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
DIR10-118 - June 21, 2010
News
Heavy rains in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan cause states of local emergency, evacuations and road closures
On June 21, the Calgary Herald reported that Medicine Hat remains under a flood warning after days of heavy rain dropped 150 millimetres in some areas, causing massive flooding in the Cypress Hills region in southern Alberta; however, the tributaries that feed the swollen South Saskatchewan River are receding. A state of local emergency also remains after days of evacuations. As many as 44 families in Medicine Hat are still receiving shelter through the Red Cross evacuation centre after being evacuated from their homes. Radio-Canada reported that some residents of Irvine, Alberta, were allowed to return to their homes on June 19. Media reported that several communities in Saskatchewan also declared a state of local emergency, including the town of Maple Creek. Flooding from the heavy rains resulted in the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway between Medicine Hat and the Saskatchewan border, as well as several other roads and an interprovincial park. The floods also washed out parts of the railway causing rail traffic to be re-routed for at least another week. Most areas are reporting declining water levels; however, another 50–70 millimetres of rain have been forecast to fall within the next two days. According to the Calgary Herald, on June 20, the following areas were under declared states of local emergency: Lethbridge Country, Cardston County, Town of Pincher Creek, County of Warner No. 5, Village of Stirling, Village of Duchess, Town of Coaldale, Fort Macleod, Cypress County, Blood Tribe reserve. On June 20, Alberta Environment indicated that a Flood Watch was issued for the South Saskatchewan River including the City of Medicine Hat and a Flood Warning for all tributaries flowing north out of the Cypress Hills. On June 18, the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority issued a High Streamflow Advisory for Saskatchewan. On June 21, Environment Canada issued rainfall warnings and severe thunderstorm watches for several areas in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Source article – Calgary Herald, June 21, 2010
Source article – Radio-Canada, June 20, 2010
Source article – CBC, June 18, 2010
Source article – Calgary Herald, June 20, 2010
Source article – Calgary Herald, June 20, 2010
Source article – Alberta Environment, June 20, 2010
Source article – Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, June 18, 2010
Source article – Environment Canada, June 21, 2010
Public Safety Canada Geomatics provides a map of the affected areas.
For Alberta, the AMA provides current road reports.
For Saskatchewan, the Government of Saskatchewan provides current road reports.
U.S. removes temporary restrictions on B.C. cattle and bison
To update on Public Safety Canada Daily Infrastructure Report DIR10-111, on June 17, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) removed brucellosis testing requirements for certain cattle and bison from B.C. The restrictions were put in place after three beef cows originating from two B.C. farms were suspected of having brucellosis, based on tests done by the USDA during routine slaughter testing. A subsequent and thorough investigation by the CFIA did not identify the presence of brucellosis in the animals or on the two farms. All cattle herds in Canada remain officially free of brucellosis.
Source article – Canadian Food Inspection Agency, June 17, 2010
The CFIA provides more information about Brucellosis.
CFIA issues Health Hazard Alert for certain green cardamon products due to possible Salmonella
On June 18, the CFIA issued a Health Hazard Alert warning the public not to consume certain Green Cardamon products because they may be contaminated with Salmonella. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products. Asian Food Imports, Windsor, Ontario is voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.
Source article - Canadian Food Inspection Agency, June 18, 2010
The CFIA provides more information about Salmonella.
CFIA cautions consumers about certain cooked meat products due to possible Listeria
To update on Public Safety Canada Daily Infrastructure Report DIR10-116, on June 18, the CFIA issued additional information regarding the Health Hazard Alert for ready-to-eat cooked meats from Establishment 294 that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The CFIA is advising the public that roast beef and corned beef products previously recalled may have been recently sold at some retail outlets. These products were part of the recall by Smith's Quality Meats (Establishment 294) and may have been sold from deli counters at the customer's request or used in products such as sandwiches and cold cut trays produced and sold from the stores. Consumers who cannot identify the brand of roast beef or corned beef recently purchased from independent stores are advised to check with the place of purchase to ensure that they are not using recalled product. As part of the CFIA's recall monitoring activities it was identified that, due to a misunderstanding, some independent stores may not have removed the recalled products as was intended. These stores were supplied by MacDonald Consolidated, Calgary, and are located in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and the Yukon.
Source article - Canadian Food Inspection Agency, June 18, 2010
The CFIA provides more information about Listeria monocytogenes.
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.