in to the point of paralysis. What
about Chinese, Russian, Iranian and other hostile cyber threats?
Who's to say these adversaries aren't already in our servers, like the mysterious hackers who penetrated
Canada's Treasury Board system?
Snowden and Greenwald's preoccupation with NSA and its allies says little about the genuinely hostile,
anti-western dimension of the building threat.
They're silent about Newsweek's warning that Russia's SORM-3 "total surveillance" system makes NSA's
vaunted, Snowden-exposed PRISM monitoring "look distinctly underpowered."
Likewise, about Iranian hackers' spending months in the major U.S. Navy Marine Corps Intranet system.
Or aggressive Chinese military Unit 61398's reported dumpster- diving in Canadian industry's computers.
Could such omissions reflect Snowden's overnighting in China's dictatorship before settling in Putin's
"mafiya" state?
So, yes, we must monitor agencies under our control. But with or without NSA and CSEC, the truth is that
genuine enemies menace our security and privacy.
It is ultimately up to targeted governments, corporations and people like you and me to take responsibility
for insulating our computer systems from cyber threats increasingly coming from hostile jurisdictions and
operators.
© 2014 Sun Media Corporation
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Section: News
Lead: A full moon casts a soft light upon the handful of tents strewn across the lunar-like landscape of the
Canadian Arctic.
Headline: EXTREME EXERCISE Troops train in Canada's high north
Page: 2
Byline: PAMELA ROTH
Outlet: The Edmonton Sun
Illustrations:
Canadian LightInfantry dismantle their tent near Kugaaruk, Nunavut. The soldiers spent nine nights
camping in the Arctic as part of the training exercises with Arctic Ram. photo of PAMELA ROTH
Date: Sunday 23 February 2014
A full moon casts a soft light upon the handful of tents strewn across the lunar-like landscape of the
Canadian Arctic.
Inside the canvas walls, I'm stuffed into a heavy-duty sleeping bag amongst seven members of
Edmonton's 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Group, who hiked four kilometres
from Kugaaruk earlier in the day. The only facilities at this temporary camp are those the soldiers carried
with them in their 80-pound rucksacks.
A lantern and camp stove stays on all night to keep the tent somewhat warm. The soldiers take turns
watching the stove, making sure it doesn't go out. Another two are assigned to patrol outside, watching
for any polar bears that stray near the camp.
"You get used to sleeping whenever you get a chance," says Sgt. Randy Volpatti, who also served in
Afghanistan. "Most of your stuff becomes a drill so your body is able to do it. You've done it so many
times that you could do it in your sleep because half the time you are."
It's the soldiers' first of nine nights camping in the Arctic as part of Exercise Arctic Ram 14. Approximately
500 of them are here because the military has to be able to operate anywhere in Canada, including the
most remote and harshest environments.
Despite the frigid temperatures outside, the soldiers are in good spirits, cracking jokes and eating their
rations to pass the time. Sealed in a shiny silver bag, the pre-cooked meals are thrown into a pot of
boiling water to heat. They provide enough calories to nourish a soldier undergoing strenuous physical
activity.
Every time the tent door opens, we're invaded by a blast of freezing cold air. I can see my breath sitting at
ground level, where I've spent the last half hour psyching myself up to go pee using a "Shee Wee" for the
first time.
It's hard to describe what -45C feels like. It's so cold the snow is frozen and sounds like Styrofoam
beneath your feet. Ice crystals on eyelashes are a permanent fixture on your face. Fingertips become
numb in a matter of seconds, which is hard to avoid when continually fumbling for equipment stuffed
inside my several layers of clothes.
Like the rest of my tent mates, it's moments like these that make you question why you are here. At the
time it's uncomfortable, but the soldiers are already thinking about the feeling of adding this great
accomplishment to the list once they return home.
"It definitely has its ups and downs, but the ups outweigh the downs," said Cpl. Rick Nelson, a medic who
was looking for a challenging and rewarding career when he joined the military nine years ago.
The soldiers have trained in winter conditions at Cold Lake and Wainwright, but Nelson said the
difference between Kugaaruk and Alberta is like night and day. For him, the toughest part is carrying 110
pounds of Arctic gear and medical supplies -- some of which he stuffs inside a sports bra.
The next day, I'm woken at 6 a.m. by a soldier gently shaking one of my feet.
"Time to get up," he says. He already has breakfast rations heating on the stove and tosses me a bag of
baked beans. I try and stuff it down, not knowing when I'll get to eat again.
It's tough getting out of my warm sleeping bag. It's even tougher putting on my frozen snow pants and
parka, which have to stay outside during the night for the sake of space and keeping the sleeping
quarters dry.
The guys will pack up their tent and gear and head to the next location a few kilometres away for training
exercises throughout the day. As I lie in my warm bed at the bunkhouse back in town the following night, I
can't help but think of the soldiers still braving the cold.
© 2014 Sun Media Corporation
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Section: News
Lead: On the far northern tip of mainland Nunavut live approximately 800 people in the isolated
community of Kugaaruk.
Headline: Hamlet holds record for coldest wind chill ever
Page: 3
Byline: PAMELA ROTH
Outlet: The Edmonton Sun
Date: Sunday 23 February 2014
On the far northern tip of mainland Nunavut live approximately 800 people in the isolated community of
Kugaaruk.
Formerly known as Pelly Bay, the hamlet holds the record for the coldest wind chill ever in Canada at 92C. The only way in and out of the community is by air.
When Captain Cole Petersen -- operations officer of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light
Infantry (3 PPCLI) -- was searching for locations to conduct Arctic training exercises for the military, he
noticed many planes bound for Europe fly over Kugaaruk. The community is also located near key areas
of development for natural resources, said Petersen, making it a vital area of Canada.
"When we considered what our resources were and how much we wanted to develop in the training
scenario, we figured Kugaaruk was the perfect mix of challenge," said Petersen.
"You get a feeling for how vast Canada is when you come up here."
With a budget of $5 million, planning for Exercise Arctic Ram began last April. A five hour flight from
Edmonton, it's the distance and harsh winter climate that Peterson knew would pose the biggest
challenges.
Since crews are limited by the size of the airfield and what can be left on the ground in the frigid
temperatures, the military has to be a lot more self-contained.
On the first day, a Hercules plane comes in with 26,000 pounds of cargo. As crews unload, it's a race
against time to conserve fuel and make sure the running plane doesn't freeze.
Draped in bulky clothes, the soldiers look like zombies, their white balaclavas coated with a thick layer of
frost. Getting the soldiers and equipment here is one thing, said Petersen, sustaining them for two weeks
in the Arctic is another.
"We need to make sure we have a proper plan in place to keep these guys supplied so that they could
survive in a climate like this," he said.
© 2014 Sun Media Corporation
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Media Sources and Abbreviations
Les sources médiatiques et abréviations
AN (L’Acadie Nouvelle)
CG (Charlottetown Guardian)
CH (Calgary Herald)
CSun (Calgary Sun)
Ctz (Ottawa Citizen)
Dr (Le Droit)
Dv (Le Devoir)
EJ (Edmonton Journal)
ESun (Edmonton Sun)
FDG (Fredericton Daily Gleaner)
G&M (Globe and Mail)
Gaz (Montreal Gazette)
HCH (Halifax Chronicle-Herald)
HS (Hamilton Spectator)
JM (Le Journal de Montréal)
JQ (Le Journal de Québec)
KWS (Kingston Whig-Standard)
LFP (London Free Press)
LN (Le Nouvelliste - Trois Rivières)
MT&T (Monton Times and Transcript)
NBTJ (New Brunswick Telegraph Journal)
NP (National Post)
OSun (Ottawa Sun)
Pr (La Presse)
RLP (Regina Leader-Post)
SJT (St. John’s Telegram)
Sol (Le Soleil)
SSP (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix)
TM (Télémédia)
TStar (Toronto Star)
TSun (Toronto Sun)
VSun (Vancouver Sun)
VE (Le Voix de L’Est, Granby)
VProv (Vancouver Province)
VSun (Vancouver Sun)
VTC (Victoria Times-Colonist)
WFP (Winnipeg Free Press)
WStar (Windsor Star)
WSun (Winnipeg Sun)
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