Study Highlights Troubling Threats to Critical Infrastructure-Should We Fret Over Canada-U.S. Joint Infrastructure?

ZDNet.com reports on the recent release of Trend Micro Inc.'s 2013 research paper, Who's Really Attacking Your ICS Equipment? 

The report shows attackers didn't wait long to attack a dummy control site emulating an Industrial Control System, similar to systems that could control a water pump or monitor a power plant's output.  

The impact:  Computer system monitoring critical private and public infrastructure in the United States is most likely being attacked repeatedly and on a daily basis.

And it's as simple as having a computer and internet access.  With power system systems, dam networks, and international finance dependent on internet connectivity, all wired nations must grapple with protecting their critical infrastructure.

Former Co-Chair Talks RCC

The former co-chairmen of the Regulatory Cooperation Council offers a concise Bloomberg editorial extolling the virtues of regulatory alignment:

Over the last decade, businesses have been emphasising the need to increase international regulatory cooperation, thus harmonising requirements and eliminating "nontariff trade barriers". At its best, such cooperation opens markets and promotes exports. As a result, it contributes to economic growth and job creation, and it can save consumers a lot of money.

G&M: Kings NHL Coach Sutter Plans to Talk Keystone with Obama

To get a sense of just how how much more Keystone penetrates the Canadian public relative to the American public, The Globe and Mail reports that N.H.L. Coach Darryl Sutter will push Obama on Keystone when he and his Stanley Cup-winning team are hosted by the White House today.

Keystone is not without controversy:  passionate debate continues in Canada and the United States.

But if the White House passes on Keystone, the Canadian-U.S. bilatteral relationship is going to take a hit.

From the article:

The President of the United States is about to get an earful on the Keystone XL pipeline from an unexpected source: the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings.

Darryl Sutter – who is also the owner of a 3,000-acre ranch near Viking, Alta. – plans to weigh in on the pipeline debate when Barack Obama plays host to the reigning Stanley Cup champions on Tuesday.

...


“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s 20 feet underground. How can we not want to keep North America [energy self-sufficient]? Why does the border have to separate that? It doesn’t make sense. For sure, I’m going to ask him.”

Canadian governments are engaged in an all-out effort to secure approval for the pipeline. This month, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall visited U.S. lawmakers and industry leaders in Chicago, Houston and Washington.

Budget Deal Shields DHS Sequestration, For Now

According to Mickey McCarter's illuminating article at HSToday.us, DHS has been largely spared sequestration's across the board cuts.  But, unless replaced, sequestration will bring back automatic cuts over the next nine years.

From HSToday.us's Under Continuing Resolution, DHS Largely Escapes Sequestration:

Congress agreed Thursday to a continuing resolution (HR 933) to fund the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2013, providing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with a full budget that takes most of the sting out of the automatic budget cuts under sequestration. At least for now. 

Previously, DHS faced cuts across the board in a manner that was allocated to eligible accounts, trimming about five percent of the department's overall budget in FY 2013, according to estimates from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Although the sequester remains in effect under the continuing resolution, the budget bill largely spares DHS from its worst effects for this fiscal year, drawing cuts from other areas to keep budget caps in line with levels spelled out in the Budget Control Act of 2011.

...

DHS could see sequestration cuts in FY 2014 unless the sequester is repealed or DHS is again granted authority to avoid it.

Read the article to see how the FY13 CR impacts DHS's overall budget, especially when it comes to the U.S. Coast Guard. 

Canada Budget Biggest Loser? First Nations

By Keith Edmund White

Editor-in-Chief

Canada's First Nations:  the biggest loser of Canada's 2014 federal budget.

First, there's The Hill Times interview-heavy article emphasizing the Harper government linking federal aboriginal funding to tribes supporting Conservative budget and resource development plans.  

The problem?  The First Nations oppose both the budget and Conservative resource development plans.

Some would call the tactic hardball politics.  Others call it "blackmail" and "[u]nilaterally changing agreements."  From today's article:

"Well, they’re blackmailing us into signing it. That’s what they’re doing.” [Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta.]

...

The question then comes for the government that if First Nations refuse to sign these agreements and the government refuses to give them money, who’s going to pick up the cost around income assistance, all of those things that are there, what’s going to happen? We’re going to end up with a crisis here. It’s not bargaining in good faith. Unilaterally changing agreements, there’s nothing good faith about that. It’s shocking.”  [NDP MP Jean Crowder, Aboriginal Affairs Critic (Nanaimo-Cowichan, B.C.)]

And last week, rabble.ca published a predictably cutting Conservative aboriginal policy critique.  But whatever their bias, rabble.ca sure seems justified in blasting the Conservative Party over First Nations educational support and reform:

Almost two years ago, the Auditor General put out a thorough and scathing analysis of the dysfunctional and inadequate funding arrangements for First Nations schools.

In response, the Deputy Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Michael Wernick, told the Commons Public Accounts Committee, in the fall of 2011, that he was sure we would see First Nations education legislation in 2012.

Well, 2012 has come and gone.

There were no commitments on First Nations education in the 2012 budget.

Instead that budget included massive, radical and unprecedented roll-backs of federal environmental oversight and protection and other measures that struck such fear in the hearts of First Nations communities that the Idle No More movement was born.

Why the stand still?  

From the stand-point of this casual observer, a charitable view would be that the issues facing Canada's First Nations go beyond federal initiatives and funding.  And Conservatives and First Nations aren't natural partners: the First Nations are a roadblock to Conservative energy development plans, plans considered critical to Canada's economic security.  

Worse-case:  As small group that has no constituency in the Harper government, what reason is there for Conservatives to 'own' Aboriginal issues--even if it's clear something must be done.

More Resources

2011 Senate Report on Improving First Nations Education

2005 Report on First Nations Economic Development Strategy

First Nations Development Institute

Idle No More Movement

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada

Obama Compares Israel-Palestine and Canada-U.S. Relations, Triggers Harsh Hashtag

The Toronto Sun reports on U.S. President Barack Obama comparing the Israeli-Palestinian relationship to the Canada-U.S. relationship.  As you can tell, some didn't appreciate the presidential Canadian name-drop:  

U.S. President Barack Obama is taking heat for comparing relations between Israel and Palestine with Canada and the U.S.

Because Canadians are known for hurling rockets into Buffalo, right?

Obama made the comparison in the West Bank Thursday, saying Canadians and Americans have disagreements, too, but resolve them diplomatically.

“We can’t afford to have our kids in bed sleeping and suddenly a rocket comes through the roof, but my argument is even though both sides may have areas of strong disagreement, may be engaging in activities the other side considers to be a breach of good faith, we have to push through those things to try to get to an agreement.”

For those wanting a hilarious distraction, check out #thecanucksarecoming.

Now, to be fair, Canadians (in a loose sense) burnt down the White House.

G&M: "The 2000s were a lost decade for Canadian exports to the United States"

Yes, the a budget dropped in Ottawa.  

But I'm finding Michael Burt's Globe and Mail article a bit more significant to the Canada-U.S. relationship's overall trajectory:

In short, Canada and the United States are becoming less dependent on one another, and, in most cases, China is the X factor. The Conference Board of Canada discusses these trends, their causes and implications in its recently published report, Walking the Silk Road: Understanding Canada’s Changing Trade Patterns.

The most resilient industries in terms of Canada’s share of U.S. imports are generally service industries. A highly educated work force, similar cultures, and a shared language have helped Canadian firms maintain their competitive position in the U.S. market. In contrast, Canada has generally lost the largest market share in manufacturing industries where labour is a major share of total costs, such as furniture manufacturing, printing and textiles. Industry specific issues can be an additional factor, such as the shift in consumer demand for flooring and cabinets away from traditional hardwood products toward those made from bamboo or more exotic hardwoods.

The link above goes to a webinar; if you want to access the actual December 2012 report, go here. 

 A summary of the report and webinar will be up by next Monday.