Public Safety Canada Daily Infrastructure Report
The Public Safety Canada Daily Infrastructure Report is a compilation of summaries of publicly available emergency management information concerning critical infrastructure.
A summary of feedback results is now available.
News | Cyber tracking | Relevant links | Note to readers
DIR10-103 - May 31, 2010
News
Public Safety Canada announces National Strategy and Action Plan to Strengthen the Protection of Critical Infrastructure
On May 28, Public Safety Canada announced the National Strategy and Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure, which was developed in partnership with federal and provincial/territorial governments and owners and operators in ten critical infrastructure sectors. It will:
- identify how each critical infrastructure sector is connected to the others so Canada can take action to help prevent an emergency or disaster in one sector from affecting the others
- develop plans to address risks to Canada’s critical infrastructure sectors
- test those plans to know they will work when a disaster does occur
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews stated that it will “strengthen our ability to protect vital assets and systems, such as electricity grids, transportation networks, financial systems and telecommunications,” and “will also strengthen our collective readiness to respond and recover from emergencies, attacks and disasters.”
Source article – Public Safety Canada, May 28, 2010
Public Safety Canada provides more information on Canada’s critical infrastructure.
Public Safety Canada provides the full National Strategy for Critical Infrastructure and Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure.
Quebec forest fires force evacuations: Update
To update from Public Safety Canada Daily Infrastructure Report DIR10-102, on May 29-31, media reported that more than 1,200 firefighters are battling over 50 wildfires in Quebec, 8 which are considered out of control. More than 200 firefighters from Maine, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, Alberta and British Columbia are adding to SOPFEU resources. About 1,000 people forced from the First Nations community of Manawan because of a forest fire were told on May 29 they could go home, but the danger from wildfires persists elsewhere in central and northern Quebec. About 1,300 residents remained at shelters in La Tuque, about 190 kilometres from Wemotaci. As well, smoke from fires began to spread in several cities of the province. La Tuque, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec and even the Montréal area are affected. On May 31, Environment Canada issued a smog warning for the Laurentians and Mont Laurier areas. A spokesperson for Environment Canada indicated that on May 29-30, smoke from the Quebec fires had blown away from Montréal and toward Vermont, but with the changing winds overnight on May 30-31, the smoke has blown back toward Montréal and across the Ottawa Valley. VIA Rail announced that services between Hervey and Senneterre cannot operate and that they will provide further updates as more information is made available. According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, the fires have burned more than 748 square kilometres of forest in Quebec.
Source article – Montreal Gazette, May 31, 2010
Source article – Cyberpresse, May 31, 2010
Source article – CBC, May 29, 2010
Source article – Radio-Canada, May 31, 2010
Source article – Environment Canada, May 31, 2010
Source article – Ottawa Citizen, May 31, 2010
Source article – VIA Rail, May 29, 2010
Source article - Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre , May 30, 2010
Public Safety Canada Geomatics provides a map of the affected areas.
SOPFEU provides more information on forest fires in Quebec.
CFIA issues Health Hazard Alert for voluntary recall of certain garlic bread product that may contain a metal holding pin
On May 29, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued a Health Hazard Alert due to Loblaw Companies Limited warning the public not to consume certain President’s Choice® Baked by You™ Roasted Garlic Bread product because it may contain a metal holding pin. A holding pin may have come dislodged from a processing machine specific to the product during production. The product is sold nationally at Loblaw corporate, franchise and affiliated independent stores. There have been no reported injuries or illness associated with the consumption of this product. All potentially affected products have been removed from store shelves across the country.
Source article - Canadian Food Inspection Agency, May 29, 2010
Storm cleanup in southern Manitoba
On May 30, media reported that homeowners, public works crews and emergency responders in southern Manitoba were beginning a major cleanup after severe thunderstorms affected the region on May 29-30. Environment Canada indicated that 53 millimetres of rain fell on Winnipeg on May 29 and several major streets remain closed because of flooding. The towns of Portage la Prairie and Emerson each recorded record amounts of rainfall. Emerson has declared a state of emergency because of the damage done to property in the community. Provincial flood officials are keeping a close eye on water levels on major rivers and will soon have to decide whether to open the gates of the Red River Floodway to protect Winnipeg homes from flooding. The province has decided to operate the Portage Diversion to reduce the flow in the Assiniboine River. The diversion redirects some of the water in the Assiniboine to a 29-kilometre-long diversion channel that empties into Lake Manitoba. In southwest Manitoba, felled power lines and direct lightning strikes on power equipment left about 4,000 homes and businesses without power on May 29. Areas in and around Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Reston, Melita, Pipestone and Hartney were affected by the severe weather.
Source article – CBC, May 30, 2010
Source article – Radio-Canada, May 30, 2010
Cyber tracking
CCIRC security publications
Over the course of the past 72 hours, CCIRC has not released any security publications.
CCIRC provides a list of recent and archived security publications.
Threat and vulnerability monitoring
CCIRC is currently tracking the following computer-based threats and vulnerabilities for relevant impact on Canadian critical infrastructure. Personnel responsible for information, systems and network security should continue to monitor and apply appropriate security precautions.
Relevant links
Below are links to sites related to Canada’s critical infrastructure.
- Food Recalls and Allergy Alerts
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- Health Advisories, Warnings and Recalls
Health Canada
- Disease Outbreak News
World Health Organization
- Travel Health Notices
Public Health Agency of Canada
- Transportation - Safety
Transport Canada
- Travel Reports and Warnings
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
- Weather warnings for Canada
Environment Canada
- Earthquakes
Earthquakes Canada
- Hurricanes
Canadian Hurricane Centre
- Hurricanes
U.S. National Hurricane Center
- News Releases
Infrastructure Canada
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Note to readers
Public Safety Canada collects information related to cyber and physical threats to, and events concerning, Canadian critical infrastructure. This allows Public Safety Canada to monitor and analyze threats and to issue alerts, advisories and other information products.
Links to sites not under the control of the Government of Canada are provided solely for the convenience of users. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. The Government of Canada 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.
Public Safety Canada respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring that information products are available in both English and French. However, users should be aware that some links direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act and that these sources are only available in the language in which they are written.