In the News

Security concerns are not a good enough reason to prevent the Canadian government from bringing thousands of Syrian refugees into the country, argues former immigration minister Ron Atkey. Atkey, who served under Prime Minister Joe Clark in 1979 and 1980, says the Progressive Conservative government then managed to help 60,000 refugees from Indochina come to Canada after the end of the Vietnam War.

In the year leading up to the terrorist attacks in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., and Ottawa, the section of the federal public safety ministry in charge of anti-terrorism was completely dysfunctional because of a rotten work environment, according to a top secret investigation conducted by the former head of the RCMP at the request of the government.

The Ottawa Citizen is running material about what each political party is promising to do in the areas of security and defence. Here is the view of the Conservative Party.

Irving Shipbuilding has started building Canada's first Arctic offshore patrol ship at the company's massive shipyard in Halifax. Hundreds of employees gathered Tuesday in the new assembly hall as a huge sheet of cut steel was hoisted into place and a special ceremony was held to mark the occasion.

Ontario Community Safety Minister Yasir Naqvi pledged Tuesday to draft a regulation to crack down on arbitrary “police interactions with members of the public.” Speaking in Toronto at the final public meeting in a province-wide review of police street checks — more commonly known as carding — Naqvi said his government opposes all “arbitrary or random stops by police.”

At least 80 police officers in Ontario were on suspension with pay during a three-week period this summer, including a Durham Police officer who has amassed more than $600,000 since first being suspended in 2008, a National Post investigation has discovered.

Tom Mulcair is poised to announce measures aimed at ending violence against women. The NDP leader is expected to commit today to restore the shelter enhancement program scrapped by the Harper government, with sufficient funding to ensure no woman in need is turned away from a shelter.

Canada’s police chiefs want legal authority to seize mail in transit to stem the flow of illicit drugs, fake medicine and weapons through the postal system.

Police across the country are looking for new powers to seize, jam or de-activate the phone numbers of street-level “dial a dope” drug dealers.

There is a shared sense of disappointment in the ranks of Fredericton police and the public over the suspension of five officers, the force’s chief said Thursday. Leanne Fitch took the unusual step of calling a news conference Thursday to address concerns over the recent suspensions of the Fredericton officers.

Ministers from nine European countries are to meet in Paris on Saturday to discuss security on the continent’s extensive rail network, following last week’s suspected terrorist attack on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris.

The most senior police officer charged over mass arrests made during the Toronto’s G20 summit five years ago was found guilty on three out of five offences at a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday.

Police in more than 20 North American cities are testing the latest in less-lethal alternatives to bullets – “blunt impact projectiles” that cause suspects excruciating pain but stop short of killing them. Or at least that’s the goal.

The federal government is delaying implementation of regulations intended to help police trace crime guns — the seventh time it has put off the measures. Just days before the federal election call, the government quietly published a notice deferring the firearm marking regulations until June 1, 2017.

Garda World Security Corp, a security services firm that provides armored transportation and guards, is exploring a sale that could value it at more than C$3 billion ($2.31 billion) including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Some new equipment will be tested out Wednesday, which should help local first responders stay in closer contact with their U.S. counterparts during future emergencies and cross-border incidents. The Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management in Michigan's Wayne County received a $4-million grant which has been used to boost its collaboration with neighbouring agencies, including a handful in Canada.

Toronto police are refusing to let their armed, off-duty officers earn extra cash at Muzik pending a review of the nightclub’s security measures in the wake of last week’s double homicide.

Facebook’s new security chief has called on the internet industry to go beyond securing the web “for the 1 per cent” and create cyber security defences that will work across emerging markets.

China is planning to set up "network security offices" in major Internet companies and for websites so authorities can move more quickly against illegal online behavior, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.