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Category: Americas

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner, Colleagues Push to Save Task Force Combating Threats to Election Officials

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
    WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and 28 Democratic colleagues in urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to continue the essential work of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Election Threats Task Force, which directs the Department’s efforts to protect election officials from rising threats and acts of violence.
    The senators’ letter comes as the Trump administration has significantly rolled back the federal government’s capacity to fight against foreign and domestic election security threats. On Attorney General Bondi’s first day in office, she disbanded the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Foreign Influence Task Force, hindering efforts to address secret influence campaigns waged by China, Russia, and other foreign adversaries. Additionally, the administration has fired or put on leave dozens of officials responsible for combating foreign election interference at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and has reportedly frozen all of CISA’s ongoing election security work. The administration has also defunded CISA’s nationwide program to train local officials and monitor threats through the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center.
    “Given the recent disturbing personnel and policy decisions at the Department and the lack of transparency about the future of the Task Force, we request an immediate update on the status and activities of the Task Force, as well as what resources will be provided to ensure its important work continues so that election officials of both parties can safely administer our elections,” wrote the senators.
    “Recent surveys have found that one in three election officials reported facing threats, harassment, and abuse. Similarly, 48 percent of local election officials know of someone who has left their job because of fear for their safety—a troubling loss of institutional knowledge needed for the smooth running of elections. Election workers continue to fear for their safety, so it is critical that the work of the Task Force continues to deter and counter these threats. In this challenging environment for election officials, it is essential to our democracy that they can continue to rely on the Department to uphold the law,” they continued.
    In addition to Sens. Warner, Padilla, and Durbin, the letter was also signed by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
    In 2023, Sen. Warner joined his colleagues in sponsoring the Election Worker Protection Act, legislation that would provide states with proper resources to ensure the safety of these workers. Leading up to the 2024 elections, Sen. Warner also repeatedly raised the alarm about the elevated threat environment. As Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, he hosted open hearings to call on representatives from both the U.S. government and large tech companies to testify about their knowledge of and efforts to crack down on foreign malign influence online. He also warned of Russia and Iran’s attempts to influence the 2024 election. Sen. Warner sent a letter to CISA to push for more robust efforts to get ahead of these threats.
    Full text of the letter is available here and below:
    Dear Attorney General Bondi:
    We write to strongly urge you to continue the critical law enforcement work of the Department of Justice’s Election Threats Task Force, which protects election officials from ongoing threats and acts of violence. Given the recent disturbing personnel and policy decisions at the Department and the lack of transparency about the future of the Task Force, we request an immediate update on the status and activities of the Task Force, as well as what resources will be provided to ensure its important work continues so that election officials of both parties can safely administer our elections.
    The Task Force was established in the wake of the 2020 election cycle when election officials across the political spectrum began facing unprecedented threats of violence intended to thwart the peaceful transfer of power that is the hallmark of our democracy. In close collaboration with state and local law enforcement, the Task Force has assessed thousands of complaints of suspected threats of violence and investigated and prosecuted violent offenders. Over the years, these threats have not only continued but escalated.  The Task Force has investigated fentanyl-laced letters, bomb threats, and swatting incidents—serving as a legacy of the 2020 election and impacting the ways election officials interact with voters in their communities.
    Recent surveys have found that one in three election officials reported facing threats, harassment, and abuse. Similarly, 48 percent of local election officials know of someone who has left their job because of fear for their safety—a troubling loss of institutional knowledge needed for the smooth running of elections. Election workers continue to fear for their safety, so it is critical that the work of the Task Force continues to deter and counter these threats. In this challenging environment for election officials, it is essential to our democracy that they can continue to rely on the Department to uphold the law.
    Moreover, the federal government’s ability to fight election interference has been greatly hampered in the early weeks of this Administration. Dozens of officials at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), who are responsible for combatting foreign election interference, have been fired or put on leave. CISA has also reportedly frozen all of its ongoing election security work, including defunding its nationwide program to train local officials and monitor threats through the “Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center.” Additionally, on your first day in office, you signed a directive disbanding the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, which was aimed at responding to secret influence campaigns waged by China, Russia, and other foreign adversaries.
    We request a response on the status and future plans of the Election Threats Task Force, the extent of resources and personnel dedicated to its work, and how it plans to incorporate related work previously led by CISA and the Foreign Influence Task Force by March 31, 2025.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley, Johnson Fight for Unredacted Crossfire Hurricane Interview Transcripts

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
    WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) are requesting Attorney General Pam Bondi and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel take immediate action to remove all redactions from interview transcripts relating to the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General’s (DOJ OIG) examination of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
    The senators first requested these unredacted transcripts from the DOJ OIG in April 2023. At the time, the DOJ OIG informed the senators that the redactions in those transcripts were made by other government agencies, such as the FBI and DOJ, and the DOJ OIG lacked the authority to release the information.
    The senators are now calling on DOJ and FBI to work with the DOJ OIG to produce these unredacted versions of the transcripts as soon as possible.
    The full text of their letter can be found HERE.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley Seeks Transparency and Accountability for DOJ Officials Attempting to Evade Public Scrutiny

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
    BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is shining a light on misconduct by Department of Justice (DOJ) officials and their efforts to evade public scrutiny.
    In a letter to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, Grassley requested unredacted copies of Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reports that outline specific, substantiated allegations of misconduct by DOJ officials – but previously did not publicize the names of these senior officials.
    “There’s a significant need for public transparency into the names of these and other senior Justice Department officials found to have committed misconduct. In many instances, these senior officials leave public service before the investigation is finalized and appropriate corrective action can be filed and made against them,” Grassley wrote. “Accordingly, there’s no public record identifying these individuals who committed the wrongdoing, and they can continue their patterns of workplace harassment and misconduct in a new line of work free from scrutiny.” 
    Text of Grassley’s letter to Inspector General Horowitz follows:
    March 18, 2025
    VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
    The Honorable Michael E. Horowitz
    Inspector General
    Department of Justice
    Dear Inspector General Horowitz:
    I write to you requesting fully unredacted copies of the following Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) reports:
    Findings of Misconduct by a Federal Bureau of Investigation Program Analysis Officer for Sexual Harassment, Unprofessional Conduct, and Lack of Candor to the OIG, and by a then FBI Unit Chief for Failure to Report an Allegation of Sexual Harassment, Investigative Summary 23-081.[1]
    Findings of Misconduct by a Community Relations Service Manager for Misuse of Public Office for Private Gain, Misuse of Government Property, and Lack of Candor to the OIG, Investigative Summary 23-048.[2]
    Findings of Misconduct by a Federal Bureau of Investigation Supervisory Special Agent for Sexual Harassment of a Colleague and Failing to Timely Report an Intimate or Romantic Relationship with Two Subordinates, Investigative Summary 24-069.[3]
    Finding of Misconduct by an Immigration Judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review for Making Inappropriate, Sexually Oriented Comments to a Department of Justice Employee During an After-hours Social Gathering, Investigative Summary 23-114.[4]
    Findings of Misconduct by a then Bureau of Prisons Warden for Operating a Prohibited Vehicle on Bureau of Prison Grounds and Endangering Others, Making Sexist, Racist, and Obscene Comments to Staff, and False Statements and Lack of Candor to the OIG, Investigative Summary 24-006.[5]
    Findings of Misconduct by a then Federal Bureau of Investigation Senior Level Employee for Solicitation of Prostitutes and Failure to Self-Report Close or Continuous Contacts with a Foreign National, Investigative Summary 24-001.[6]
    Findings of Misconduct by a then FBI Special Agent in Charge and two then FBI Assistant Special Agents in Charge for Their Roles in an Unauthorized $2 Million Purchase of Intellectual Property Related to a Classified Undercover Operation and Related Misconduct, Investigative Summary 21-090.[7]
    In all of these investigations the DOJ OIG substantiated the allegations that the Justice Department officials engaged in misconduct.[8]  However, the DOJ OIG did not include the names of these senior officials in the investigative summary.[9]  
    There’s a significant need for public transparency into the names of these and other senior Justice Department officials found to have committed misconduct.  In many instances these senior officials leave public service before the investigation is finalized and appropriate corrective action can be filed and made against them.[10]  Accordingly, there’s no public record identifying these individuals who committed the wrongdoing, and they can continue their patterns of workplace harassment and misconduct in a new line of work free from scrutiny. 
    I request that you provide the investigative reports referenced above in fully unredacted form no later than March 21, 2025.  Thank you for your attention to this request.  
    Sincerely,Charles E. GrassleyChairmanCommittee on the Judiciary
    -30-

    [1]DOJ OIG, Findings of Misconduct by a Federal Bureau of Investigation Program Analysis Officer for Sexual Harassment, Unprofessional Conduct, and Lack of Candor to the OIG, and by a then FBI Unit Chief for Failure to Report an Allegation of Sexual Harassment, Investigative Summary 23-081 (June 20, 2023) https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/23-081.pdf.
    [2] DOJ OIG, Findings of Misconduct by a Community Relations Service Manager for Misuse of Public Office for Private Gain, Misuse of Government Property, and Lack of Candor to the OIG, Investigative Summary 23-048 (Mar. 14, 2023) https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/23-048.pdf
    [3] DOJ OIG, Findings of Misconduct by a Federal Bureau of Investigation Supervisory Special Agent for Sexual Harassment of a Colleague and Failing to Timely Report an Intimate or Romantic Relationship with Two Subordinates, Investigative Summary 24-069 (May 22, 2024) https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/24-069.pdf.
    [4] DOJ OIG, Finding of Misconduct by an Immigration Judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review for Making Inappropriate, Sexually Oriented Comments to a Department Of Justice Employee During an After-hours Social Gathering, Investigative Summary 23-114 (Sept. 27, 2023) https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/23-114.pdf.
    [5] DOJ OIG, Findings of Misconduct by a then Bureau of Prisons Warden for Operating a Prohibited Vehicle on Bureau of Prison Grounds and Endangering Others, Making Sexist, Racist, and Obscene Comments to Staff, and False Statements and Lack of Candor to the OIG, Investigative Summary 24-006 (Nov. 7, 2023) https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/24-006.pdf.
    [6] DOJ OIG, Findings of Misconduct by a then Federal Bureau of Investigation Senior Level Employee for Solicitation of Prostitutes and Failure to Self-Report Close or Continuous Contacts with a Foreign National, Investigative Summary 24-001 (Oct. 11, 2023) https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/24-001.pdf.
    [7] DOJ OIG, Findings of Misconduct by a then FBI Special Agent in Charge and two then FBI Assistant Special Agents in Charge for Their Roles in an Unauthorized $2 Million Purchase of Intellectual Property Related to a Classified Undercover Operation and Related Misconduct, Investigative Summary 21-090 (Jul. 6, 2021) https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/21-090.pdf.
    [8] Id.
    [9] Id.
    [10] See letter from Senator Charles E. Grassley to AG Garland and FBI Director Wray, (Oct. 10, 2025) https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/grassley_to_fbi_and_doj_-_sexual_abuse_data.pdf.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why sharing meals can make people happier – what evidence from 142 countries shows

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alberto Prati, Assistant Professor in Economics, UCL

    Sharing meals can contribute to feelings of happiness, a new report suggests. Ground picture/Shutterstock

    The importance of sharing meals is recognised across cultures, from the Jewish Shabbat meal to the fast-breaking Iftar meals during Ramadan. The known link between food and social relationships is ancient. The English word companion, the French copain (friend) and the Italian compagno (partner) come from the Latin cum and pānis – literally “with-bread”. The Chinese term for companion/partner (伙伴) stems from a similar term (火伴) which literally translates to “fire mate”, a reference to sharing meals over a campfire.

    But how important is eating together to our happiness? This is the question that I and my co-authors answer in the World Happiness Report 2025. In our new data and analysis we looked at the link between how often people share meals and whether they feel good about their lives and experience positive emotions. We also documented that there was a massive difference between countries and regions when it came to how often people shared meals.

    Comparing the statistics from the 2022-23 Gallup World Poll about sharing meals with standard measures of wellbeing, we found a significant, positive relationship in almost all regions. Not only do countries where meal sharing is more common tend to report higher levels of wellbeing, but this is true even when comparing people who live in the same country.

    The Gallup poll asked more than 150,000 people from 142 countries and territories how many lunches and dinners they shared with someone they know during the past week. The scores varied widely between regions.

    Latin Americans share approximately two-third of their meals, with residents of Paraguay, Ecuador and Colombia reporting an average of more than ten shared meals per week. At the bottom of the scale, there are relatively low levels of meal sharing in south and east Asian countries – in particular India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan and South Korea, where people share less than one meal out of three, on average.

    While there is an association between sharing meals and wellbeing pretty much everywhere, this association is stronger in some regions than others. For instance, for a person who always dines alone in North America, Australia and New Zealand, the wellbeing benefit of starting to share most of their meals (eight or more times a week) in the life evaluation scale is big (the life evaluation scale is how people judge their life, with zero being the worst possible life and 10 being the best). This boost is equivalent to the effect of doubling their income.

    However, in Latin America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, this effect is half as great and is essentially nil in south-east Asia. The reasons for this difference is as yet unclear.

    For social scientists, the frequency of sharing meals offers an indicator for social connectedness (the ways that people interact with and relate to one another). Unlike measures that capture people’s subjective feelings about social wellbeing, the number of shared meals gives us a concrete measure on which to base our analysis.

    While interpretations of friendship or perceptions of closeness may change over time or between countries, the number of meals shared with others does not.

    Meal sharing by region and age:

    Of course, those who share more meals can differ in many other aspects, but even when we take into account characteristics such as gender, age, income, living alone and people’s ability to meet basic needs for food, the relationship between sharing meals and wellbeing still holds strong.

    While the global data we used was only introduced in 2022, some countries have collected information on meal sharing for longer. In the United States, where the American Time Use Survey has been running for more than 20 years, we find clear evidence that with every passing year, Americans are dining alone more often, particularly young adults.

    Today, 18 to 24-year-olds in the US are 90% more likely to eat every meal alone on a given day than they were in 2003. We also find that Americans who eat at least one meal with others report higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress, pain and sadness on that day.

    How meals sharing is linked to emotions in the US:

    From our data, we can’t tell how much of a wellbeing boost sharing an extra meal
    creates, and to what extent people share more meals because they are already happy, but it is reasonable to assume that it is not just the latter. This would reflect previous research which has shown the importance of social capital (networks of social connections which are conducive to a well-functioning society) and the positive benefits of in-person interactions.

    In a world where loneliness is increasingly recognised as a public health issue, rethinking how we gather around the table, and how often, could provide practical solutions to reduce social isolation and raise wellbeing.

    Institutions where people routinely eat their meals together can play a critical role on this front. The other side of the coin is the surge in working from home, which could raise levels of solitude.

    So, if you don’t have plans for lunch tomorrow, maybe this is the good moment to message someone you would like to spend more time with.

    Alberto Prati is affiliated with the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford and the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.

    – ref. Why sharing meals can make people happier – what evidence from 142 countries shows – https://theconversation.com/why-sharing-meals-can-make-people-happier-what-evidence-from-142-countries-shows-252352

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Presidential Message on Nowruz, 2025

    Source: The White House

    Warmest wishes to all those in the United States and around the globe celebrating the ancient holiday of Nowruz.  
     
    Nowruz is a joyous occasion for the Persian people, marking the beginning of spring, and the Persian New Year.  This long-standing tradition presents a time to reflect on the blessings of the previous year and prepare for the coming spring with a renewed spirit of optimism.
     
    The Persian people with their vibrant culture and exceptional talents in fields such as math, science, law, technology, and the arts, make many integral contributions to society.  On behalf of the United States, I extend my kindest regards for a joyous holiday.
    Nowruz Pirouz!

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEA President: “Trump’s continued actions will hurt all students”

    Source: US National Education Union

    By: Eric Jotkoff

    Published: March 19, 2025

    Gutting the Department of Education will send class sizes soaring, take away support for students with disabilities, and cut job training programs 

    National Education Association President Becky Pringle released the following statement reacting to Donald Trump’s reported Executive Order pushing to end the Department of Education:    

    “Donald Trump and Elon Musk have aimed their wrecking ball at public schools and the futures of the 50 million students in rural, suburban, and urban communities across America, by dismantling public education to pay for tax handouts for billionaires.   

    “Last week Trump and Musk fired — without cause — nearly half of the Department of Education staff, trying to get rid of the dedicated public servants who help ensure our nation’s students have access to the services and resources to keep class sizes down, expand learning opportunities for students, and ensure programs like FAFSA can function.  

    “Now, Trump is at it again with his latest effort to gut the Department of Education programs that support every student across the nation. If successful, Trump’s continued actions will hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, making higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle class families, taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections.    

    “In moving forward with this, Trump is ignoring what parents and educators know is right for our students. This morning, in hundreds of communities across the nation thousands of families, educators, students, and community leaders joined together outside of neighborhood public schools to rally against taking away resources and support for our students. And, we are just getting started. Every day we are growing our movement to protect our students and public schools.   

    “We won’t be silent as anti-public education politicians try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Together with parents and allies, we will continue to organize, advocate, and mobilize so that all students have well-resourced schools that allow every student to grow into their full brilliance.”    

     
    -###- 

     Follow us on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/neapresident.bsky.social and https://bsky.app/profile/neatoday.bsky.social  

    The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, students preparing to become teachers, healthcare workers, and public employees. Learn more at www.nea.org  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Dominican National Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Re-Entry and Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Cocaine

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant previously deported twice; has prior convictions for aggravated identity theft as well as heroin distribution, firearm offenses, assault and battery convictions under stolen identity

    BOSTON – A Dominican national residing in Methuen pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to unlawfully re-entering the United States after deportation and possessing narcotics intended for distribution. 

    Raul Fernando Lora, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of unlawful reentry of deported alien. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for July 16, 2025. Lora was charged in November 2023. 

    Lora was previously removed from the United States on July 2, 2013 and June 5, 2018.  Before his first removal, Lora was convicted for aggravated identity theft for fraudulently using the identity of a Puerto Rican citizen. Additionally, Lora has prior convictions for possession with intent to distribute heroin, firearms offenses and assault and battery that were under the name of the identity Lora had stolen. 

    In 2023, federal immigration authorities became aware of Lora’s presence in the United States after being notified that the defendant’s fingerprints were taken in connection with criminal charges in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Lora had default warrants outstanding for both cases. 

    Lora was arrested on Oct. 3, 2023, at which time he was found in possession of a sock that contained over 200 grams of fentanyl and over 30 grams of cocaine in multiple plastic bags.

    The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of any sentenced imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.  

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Sullivan of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.  

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: North American Construction Group Ltd. Announces Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ACHESON, Alberta, March 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — North American Construction Group Ltd. (“NACG”) (TSX:NOA/NYSE:NOA) today announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2024. Unless otherwise indicated, figures are expressed in Canadian dollars with comparisons to prior periods ended December 31, 2023.

    Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights:

    • Combined revenue of $372.7 million, compared to $405.4 million in the same period last year. Reported revenue of $305.6 million, compared to $328.3 million in the same period last year, was generated by our wholly owned subsidiaries as incremental scopes and strong equipment utilization of 82% in Australia were more than offset by lower demand for our Canadian heavy equipment fleet when comparing to 2023 Q4.
    • Our net share of revenue from equity consolidated joint ventures was $67.1 million in 2024 Q4 and compared to $77.1 million in the same period last year as the consistency in the Fargo and MNALP joint ventures were offset by lower scopes being completed within the Nuna Group of Companies.
    • Adjusted EBITDA of $103.7 million and margin of 27.8% compared favorably to the prior period operating metrics of $101.1 million and 24.9%, respectively, as operational excellence in both Australia and Canada drove margin improvements.
    • Combined gross profit for the quarter was $54.3 million and a margin of 14.6%. When adjusting for $10.1 million of integration costs incurred and $8.9 million of claims extinguished to secure long-term contracts, the resulting 19.7% reflects operational performance and compares favorably to 18.3% posted in the same period last year.
    • Cash flows generated from operating activities of $97.0 million were lower than the $168.6 million generated in the prior period as higher cash generation from the strong EBITDA was offset by the temporary impact of changes to working capital in the quarter.
    • Free cash flow generated in the quarter was $50.5 million as operational earnings were offset by routine capital maintenance and cash interest expenses with working capital and capital work in process balances generating positive cash in the quarter.
    • Net debt was $856.2 million at December 31, 2024, a decrease of $26.3 million from September 30, 2024, as free cash flow generation and the impact of a stronger CAD/AUD exchange rate were offset by growth spending, the NCIB program, and the dividend payment .
    • Additional highlights include: i) in November, we were awarded a $125 million heavy civil construction project primarily to construct diversion channels; ii) in December, we announced an extended and amended regional services contract, valued at $500 million, with a major producer in the oil sands region; iii) also in December, we were awarded a $100 million early works contract by a copper producer in the Australian state of New South Wales; iv) by the end of the year, we surpassed the 60% completion mark at the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project; and v) completed go-live activities for the ERP system in Australia during the quarter.

    Joe Lambert, President and CEO, stated, “Once again, I would like to thank our operations team for their safe and efficient performance this quarter. The recent contract awards in Australia and Canada speak for themselves but are a testament to the quality and reputation of our operating teams. We’re off to a fast and robust start this year, and we couldn’t be more excited about completing the work our customers have awarded us. We see opportunities and tailwinds in the heavy civil infrastructure and mining industries in Australia and North America and are diligently advancing efforts to win scopes based on the reputation we have in the respective regions.”

    Consolidated Financial Highlights
        Three months ended   Year ended
        December 31,   December 31,
    (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)     2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Revenue   $ 305,590     $ 328,282     $ 1,165,787     $ 964,680  
    Cost of sales     218,834       220,672       789,056       678,528  
    Depreciation     44,765       41,990       166,683       131,319  
    Gross profit   $ 41,991     $ 65,620     $ 210,048     $ 154,833  
    Gross profit margin     13.7 %     20.0 %     18.0 %     16.1 %
    General and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation)(i)     13,696       18,702       47,245       41,016  
    Stock-based compensation expense     5,625       (496 )     8,706       15,828  
    Operating income     22,544       45,944       153,330       96,330  
    Interest expense, net     14,401       14,007       59,340       36,948  
    Net income     4,808       17,646       44,085       63,141  
                     
    Adjusted EBITDA(i)     103,714       101,136       390,258       296,963  
    Adjusted EBITDA margin(i)(ii)     27.8 %     24.9 %     27.6 %     23.2 %
                     
    Per share information                
    Basic net income per share   $ 0.18     $ 0.66     $ 1.65     $ 2.38  
    Diluted net income per share   $ 0.19     $ 0.58     $ 1.52     $ 2.09  
    Adjusted EPS(i)   $ 1.00     $ 0.87     $ 3.73     $ 2.83  

    (i) See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
    (ii)Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated using adjusted EBITDA over total combined revenue.

        Three months ended   Year ended
        December 31,   December 31,
    (dollars in thousands)     2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows                
    Cash provided by operating activities   $ 96,989     $ 168,569     $ 217,607     $ 278,090  
    Cash used in investing activities     (75,764 )     (137,756 )     (274,683 )     (244,879 )
    Effect of exchange rate on changes in cash     1,400       (4,532 )     353       (5,994 )
    Add back of growth and non-cash items included in the above figures:                
    Acquisition of MacKellar(i)     —       51,671       —       51,671  
    Acquisition costs     —       5,934       —       7,095  
    Buyout of BNA Remanufacturing LP     4,210       —       4,210       —  
    Growth capital additions(ii)     23,646       35,941       84,633       40,416  
    Capital additions financed by leases(ii)     —       (931 )     (14,157 )     (28,159 )
    Free cash flow(ii)   $ 50,481     $ 118,896     $ 17,963     $ 98,240  

    (i)Acquisition of MacKellar is the purchase price less cash acquired.
    (ii)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.

    Results for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2024

    Revenue from wholly-owned entities was $305.6 million, down from $328.3 million in the same period last year. The quarter-over-quarter reduction reflects a reduction in overall work scopes in the Heavy Equipment – Canada segment due to a reduction in equipment utilization to 54%, compared to 65% in 2023 Q4, largely offset by improved performance in the Heavy Equipment – Australia segment. Revenue generated in that segment of $160.3 million includes a strong contribution from MacKellar of $155.4 million, up from $122.5 million in Q4 of last year, as the group commences work on new contracts and increases equipment utilization at existing sites. Eliminations in the quarter largely relate to equipment maintenance performed by the Heavy Equipment – Canada segment on MacKellar equipment.

    Gross profit was $42.0 million, representing 13.7% of revenue, compared to $65.6 million and a 20.0% gross margin in the same period last year. The decline was primarily driven by lower contributions from the Heavy Equipment – Canada segment. Cost of sales for the quarter totaled $218.8 million, down from $220.7 million in the prior-period, reflecting lower overall revenue levels. Gross profit in the Heavy Equipment – Canada segment was impacted by the $8.9 million customer claim extinguishment as part of a four-year $500 million contract extension executed in December 2024. Gross profit in the Heavy Equipment – Australia segment was impacted by $10.1 million of integration costs, primarily transportation of haul trucks from North America to Australia.

    General and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation expense) were $13.7 million, or 4.5% of revenue, for the three months ended December 31, 2024, down from $18.7 million, or 5.7% of revenue, in the same period last year. The current year decrease is due to the inclusion of non-recurring MacKellar acquisition costs totaling $5.9 million in the prior year, offset by spend related to increased activity levels in the Heavy Equipment – Australia segment.

    Cash related interest expense of $13.7 million represents an average cost of debt of 6.7% (compared to $13.2 million and 8.8%, respectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2023). The increase in interest expense is primarily attributed to a higher balance on the Credit Facility, along with greater equipment financing—mainly from the addition of MacKellar—partially offset by the elimination of our customer supply chain financing arrangement late in Q3.

    Net income of $4.8 million in Q4 2024, compared to $17.6 million in the same period last year, was lower due to the lower gross profit factors discussed above, partially offset by lower general and administrative expenses and improved results from the equity joint ventures.

    Free cash flow in the quarter was $50.5 million, driven primarily by adjusted EBITDA of $103.7 million less sustaining capital spending of $47.7 million and cash interest paid of $13.7 million.

    Liquidity

    Including equipment financing availability and factoring in the amended Credit Facility agreement, total available capital liquidity of $275.3 million includes total liquidity of $170.6 million, $86.7 million of unused finance lease borrowing availability, and $17.9 million of unused other borrowing availability as at December 31, 2024. Liquidity is primarily provided by the terms of our $522.6 million credit facility which allows for funds availability based on a trailing twelve-month EBITDA as defined in the agreement, and is now scheduled to expire in October 2027.

    Business Updates

    Strategic Focus Areas for 2025

    • Safety – maintain our uncompromising commitment to health and safety while elevating the standard of excellence in the field, particularly with regards to front-line leadership training;
    • Operational excellence – put into action practical and experienced-based protocols to ensure predictable high-quality project execution in Australia;
    • Execution – enhance equipment availability in Canada through improved fleet maintenance, equipment telematics and reliability programs, technical improvements and management systems;
    • Integration – utilize recently implemented ERP at MacKellar Group to optimize business processes to lower overall costs and improve working capital management;
    • Organic growth – based on strong site operating performance, leverage customer satisfaction to earn contract extensions and expansions;
    • Diversification – pursue diversification of customers and resources through strategic partnerships, industry expertise and investment in Indigenous joint ventures; and
    • Sustainability – further develop and deliver into our environmental, social and governance goals.

    Outlook for 2025

    The following table provides projected key measures for 2025 and actual results of 2024 and 2023. The measures for 2025 are predicated on contracts currently in place, including expected renewals and the heavy equipment fleet that we own and operate.

    Key measures   2023 Actual   2024 Actual   2025 Outlook
    Combined revenue(i)   $1.3B   $1.4B   $1.4 – $1.6B
    Adjusted EBITDA(i)   $297M   $390M   $415 – $445M
    Sustaining capital(i)   $169M   $166M   $180 – $200M
    Adjusted EPS(i)   $2.83   $3.73   $3.70 – $4.00
    Free cash flow(i)   $90M   $18M   $130 – $150M
                 
    Capital allocation            
    Growth spending(i)   $40M   $85M   $65 – $75M
    Net debt leverage(i)   1.7x   2.2x   Targeting 1.7x

    (i)See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.

    Conference Call and Webcast

    Management will hold a conference call and webcast to discuss our financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, tomorrow, Thursday, March 20, 2025, at 9:00 am Eastern Time (7:00 am Mountain Time).

    The call can be accessed by dialing:

    Toll free: 1-800-717-1738
    Conference ID: 71653

    A replay will be available through April 20, 2025, by dialing:

    Toll Free: 1-888-660-6264
    Conference ID: 71653
    Playback Passcode: 71653

    A slide deck for the webcast will be available for download the evening prior to the call and will be found on the company’s website at www.nacg.ca/presentations/

    The live presentation and webcast can be accessed at:

    https://onlinexperiences.com/scripts/Server.nxp?LASCmd=AI:4;F:QS!10100&ShowUUID=70DEA77D-C2B3-4C4B-80EF-A1303C5C95BF

    A replay will be available until April 20, 2025, using the link provided.

    Basis of Presentation

    We have prepared our consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“US GAAP”). Unless otherwise specified, all dollar amounts discussed are in Canadian dollars. Please see the Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024, for further detail on the matters discussed in this release. In addition to the MD&A, please reference the dedicated 2024 Q4 Results Presentation for more information on our results and projections which can be found on our website under Investors – Presentations.

    Change in significant accounting policy – Basis of presentation

    During the first quarter of 2024, we changed our accounting policy for the elimination of its proportionate share of profit from downstream sales to affiliates and joint ventures to record through equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. Prior to this change, we eliminated our proportionate share of profit on downstream sales to affiliates and joint ventures through revenue and cost of sales. The change in accounting policy simplifies the presentation for downstream profit eliminations and has no cumulative impact on retained earnings. We have accounted for the change retrospectively in accordance with the requirements of US GAAP Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 250 by restating the comparative period. For details of retrospective changes, refer to note 25 in the consolidated financial statements.

    Accounting pronouncements recently adopted

    Segment reporting

    The Company adopted the new standard for segment reporting that is effective for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2024. In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting: Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. This accounting standard update was issued to improve reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. The Company has updated its disclosures to reflect the additional requirements.

    Recent accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

    Joint venture formations

    In August 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-05, Business Combinations – Joint Venture Formations. This accounting standard update was issued to create new requirements for valuing contributions made to a joint venture upon formation. This standard is effective January 1, 2025, with early adoption permitted. We are assessing the impact the adoption of this standard may have on its consolidated financial statements.

    Income taxes

    In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes: Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures. This accounting standard update was issued to increase transparency by improving income tax disclosures primarily related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid information. This standard is effective for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2025, with early adoption permitted. We are assessing the impact the adoption of this standard may have on its consolidated financial statements.

    Stock compensation

    In March 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-01, Compensation – Stock Compensation. This accounting standard update was issued to reduce complexity in determining if profit interest awards are subject to Topic 718 and to reduce diversity in practice. This standard is effective for annual statements for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2025. The Company is assessing the impact the adoption of this standard may have on its consolidated financial statements.

    Debt with conversion options

    In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-04, Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options. This accounting standard update was issued to improve the relevance and consistency in application of the induced conversion guidance in Subtopic 470-20. This standard is effective for annual statements for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2026. The Company is assessing the impact the adoption of this standard may have on its consolidated financial statements.

    Expense disaggregation

    In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income – Expense Disaggregation Disclosures. This accounting standard update was issued to require public entities to disclose additional information about specific expense categories in the notes to financial statements. This standard is effective for annual statements for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2027. We are assessing the impact the adoption of this standard may have on its consolidated financial statements.

    Forward-Looking Information

    The information provided in this release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “should” or similar expressions and include guidance with respect to financial metrics provided in our outlook for 2025.

    The material factors or assumptions used to develop the above forward-looking statements include, and the risks and uncertainties to which such forward-looking statements are subject, are highlighted in the MD&A for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements because of any number of factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond NACG’s control. Undue reliance should not be placed upon forward-looking statements and NACG undertakes no obligation, other than those required by applicable law, to update or revise those statements. For more complete information about NACG, please read our disclosure documents filed with the SEC and the CSA. These free documents can be obtained by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov or on the CSA website at www.sedarplus.ca and on our company website at www.nacg.ca.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    This press release presents certain non-GAAP financial measures, non-GAAP ratios, and supplementary financial measures that may be useful to investors in analyzing our business performance, leverage, and liquidity. A non-GAAP financial measure is defined by relevant regulatory authorities as a numerical measure of an issuer’s historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flow that is not specified, defined or determined under the issuer’s GAAP and that is not presented in an issuer’s financial statements. A “non-GAAP ratio” is a ratio, fraction, percentage or similar expression that has a non-GAAP financial measure as one or more of its components. Non-GAAP financial measures and ratios do not have standardized meanings under GAAP and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. They should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. A “supplementary financial measure” is a financial measure disclosed, or intended to be disclosed, on a periodic basis to depict historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows that does not fall within the definition of a non-GAAP financial measure or non-GAAP ratio. The non-GAAP financial measures and ratios we present include, “adjusted EBIT”, “adjusted EBITDA”, “adjusted EBITDA margin” “adjusted EPS”, “adjusted net earnings”, “backlog”, “capital additions”, “capital expenditures, net”, “capital inventory”, “capital work in progress”, “cash liquidity”, “cash related interest expense”, “cash provided by operating activities prior to change in working capital”, “combined backlog”, “combined gross profit”, “combined gross profit margin”, “equity investment depreciation and amortization”, “equity investment EBIT”, “equity method investment backlog”, “free cash flow”, “general and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation)”, “growth capital”, “growth spending”, “invested capital”, “margin”, “net debt”, “net debt leverage”, “share of affiliate and joint venture capital additions”, “sustaining capital”, “total capital liquidity”, “total combined revenue”, and “total debt”. We also use supplementary financial measures such as “gross profit margin” and “total net working capital (excluding cash and current portion of long-term debt)” in our MD&A. Each non-GAAP financial measure used in this press release is defined under “Financial Measures” in our Management’s Discussion and Analysis filed on EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov or on the CSA website at www.sedarplus.ca and on our company website at www.nacg.ca.

    Reconciliation of total reported revenue to total combined revenue
        Three months ended   Year ended
        December 31,   December 31,
    (dollars in thousands)     2024     2023(ii)     2024       2023(ii)  
    Revenue from wholly-owned entities per financial statements   $ 305,590     $ 328,282     $ 1,165,787     $ 964,680  
    Share of revenue from investments in affiliates and joint ventures     134,348       169,662       517,137       686,299  
    Elimination of joint venture subcontract revenue     (67,200 )     (92,522 )     (267,595 )     (369,891 )
    Total combined revenue(i)   $ 372,738     $ 405,422     $ 1,415,329     $ 1,281,088  

    (i) See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
    (ii)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in presentation. See “Accounting Estimates, Pronouncements and Measures”.

    Reconciliation of reported gross profit to combined gross profit
        Three months ended   Year ended
        December 31,   December 31,
    (dollars in thousands)     2024   2023(ii)     2024   2023(ii)
    Gross profit from wholly-owned entities per financial statements   $ 41,991   $ 65,620   $ 210,048   $ 154,833
    Share of gross profit from investments in affiliates and joint ventures     12,283     8,670     49,455     49,638
    Combined gross profit(i)   $ 54,274   $ 74,290   $ 259,503   $ 204,471

    (i) See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
    (ii)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in presentation. See “Accounting Estimates, Pronouncements and Measures”.

    Reconciliation of net income to adjusted net earnings, adjusted EBIT and adjusted EBITDA
        Three months ended   Year ended
        December 31,   December 31,
    (dollars in thousands)     2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net income   $ 4,808     $ 17,646     $ 44,085     $ 63,141  
    Adjustments:                
    Stock-based compensation expense (benefit)     5,625       (496 )     8,706       15,828  
    Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment     126       1,470       767       1,659  
    Write-down on assets held for sale     —       —       4,181       —  
    Change in fair value of contingent obligation from adjustments to estimates     9,464       —       36,049       —  
    (Gain) loss on derivative financial instruments     (4,797 )     916       (3,952 )     (6,063 )
    Equity investment (gain) loss on derivative financial instruments     (201 )     (713 )     2,633       (1,362 )
    Equity investment restructuring costs     —       —       4,517       —  
    Loss on equity investment customer bankruptcy claim settlement     —       —       —       759  
    Loss on extinguishment of customer claim     8,866       —       8,866       —  
    Post-acquisition asset relocation and integration costs     10,111       —       10,111       —  
    Acquisition costs     —       5,934       —       7,095  
    Tax effect of the above items     (7,197 )     (1,589 )     (16,169 )     (5,829 )
    Adjusted net earnings(i)   $ 26,805     $ 23,168     $ 99,794     $ 75,228  
    Adjustments:                
    Tax effect of the above items     7,197       1,589       16,169       5,829  
    Interest expense, net     14,401       14,007       59,340       36,948  
    Equity investment EBIT(i)(iii)     5,076       1,622       12,228       24,929  
    Equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures(iii)     (5,754 )     (2,236 )     (15,299 )     (25,199 )
    Change in fair value of contingent obligations     4,797       4,681       17,157       4,681  
    Income tax expense     (375 )     10,930       15,950       22,822  
    Adjusted EBIT(i)   $ 52,147     $ 53,761     $ 205,339     $ 145,238  
    Adjustments:                
    Depreciation and amortization     45,093       42,277       167,937       132,516  
    Write-down on assets held for sale     —       —       (4,181 )     —  
    Equity investment depreciation and amortization(i)     6,474       5,098       21,163       19,209  
    Adjusted EBITDA(i)   $ 103,714     $ 101,136     $ 390,258     $ 296,963  
    Adjusted EBITDA margin(i)(ii)     27.8 %     24.9 %     27.6 %     23.2 %

    (i) See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
    (ii)Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated using adjusted EBITDA over total combined revenue.
    (iii)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in presentation. See “Accounting Estimates, Pronouncements and Measures”.

    Reconciliation of equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures to equity investment EBIT
        Three months ended   Year ended
        December 31,   December 31,
    (dollars in thousands)     2024     2023(ii)     2024       2023(ii)  
    Equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures   $ 5,754     $ 2,236     $ 15,299     $ 25,199  
    Adjustments:                
    Gain on disposal of property, plant and equipment     (237 )     (22 )     (595 )     (57 )
    Interest expense (income), net     460       (268 )     (877 )     (1,183 )
    Income tax (recovery) expense     (901 )     (324 )     (1,599 )     970  
    Equity investment EBIT(i)   $ 5,076     $ 1,622     $ 12,228     $ 24,929  

    (i) See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”
    (ii)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in presentation. See “Accounting Estimates, Pronouncements and Measures”.

    About the Company

    North American Construction Group Ltd. is a premier provider of heavy civil construction and mining services in Australia, Canada, and the U.S. For over 70 years, NACG has provided services to the mining, resource and infrastructure construction markets.

    For further information contact:

    Jason Veenstra, CPA, CA
    Chief Financial Officer
    North American Construction Group Ltd.
    (780) 960.7171
    ir@nacg.ca
    www.nacg.ca

    Consolidated Balance SheetsAs at December 31
    (Expressed in thousands of Canadian Dollars)
          2024       2023  
    Assets        
    Current assets        
    Cash   $ 77,875     $ 88,614  
    Accounts receivable     166,070       97,855  
    Contract assets     4,135       35,027  
    Inventories     74,081       64,962  
    Prepaid expenses and deposits     7,676       7,402  
    Assets held for sale     683       1,340  
          330,520       295,200  
    Property, plant and equipment     1,246,584       1,142,946  
    Operating lease right-of-use assets     12,722       12,782  
    Investments in affiliates and joint ventures     84,692       81,435  
    Intangible assets     9,901       6,971  
    Other assets     9,845       7,144  
    Total assets   $ 1,694,264     $ 1,546,478  
    Liabilities and shareholders’ equity        
    Current liabilities        
    Accounts payable   $ 110,750     $ 146,190  
    Accrued liabilities     77,908       72,225  
    Contract liabilities     1,944       59  
    Current portion of long-term debt     84,194       81,306  
    Current portion of contingent obligations     39,290       22,501  
    Current portion of operating lease liabilities     1,771       1,742  
          315,857       324,023  
    Long-term debt     719,399       611,313  
    Contingent obligations     88,576       93,356  
    Operating lease liabilities     11,441       11,307  
    Other long-term obligations     44,711       41,001  
    Deferred tax liabilities     125,378       108,824  
          1,305,362       1,189,824  
    Shareholders’ equity        
    Common shares (authorized – unlimited number of voting common shares; issued and outstanding – December 31, 2024 – 27,704,450 (December 31, 2023 – 27,827,282))     228,961       229,455  
    Treasury shares (December 31, 2024 – 1,000,328 (December 31, 2023 – 1,090,187))     (15,913 )     (16,165 )
    Additional paid-in capital     20,819       20,739  
    Retained earnings     156,125       123,032  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss     (1,090 )     (407 )
    Shareholders’ equity     388,902       356,654  
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 1,694,264     $ 1,546,478  
    Consolidated Statements of Operations and
    Comprehensive Income    For the years ended December 31
    (Expressed in thousands of Canadian Dollars, except per share amounts)
          2024       2023(i)  
    Revenue   $ 1,165,787     $ 964,680  
    Cost of sales     789,056       678,528  
    Depreciation     166,683       131,319  
    Gross profit     210,048       154,833  
    General and administrative expenses     55,951       56,844  
    Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment     767       1,659  
    Operating income     153,330       96,330  
    Equity earnings in affiliates and joint ventures     (15,299 )     (25,199 )
    Interest expense, net     59,340       36,948  
    Change in fair value of contingent obligations     53,206       4,681  
    Gain on derivative financial instruments     (3,952 )     (6,063 )
    Income before income taxes     60,035       85,963  
    Current income tax (benefit) expense     (3,280 )     6,841  
    Deferred income tax expense     19,230       15,981  
    Net income     44,085       63,141  
    Other comprehensive income        
    Unrealized foreign currency translation loss     683       713  
    Comprehensive income   $ 43,402     $ 62,428  
             
    Per share information        
    Basic net income per share   $ 1.65     $ 2.38  
    Diluted net income per share   $ 1.52     $ 2.09  

    (i)The prior year amounts are adjusted to reflect a change in presentation. See “Accounting Estimates, Pronouncements and Measures”.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Wicker, Chairman Rogers Joint Statement on Reports of Potential Combatant Command Changes

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, R-Ala., Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, today responded to press reports suggesting that the United States might soon change its entire combatant command structure, withdraw from NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) command structure, and cancel modernization plans for U.S. Forces Japan:
    “U.S. combatant commands are the tip of the American warfighting spear. Therefore, we are very concerned about reports that claim DoD is considering unilateral changes on major strategic issues, including significant reductions to U.S. forces stationed abroad, absent coordination with the White House and Congress. We support President Trump’s efforts to ensure our allies and partners increase their contributions to strengthen our alliance structure, and we support continuing America’s leadership abroad. As such, we will not accept significant changes to our warfighting structure that are made without a rigorous interagency process, coordination with combatant commanders and the Joint Staff, and collaboration with Congress. Such moves risk undermining American deterrence around the globe and detracting from our negotiating positions with America’s adversaries.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Commerce Committee Passes Two Bipartisan Bills Led by Peters to Bolster Domestic Semiconductor Supply Chains and Strengthen U.S. Manufacturing Policy

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters
    WASHINGTON, DC – The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee passed two bipartisan bills authored by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) that aim to bolster domestic semiconductor supply chains and strengthen U.S. manufacturing policy.    
    “To support manufacturers in Michigan and throughout the United States, we need our industry partners, economic developers, and lawmakers reading from the same playbook,” said Senator Peters. “These bipartisan bills would help build a coordinated effort to attract new investments in our manufacturing sector, create good-paying jobs, and reduce our reliance on foreign adversaries for the semiconductor technologies that help power our economy.” 
    Peters’ Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act – which he introduced with U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rick Scott (R-FL) – would help to strengthen federal efforts to expand domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips. The bill would direct the U.S. Department of Commerce’s SelectUSA program, in collaboration with other federal agencies and state economic development organizations, to develop strategies that would attract investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturers and supply chains. Peters’ bill – which previously passed the Senate with unanimous support – would help address the ongoing global shortage of semiconductor technologies that has disrupted a range of industries in recent years including manufacturers and automakers in Michigan.    
    “We appreciate Senator Peters’ continued commitment to strengthening our national security and economic resilience by building up the semiconductor industry and supply chain here in America,” said Quentin Messer, Jr., CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. “As technology evolves and integrates further into every aspect of our lives, this industry remains poised for growth. Senator Peters’ understands that it is imperative we continue to collaborate in a bipartisan manner at the state, regional, and federal level on behalf of American workers, and especially future generations of innovative Michiganders.”  
    “American Automakers are grateful to Senator Peters for his leadership on this bipartisan legislation, which will boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and strengthen our nation’s supply chains,” said Governor Matt Blunt, President of the American Automotive Policy Council. “This legislation is vital for U.S. automakers and their supplier partners, helping to foster economic growth throughout the U.S. auto sector.”    
    The committee also passed Peters’ National Manufacturing Advisory Council for the 21st Century Act, which would establish a National Manufacturing Advisory Council within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Advisory Council would bring together leaders in manufacturing, labor, and education to advise both Congress and the Secretary of Commerce on how best to ensure the United States remains the top destination globally for investment in manufacturing. It would serve as a bridge between the manufacturing sector and federal government to improve communication and collaboration, and better support the industry and its workforce. The bill – which he introduced with U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) – passed the Senate with unanimous support last Congress.    
    “This initiative, the National Manufacturing Advisory Council Act, is designed to improve the resources and support for our nation’s small and medium-size manufacturers, which are a truly vital driver of our economy. I applaud Senator Peters for his steadfast, unwavering commitment to American manufacturing,” said Ingrid Tighe, President of the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, the Michigan representative of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).   
    “We applaud Senator Gary Peters for introducing this bill to improve the federal government’s planning and coordination of efforts to strengthen domestic manufacturing,” said Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. “Recent supply chain disruptions have made clear that it is time for the United States to shore up its critical manufacturing capabilities, which will not only better prepare us for the next crisis but also create jobs and boost the economy. This increased coordination between the many programs designed to support our manufacturers and their workers is an important step towards rebuilding our industrial base. We are grateful to Senator Peters for his efforts to bolster American manufacturing.”   
    “The Association of Equipment Manufacturers applauds Senator Gary Peters and Senator Marsha Blackburn for their continued leadership on behalf of the manufacturing sector and for introducing legislation that will prioritize a national strategy focused on ensuring American manufacturing policy can rapidly respond to changes in the global marketplace,” said Kip Eideberg, AEM Senior Vice President of Government and Industry Relations. “Our economic prosperity and national security depend on a strong manufacturing sector, and establishing a National Manufacturing Advisory Council will help unleash innovation and mobilize a comprehensive, coordinated, and competent national effort in support of the manufacturing sector and its workforce.”     
    “We commend Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) for introducing legislation to establish a National Manufacturing Advisory Council,” said Ana Meuwissen, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for MEMA, The Vehicle Suppliers Association. “This council will be a forum for manufacturers and other key stakeholders to provide input to the Department of Commerce (DOC) on important long-range issues such as workforce, supply chain, technology, and defense industrial base. The NMAC legislation would also foster better coordination of federal manufacturing policy in the DOC and across the federal government. When this legislation is enacted, it will be an asset to assist in retaining U.S. competitiveness in critical manufacturing sectors like motor vehicle parts.”     
    Peters has made expanding domestic manufacturing and strengthening U.S. supply chains a top priority. Peters helped craft and pass into law the CHIPS and Science Act, which includes a provision Peters secured funding to support the domestic production of mature semiconductor technologies and ensure that projects supporting critical manufacturing industries, such as the auto industry, are given priority status. This funding was in addition to $50 billion already in the bill to incentivize the production of semiconductors of all kinds in the U.S. – for a total of $52 billion.   
    The CHIPS and Science Act also included Peters’ bipartisan Investing in Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing Act, which ensures federal incentives to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing include U.S. suppliers that produce the materials and manufacturing equipment that enable semiconductor manufacturing. Peters’ provision directly supports Michigan manufacturers like Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC) in Hemlock, Michigan which was recently awarded up to $325 million in CHIPS and Science Act funding to build a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. The project will allow the company to expand production of hyper-pure polysilicon needed to manufacture semiconductor chips and is expected to create 180 good-paying manufacturing jobs, as well as thousands of construction jobs, in Michigan.        
    Peters additionally supported and helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which will strengthen domestic manufacturing, onshore our supply chains, combat the climate crisis and create millions of American jobs.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Announces Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Reservation DOI Funding Restored

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins
    Published: March 19, 2025

    Washington, D.C. – Following a meeting with Chief Pos Bassett of the Passamaquoddy Reservation at Pleasant Point and further consultation with the Administration, today, Senator Collins announced that her office has received notice from the Department of the Interior (DOI) that previously paused federal funding for the Tribe has resumed.
    “This critical grant funding was awarded by the DOI to support the rehabilitation of the Tribe’s wastewater treatment system that is at imminent risk of flooding,” said Senator Collins. “I am pleased that after our discussions with the Department of the Interior, this funding has been restored, but the Tribe should not have faced this disruption, and I will continue working to ensure that federal commitments to Maine’s Tribes are upheld.”
    The Passamaquoddy Reservation at Pleasant Point was previously awarded $4 million through the DOI Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Tribal Community Resilience program in Fiscal Year 2024 to raise the reactor walls at their current wastewater treatment facility to prevent flooding, develop engineering plans and purchase equipment to build a new, relocated facility at a higher elevation, and install hurricane-resistant roofs on Tribal homes.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reed: Trump’s Move to Shutter Voice of America is a Victory for Russia & China That Runs Counter to U.S. Interests

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC – Noting that the U.S. cannot maintain its global interests through military might alone, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today rebuked President Donald Trump’s order to eliminate major components of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which manages Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and more.

    Reed, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says the Trump-Musk retreat from diplomacy and American leadership on the world stage is a gift to Russia and China and makes America less secure.  Senator Reed argues that investing in the ‘soft power’ of fact-based news organizations like Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and more helps counter authoritarian propaganda, spreads facts, and advances peace, freedom, and American interests worldwide.

    Primarily a radio broadcaster, VOA was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, and reaches 360 million people a week – including Russians and other countries where Vladimir Putin’s state run propaganda machine has heavy influence.  Like other USAGM entities, it offers objective and accurate reporting and American viewpoints to overseas audiences in dozens of languages.

    Today, Senator Reed issued the following statement:

    “The Trump Administration’s move to shutter these pro-democracy, free speech media organizations is a self-inflicted wound and a severe blow to American interests worldwide.  It is a gift to Putin and Xi.  Instead of surrendering the information war to authoritarian regimes, the U.S. should work with our allies to ensure a free and unbiased press can continue to reach and inform audiences who have no viable alternative to state-run propaganda.

    “Journalists from Voice of America and Radio Free Europe not only bring fair-minded news to people in closed societies, but they help increase our understanding of these places.  Pulling the plug on their mission undercuts America’s vital interests around the globe.  It diminishes our capacity to combat disinformation and promote freedom and democracy.  Repressive regimes aren’t pulling back here, they are increasing their investments in international media activities.  China alone spends billions on international media and influence activities, dwarfing the legitimate efforts of VOA to inform international audiences. State-run Chinese propaganda outlets are racing to influence and grow their audiences in Africa and other regions that Trump is abandoning.

    “Instead of weakening America’s diplomatic infrastructure, the Trump Administration should promote fact-based, multi-language media that counters propaganda and advances freedom and democracy. 

    “True to their mission, Voice of America and Radio Free Europe have a measure of editorial independence from presidential administrations.  Therefore, their reporting may criticize various aspects of U.S. policy.  That seems to be what President Trump really can’t abide.  He routinely calls members of the press “the enemy of the people.”  His Administration strips away reporters’ access when they report facts he doesn’t like. There is a reason the Kremlin and repressive regimes are celebrating Trump’s move and that should make more Americans question it.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen Tours Furniture Manufacturer in Lisbon to Discuss Energy Efficiency Upgrades, Visits Mount Cabot Maple in Lancaster During Maple Month

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

    (Lancaster, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies, toured DCI Furniture in Lisbon to learn more about how the business is using federal funding to make energy efficiency upgrades. Later, Shaheen visited Mount Cabot Maple in Lancaster to celebrate Maple Month and hear about the challenges facing the Granite State’s maple industry. Photos from today’s events can be found here.

    In Lisbon, Shaheen visited DCI Furniture, a family-owned furniture manufacturing company, to learn more about how the business is using federal funding to install a new combined heat and power system that uses wood waste for fuel. The project will improve energy efficiency, decrease costs and reduce emissions at the facility.

    “Efficiency is the cheapest, fastest way to meet our energy needs, and DCI Furniture is a poster child for thinking about energy in a smart way,” said Senator Shaheen. “I was pleased to see firsthand how DCI is using federal funding that I’ve championed to make energy efficiency upgrades that will save money, reduce emissions and benefit the local forest-based economy—it’s just the kind of made-in-New Hampshire project we need to see more of.”

    The project has been awarded funding through programs Shaheen champions, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program, the U.S. Forest Service’s Community Wood Grant program and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Shaheen was a lead negotiator of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which made huge investments in energy efficiency, including $550 million for Industrial Research and Assessment Centers and assistance for small- and medium-sized manufacturers to implement efficiency upgrades based upon her longstanding bipartisan legislation with former U.S. Senator Rob Portman. Shaheen also helped introduce legislation to enhance the Forest Service’s Community Wood  Grant program that is providing funding for this project. 

    Later in Lancaster, Shaheen visited Mount Cabot Maple to hear more about how the farm has benefitted from federal funding from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and underscore the challenges facing the Granite State’s maple industry in the wake of the Trump Administration’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico and federal funding freeze.

    “Our maple syrup producers are an integral and delicious part of New Hampshire’s identity,” said Senator Shaheen. “It was great to visit Mount Cabot Maple today during Maple Month to tour the farm and learn more about how this North Country staple is weathering the impacts of Trump’s funding chaos and tariffs on Canada.”

    Shaheen co-leads the Market Access, Promotion and Landowner Education Support for Your Regionally Underserved Producers (MAPLE SYRUP) Act with Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) to extend and expand the federal maple support program, which supports the U.S. maple syrup industry through research and education, natural resource sustainability and the marketing of maple syrup and maple-sap products.

    Shaheen has also been outspoken against the Trump Administration’s reckless tariffs on Canada and Mexico and chaotic funding freeze and cuts. Recently, Shaheen forced a vote in the Senate on her Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Act to limit the President’s ability to levy sweeping tariffs that increase costs for American consumers and families. Shaheen has also hosted a series of roundtables and discussions with Granite Staters to better understand and highlight the direct consequences of the Trump administration’s funding chaos and uncertainty. Following the Trump administration’s decision to freeze grants and loans disbursed by the federal government in January, Shaheen immediately condemned the move and spoke on the Senate floor against the decision to freeze federal grants and loans that families, seniors and small businesses rely on for critical, often life-saving services. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Leader of Multi-Year ‘Operation Fox Hunt’ Repatriation Campaign Directed by the People’s Republic of China Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison

    Source: US State Government of Utah

    Defendant Repeatedly Harassed U.S. Resident and His Family to Coerce Repatriation to the PRC

    Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, defendant Quanzhong An, 58, of Roslyn Heights, New York, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for acting as an illegal agent of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), for his participation in a scheme to cause the coerced repatriation of a U.S. resident (the U.S. Resident) to the PRC as part of the PRC government’s international extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.” In addition to the term of imprisonment, An was ordered to pay a financial penalty of approximately $5 million, including approximately $1.3 million in restitution to the U.S. Resident and his family, as well as a $50,000 fine. An pleaded guilty in May 2024 and was charged in October 2022.

    As set forth in the government’s sentencing memoranda and other court filings, An was a leading member of an international campaign to threaten, harass, and intimidate the U.S. Resident and his family members, with the goal of coercing the U.S. Resident to repatriate to the PRC. An participated in the multi-year scheme to elevate his status within the PRC government as a means of furthering his own economic interests.

    An’s involvement in the repatriation scheme began in 2017, when he attempted to locate the U.S. Resident by visiting the home of the U.S. Resident’s adult son, without notice or invitation. The following year, An sent his daughter, as well as two PRC government officials, to the home of the U.S. Resident’s son. An subsequently met with the U.S. Resident’s son on numerous occasions, during which time An served as a mouthpiece for the PRC by conveying threatening messages on behalf of the PRC government. For example, An said he did not want to pronounce “ruthless words” from the PRC government but stated that PRC officials would “keep pestering [the U.S. Resident’s son], [and] make [his] daily life uncomfortable” if the son was unable to convince his father to repatriate to the PRC. An’s harassment continued unabated from 2017 until his arrest in 2022. An’s conduct intimidated individuals living in the United States and their loved ones in the PRC – just as it was intended to do – for the benefit of the PRC government.

    At sentencing, Judge Matsumoto considered that An participated in additional criminal conduct. Specifically, he perpetrated a bank fraud and money laundering scheme to defraud U.S. financial institutions so that he could enjoy continued access to U.S.-based bank accounts. As part of this scheme, he moved millions of dollars from the PRC into the United States, deliberately deceiving U.S. financial institutions regarding the source and purpose of the funds.

    The FBI has created a website for victims to report efforts by foreign governments to stalk, intimidate, or assault people in the United States. If you believe that you are or have been a victim of transnational repression, please visit the FBI’s website.

    Supervisory Official Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney John J. Durham for the Eastern District of New York, and Acting Assistant Director in Charge Leslie R. Backshies of the FBI New York Field Office made the announcement.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander Solomon, Meredith A. Arfa, and Antoinette N. Rangel for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. Claire S. Kedeshian of the Eastern District of New York’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters and Madeline O’Connor and Daniel Saavedra of the Eastern District of New York’s Financial Litigation Program are assisting with restitution matters. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Federal Jury Convicts Florida Resident for Operating Mass Mailing Fraud Scheme Targeting Elderly and Vulnerable Victims

    Source: US State Government of Utah

    A federal jury in Central Islip, New York, convicted Hallandale Beach, Florida resident Phillip Priolo, 61, of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and four counts of mail fraud.

    In November 2021, Priolo was charged with operating a mass mailing fraud scheme that tricked thousands of victims, many of whom were elderly, into providing the defendants with money by falsely promising prizes. Evidence presented at trial showed that, from March 2015 to December 2016, Priolo and his co-conspirators mailed millions of prize notices that falsely represented that the victims had been specifically chosen to receive a large cash prize and would receive the prize if they paid a fee. Victims who paid the requested fee, however, did not receive the promised cash prize. Although the notices appeared to be personalized correspondence, they were merely mass-produced, boilerplate documents that were bulk mailed to recipients whose names and addresses were on mailing lists.

    “The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch is committed to pursuing criminals who prey upon our elder citizens through fraudulent schemes like fake prize scams,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “I thank the Postal Inspection Service for their partnership in this matter and for conducting a thorough and successful investigation.”

    “Here, the defendant targeted and defrauded older individuals, the most vulnerable of populations, through a mass-mailing scheme,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is deeply committed to protecting older Americans from fraudulent schemes. This conviction underscores the Postal Inspection Service’s and the Department of Justice’s dedication and determination to keep susceptible communities safe from financial exploitation and bring criminals to justice.”

    Priolo will be scheduled for sentencing later this year, in Central Islip before U.S. District Judge Nusrat Jahan Choudhury of the Eastern District of New York. The defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of conviction. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The trial resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Charles Dunn, Ann Entwistle, and Jason Feldman of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.

    The department’s extensive and broad-based efforts to combat elder fraud seeks to halt the widespread losses seniors suffer from fraud schemes. The best method for prevention, however, is by sharing information about the various types of elder fraud schemes with relatives, friends, neighbors and other seniors who can use that information to protect themselves.

    If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

    More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: PHOTOS: Capito Talks Economic Development, Broadband in Grant and Hampshire Counties

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

    PETERSBURG/MOOREFIELD, W.Va. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a leader on the Senate Appropriations Committee, made stops in Petersburg, W.Va. and Moorefield, W.Va. to meet with community leaders and business professionals to discuss economic development opportunities and efforts to expand broadband access across West Virginia.

    First, Senator Capito traveled to Petersburg, W.Va. to meet with county commissioners, community leaders, and other business professionals to discuss Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) awards Senator Capito secured for the area and how they will benefit Grant County. Specifically, Senator Capito secured two Fiscal Year (FY) 24 CDS awards that will support a new Ambulance Headquarters and a trail.

    “When I began the process of congressionally directed spending, I did so in consultation with leaders like those on the county commission and local businesses here in Grant County. That’s because those on the ground know better than anyone else the needs of their communities,” Senator Capito said. “I was proud to secure the resources needed to construct a new Ambulance headquarters in Mt. Storm, which will help save lives, while serving the citizens of northern Grant County. I was just as proud to secure funding needed to expand a trail in the area that will enhance outdoor recreation, boost tourism, and improve the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. Both of these projects will go a long way in enhancing the quality of life for residents in the area, and I look forward to seeing them come to fruition.”

    “We are honored to assist Grant County in bringing reliable emergency response services closer to the Mount Storm area,” Callie Dayton, Clearway’s West Virginia-based External Affairs Manager, said. “This partnership was made possible thanks to the tremendous and insightful feedback that we received from area residents, landowners, and public service officials on the community’s most pressing needs. Clearway has been invested in West Virginia for more than a decade and we could not be more grateful for the support that we have received from the people of Grant and Mineral counties. We are eager to extend that investment and help keep West Virginia on the forefront of American-made power.”

    In the afternoon, Senator Capito traveled to Moorefield, W.Va. where she visited Hardy Telecommunications to discuss efforts to expand broadband accessibility across West Virginia.

    “Expanding broadband access is critical to West Virginia’s growth, and I appreciate the opportunity to meet with Hardy Telecommunications to discuss their efforts to better connect our communities,” Senator Capito said. “Reliable internet is essential for education, healthcare, and economic development, and I remain committed to supporting the investments needed to close the digital divide and ensure every West Virginian has access to high-speed broadband.”

    Photos from today’s visits are below:

    U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) attends a press conference about funding projects in Grant County, W.Va. on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

    U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) attends a press conference about funding projects in Grant County, W.Va. on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: At Lowell Town Hall, Warren Lays Out Three Ways She’s Fighting Back Against Trump, Musk’s Dangerous Government Takeover

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
    March 19, 2025
    Video of Remarks (YouTube)
    Boston, MA – At a town hall in Lowell, MA on Tuesday, March 18th, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) laid out her strategy to fight Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s dangerous government takeover hurting Massachusetts families and invited neighbors from Lowell to join her in the fight. 
    Transcript: Senator Warren’s Opening Remarks Town Hall in Lowell, MAMarch 18, 2025 
    Senator Elizabeth Warren: It is so good to see all of you. So, look, I’ve got to start out in a pretty hard place. And that is: our country is under assault right now, assault from within.   
    Donald Trump ran for office, promising on Day One to lower costs for American families. He repeated that over and over and over — ran ads on it, talked about it at every rally, said that one thing he could promise: on Day One, he’d lower costs for American families. 
    After he got elected, the very first interview he gave, he said that was why he won, because he made that promise to lower costs for American families. Are your costs any lower? 
    Audience: No! 
    Senator Warren: No, in fact, look at what Donald Trump has been doing since he was sworn in. Here we are going into the third month. Oh, Lord. Going into the third month and what is he doing? He’s trying to end entire agencies in government. 
    We’ve got the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – woohoo! The cop on the beat so you don’t get cheated on your credit card, on your mortgage, on your car loan, just tried to sweep that completely off the books. Elon Musk tried to kill the CFPB — just take them out. Take them out. 
    The Department of Education, there for our little children, there for people trying to get a college diploma, there to make sure that a good public education is available for all of our kids — and they’re trying to take them out.  
    And as co-president Musk comes through with his chainsaw, he’s getting rid of the “fat” that we don’t need in government. You know, like the nuclear scientists that take care of fissionable material. Getting rid of air traffic controllers, who keep us safe while we’re on airplanes. Getting rid of the people who do the testing to make sure that we can drink the water and breathe the air. Getting rid of the people who inspect food that comes from foreign countries to make sure that we can safely eat it. That’s what he thinks is cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. 
    And understand, they don’t stop there. They also were out trying to cut off our future – end the money that goes into medical research, into scientific research. End the money that goes into higher education. End the money that goes into building the very foundations of our future. That’s what they’re trying to do and they’re throwing it up. They’re throwing up tons of it, every minute.  
    People say to me, “I can’t keep up. I can’t keep up with the headlines. There’s too much going on every day.” Understand this: that is exactly the plan. That is the plan. Because their hope is if you feel overwhelmed, if you can’t keep up with every piece of it, that you will simply cover up your head, give up, and let them do whatever they want. Well, I have to say to them: Not on my watch. Not on my watch. 
    So you look at the list of things they’ve done, and it may feel random to you. It’s like what? And they’re over here doing what? I didn’t even know that thing existed and they did what? There’s a whole lot of that going on, but again, that’s the hope. When you’ve got a really ugly plan that nobody much likes – Democrats don’t like it, Independents don’t like it, and the majority of Republicans don’t like it, you’ve got to find a way to ram it through, with nobody seeing it until it’s too late. 
    So what are they really doing with all those cuts? What is that chainsaw really about? Why shut down these departments? Why take down money that we invest in pediatric cancer research? I’ll tell you what it’s really for. What the Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump and Elon Musk are trying to do is they want to have a $4.7 trillion giveaway to a handful of billionaires and billionaire corporations, paid for on the backs of seniors, veterans, public workers, little kids, and we are here to say no to them. No.  
    So this is really important: the next time you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, the next time you’re thinking, “I’m not sure I’m following this next piece,” stop and say to yourself, “Oh wait, that is the plan. That is the plan. And we are the people who are fighting back.”  
    Here’s why I’m here tonight: I want to tell you three things I’m doing – and you know I come with an ask – I’m going to ask you to do three things, and then we’re going to do some questions, I want to hear from you, and want to talk about other things going on.  
    So what are we doing? What am I trying to do? I’ll tell you what I’m doing. I’m doubling down on the Constitution of the United States of America. 
    I’m putting my chips on the table and let’s just remember — Constitutional Law 101, three parts to government. It is the job of Congress to write the laws and enact the laws. That’s our job. It is the job of the administration to administer those laws, to carry them out faithfully. And it is the job of the courts to go after the administration and hold them accountable if they fail to follow the law.  
    So, Part One for me right now, for a whole lot of folks, is we’re taking Donald Trump and Elon Musk to court. Not once, not twice, we are in over a hundred lawsuits now. And they’re not through, because understand this: what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing is illegal. They are violating the law. We’ve just got to say it right out loud. 
    And listen, for any of you who run into your buddies who may have voted for Donald Trump because they thought he was going to lower prices – they say, “Well, he got elected.” Yeah, he got elected, and Republicans control the House and the Senate. If they want to change the law, the Constitution tells us how to do it. You start in Congress, you write new laws, then the administration can administer those laws. But no unelected guy with a chainsaw gets to come out here and shut down agencies and fire people that are working on behalf of the American people. 
    So that’s Part One. We are in court. And the early decisions – look, they’re not all perfect, not every case is going to line up the right way, but it’s looking hopeful. The courts are doing what they should be doing. They’re calling people out who are not following the law. And the latest sign is it’s moving all the way up to Elon Musk by name. So Part One. 
    Alright, Part Two: job in Congress. Go back to what I was talking about earlier. All the noise, all the sand in the gears, all the terrible things they’re trying to do, underlying all that is trying to hand over our government to the billionaires, to a handful of billionaires and billionaire corporations. This is going to be the fight over taxes, and that may sound boring – it is not. It is fundamentally who this government works for. Donald Trump, Elon Musk, a handful of billionaires who stood up there on the podium when Donald Trump was sworn in, they say that the United States’ people, the people of this country, should give them $4.7 trillion in giveaways and make everyone else pay for it. Because that is their vision of America. An America that works even better for the billionaires and even worse for everyone else.  
    I am a Democrat, and what it means to be a Democrat is every one of those guys needs to pay their fair share and we need to invest in Americans. So this fight is the big fight, and this is the fight in front of us. This is the one coming up right away. So that’s going to be the second thing. We’re going to be in this fight everywhere we possibly can.      
    Part Three is I’m doing everything I can, along with others, to help raise a movement. Ultimately, we’ve got the courts, we’ve got Congress, but real power in this nation is the American people. Real power is here, right here in Lowell, Massachusetts. Real power are the people who continue to pay attention, the people who continue to reach out, the people who continue to make their voices heard. 
    That’s why so much of this fight is trying to get people just to give up. Trying to overwhelm them so they’ll just cover up their heads. Trying to say it’s all too complicated, trying to do it all with the emojis, and let’s do this, make fun of people, let’s try to take them down. Because they want you to give up. Because you are the true source of power. 
    So last week, I was not here in Massachusetts, I was in Texas. Bernie is in Iowa. Where was Tim Walz — we’ve got a bunch of people out — Wisconsin, that’s exactly right. But that’s the idea, we’ve got to raise it, we’ve got to raise it together. So those are three things that I’m working on, trying to get all of my friends in the Senate and friends everywhere to work on.
    But I’m here to ask you to be part of this as well. And here are my three asks for you: the first one is tell the stories. We build a grassroots movement one blade of grass at a time. And you can say cut federal employees and it may sound like cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. But when you talk about that you have a child in a pediatric cancer trial that is supported by federal dollars, and taking those federal dollars away can threaten that child’s life, that’s a story that everybody else in America needs to hear. 
    When you’re ready to talk about your neighbor down the street who is trying hard to be able to live independently — serious accident has got to have some home health care — and Elon Musk, the richest man on this planet, thinks that the way we save money is we tell that person, “You don’t get a home health aide, you have to move into a nursing home. That’s all that’s going to be available for you.” And then turns around it says to people who are in nursing homes, there’s not going to be enough support for you. I don’t know what the plan is there. We’re just going to set people out on the corners? Tell those stories. Tell them real. Tell them from your family, tell them from your neighbors, tell them from your cousins, but tell those stories. That’s number one. It is the best possible way to meet people where they are and get them to understand the importance of this fight. 
    Second part: do not underestimate the power of organization. Have I got some Indivisibles here? Power of organization. Any other groups that we’ve got in here? How about unions? Have we got anybody that works with unions? I don’t have to persuade you about the power of organization, right? 
    Organization, but I mean this in every way you can magnify your voice. You got a Facebook group? That’s organization. You got a bunch of friends you went to school with 22 years ago and you still keep in touch? That’s organization. And if some of them don’t live in Massachusetts, that’s even better organization, because this is how we keep moving these stories out. We’re going to push these stories out the door. And organizing keeps us going. So that’s the second part. One voice is loud, but two voices are more than twice as loud, so lots of organization. 
    Third point: take care of yourself. We’ve got to do some self-care and some care for each other. So there’s a reason on the airplane that they always do the little thing about adjust your own mask before trying to help anyone else. You’ve got to keep breathing oxygen.
    You’ve got to stay in this fight. And there are a lot of ways that we can do this, each of us will find our own. I have a very large golden retriever. He might be a little too large. Bruce, however, always just describes him as he’s large-boned. He does like spaghetti, though. Patting a Golden Retriever is part of health. 
    I do a lot of self care in this, and I want to say this for all of you, it also fits with the point about telling stories and organization. If you’ve got more people in the fight with you. You’ve got more people to keep you going when you’re kind of in the down part of this to remind you of the good parts. 
    We have a rule in our office, and that is when anything good happens – and I get it, kind of few and far between sometimes – but when something good happens, when we get a good court decision that comes down, when we see an agency where somebody stands up and says, “Well, I’m just going to have to fire me then, because I’m not leaving without you.” We pass that around and we all stop and feel good about it for a minute, reminding each other that we are in this fight together. 
    So three things I’m working on, three things I’m asking you to work on, because now we get down to the bottom part of this, and that is: this is hard. I never thought our nation would face something like this. An unelected billionaire with a chainsaw is making decisions to get rid of thousands of people that we count on every day to keep this country going.
    I never thought I would be at a time when a President of the United States would be saying, “Yeah, recession, it worked out fine.” I never thought I would be in a place where the Republicans in Congress would be so spineless. But despite all of that, despite what we are up against, despite it all, I am fundamentally optimistic and I am optimistic for this reason. I know what it means to fight a righteous fight.
    This is a righteous fight, and we are in this together. There is no one I would rather fight alongside, but the good people of Lowell, Massachusetts, of all of Massachusetts, and of the United States of America.
    Thank you. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2023 Article IV Consultation with El Salvador

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    March 19, 2025

    Washington, DC: On March 20, 2023, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation[1] with El Salvador.

    Despite a series of adverse external shocks, the Salvadoran economy has fared relatively well to date, and is estimated to have grown by 2.8 percent in 2022. Annual inflation jumped to 7¼ percent, mainly due to high global food prices while fuel price inflation was moderated by large subsidies. Vulnerabilities mounted, with international reserves falling below 2 months of imports. In the context of limited financing options, the fiscal deficit narrowed to 2½ percent of GDP, but fiscal policy is expected to turn expansionary in 2023. Under current policies, public debt is on an unsustainable path. 

    The economy is expected to grow by 2.4 percent in 2023, but the outlook is fragile, given the macroeconomic imbalances and a less favorable international environment. A comprehensive and credible policy package is urgently needed to put public debt on a firmly declining path and strengthen macroeconomic and financial stability.

    Over a year after the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender, its use has been minimal but risks for financial and market integrity, financial stability, and consumer protection remain and need to be addressed. 

    Executive Board Assessment[2]

    Executive Directors noted the strong post‑pandemic recovery supported by the authorities’ timely responses to shocks and the improved security situation. Pointing to the fragile outlook amid rising risks and vulnerabilities, Directors urged the authorities to adopt a comprehensive plan to address macroeconomic imbalances, including unsustainable public debt and limited reserve coverage, along with structural reforms to support stronger, inclusive growth.

    Directors welcomed recent fiscal efforts but underscored the urgent need for an ambitious fiscal consolidation plan, based on greater revenue mobilization and efficiency of spending, including better targeting energy subsidies and social safety nets and rightsizing the wage bill. This is critical to put public debt on a firm downward trajectory and allow a gradual return to international capital markets. Restoring and upgrading the Fiscal Responsibility Law would also improve the transparency and credibility of fiscal policy. Directors stressed the importance of ensuring the sustainability of the pension system to limit contingent liabilities.

    Directors noted that the banking system remains healthy but cautioned against rising exposures to the sovereign and the erosion of liquidity buffers. They called for raising banks’ reserve requirements, enacting promptly the Financial Stability Bill, closing regulatory gaps, and continuing to implement the 2020 Safeguards Assessment recommendations.

    Directors underscored the importance of narrowing the scope of the Bitcoin law and removing Bitcoin’s legal tender status. They noted that while Bitcoin has had a minimal impact on financial inclusion, high risks to financial integrity and stability, fiscal sustainability, and consumer protection persist. Directors urged that Bitcoin transactions be transparently disclosed, together with the financial statements of public companies operating in the Bitcoin ecosystem. They also called on the authorities to carefully weigh the implications of the new crypto assets legislation and avoid expanding government exposure to Bitcoin.

    Directors stressed the importance of structural reforms to strengthen governance, the investment climate and productivity. They called for continued efforts to strengthen fiscal transparency, public procurement, AML/CFT legislation, and the independence of the judicial system. Directors also stressed the importance of enhancing human capital, infrastructure, and climate resilience, as well as continuing to upgrade the statistical framework.

    El Salvador: Selected Economic Indicators

    I. Social Indicators

    		  

    Per capita income (U.S. dollars, 2021)

    4,408

    		  

    Population (million, 2021)

    6.5

    		  

    Percent of pop. below poverty line (2021)

    24.6

    		  

    Gini index (2019)

    		  

    39

    		  
                     

    II. Economic Indicators (percent of GDP, unless otherwise indicated)

    		  
     
               

    Proj.

    		  

    2018

    2019

    2020

    2021

    2022

    2023

    2024

    		  
                     

    Income and Prices

    		                

    Real GDP growth (percent)

    2.4

    2.4

    -8.2

    10.3

    2.8

    2.4

    1.9

    		  

    Consumer price inflation (average, percent)

    1.1

    0.1

    -0.4

    3.5

    7.2

    4.1

    2.1

    		  

    Terms of trade (percent change)

    -3.9

    1.7

    4.8

    -7.6

    -1.6

    5.0

    0.7

    		  

    Sovereign bond spread (basis points)

    424

    453

    760

    837

    1,485

    …

    …

    		  
                     

    Money and Credit

    		                

    Credit to the private sector

    57.3

    59.1

    66.3

    61.8

    63.1

    61.2

    60.0

    		  

    Broad money

    54.8

    59.1

    70.4

    61.5

    58.5

    58.5

    60.5

    		  

    Interest rate (time deposits, percent)

    4.2

    4.3

    4.1

    3.9

    …

    …

    …

    		  
                     

    External Sector

    		                

    Current account balance 

    -3.3

    -0.4

    0.8

    -5.1

    -8.3

    -5.4

    -5.3

    		  

    Trade balance

    -21.7

    -21.2

    -21.0

    -28.6

    -31.4

    -27.5

    -27.4

    		  

    Transfers (net)

    20.6

    21.0

    24.4

    25.9

    24.0

    22.9

    22.4

    		  

    Foreign direct investment

    -3.2

    -2.4

    -1.1

    -1.1

    -0.2

    -1.6

    -2.2

    		  

    Gross international reserves (mill. of US$)

    3,569

    4,446

    3,083

    3,426

    2,440

    2,798

    3,382

    		  
                     

    Nonfinancial Public Sector

    		                

    Overall balance

    -2.7

    -3.1

    -8.2

    -5.6

    -2.5

    -3.4

    -3.4

    		  

    Primary balance

    0.9

    0.6

    -3.8

    -1.1

    2.2

    0.3

    0.4

    		  

    Of which: tax revenue

    18.0

    17.7

    18.5

    20.1

    20.3

    19.0

    19.0

    		  

    Public sector debt 1/

    70.4

    71.3

    89.4

    82.4

    77.2

    76.1

    78.3

    		  
                     

    National Savings and Investment

    		                

    Gross domestic investment

    18.4

    18.3

    18.9

    22.2

    20.7

    19.8

    19.4

    		  

    Private sector 2/

    15.7

    15.9

    16.9

    19.6

    18.8

    17.4

    17.1

    		  

    National savings

    15.1

    17.9

    19.8

    17.1

    12.4

    14.5

    14.2

    		  

    Private sector

    14.7

    18.0

    25.4

    19.5

    12.8

    14.9

    14.9

    		  
                     

    Net Foreign Assets of the Financial System

    		                

    Millions of U.S. dollars

    2,655

    3,372

    3,618

    3,022

    1,114

    1,227

    1,400

    		  
                     

    Memorandum Items

    		                

    Nominal GDP (billions of US$)

    26.0

    26.9

    24.6

    28.7

    31.6

    33.7

    35.1

    		  
                     

    Sources: Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador, Ministry of Finance, and IMF staff estimates.

    		  

    1/ Gross debt of the nonfinancial public sector.

    		  

    2/ Includes inventories.

    		  

    [1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.

    [2] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summing up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Meera Louis

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/03/19/pr25069-el-salvador-imf-executive-board-concludes-2023-article-iv-consultation-with-el-salvador

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Westport to Issue Q4 and Full Year 2024 Financial Results on March 31, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (TSX: WPRT / Nasdaq: WPRT) (“Westport” or “The Company”) announces that the Company will release 2024 financial results on Monday, March 31, 2025, before market open. A conference call and webcast to discuss the financial results and other corporate developments will be held on the same day: Monday, March 31, 2025.

    Time: 1:30 p.m. ET (10:30 a.m. PT)
    Call Link: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BId6a8762a91a74ab1b129f33836d3db21
    Webcast: https://investors.wfsinc.com

    Participants may register up to 60 minutes before the event by clicking on the call link and completing the online registration form. Upon registration, the user will receive dial-in info and a unique PIN, along with an email confirming the details.

    The webcast will be archived on Westport’s website and a replay will be available at https://investors.wfsinc.com.

    About Westport Fuel Systems
    At Westport Fuel Systems, we are driving innovation to power a cleaner tomorrow. We are a leading supplier of advanced fuel delivery components and systems for clean, low-carbon fuels such as natural gas, renewable natural gas, propane, and hydrogen to the global transportation industry. Our technology delivers the performance and fuel efficiency required by transportation applications and the environmental benefits that address climate change and urban air quality challenges. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with operations in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America, we serve our customers in approximately 70 countries with leading global transportation brands. At Westport Fuel Systems, we think ahead. For more information, visit www.wfsinc.com.

    Investor Inquiries:
    Investor Relations
    T: +1 604-718-2046
    E: invest@wfsinc.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Stack Capital Group Inc. Announces Supplemental Listing of Warrants

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

    TORONTO, March 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Stack Capital Group Inc. (“Stack Capital” or the “Company”) (TSX: STCK) is pleased to announce that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) has accepted for listing 757,948 common share purchase warrants of the Company (the “Warrants”). The Warrants were previously issued on a private placement basis, in two tranches, as part of the issuance of a total of 1,515,908 units of Stack Capital, each unit consisting of one common share and one-half of one Warrant, which closed on October 30, 2024, and November 22, 2024.

    The TSX has advised that the Warrants (CUSIP 85236X153; ISIN CA85236X1539) will be listed for trading on the TSX under the symbol “STCK.WT.A” effective at market open on Monday, March 24, 2025. Each Warrant is exercisable to acquire one common share of Stack Capital (a “Warrant Share”) at any time prior to 4:00 p.m. (Toronto, Ontario time) on October 30, 2027, at an exercise price of $11.00 per Warrant Share, subject to adjustment in certain events. The Warrants were issued pursuant to a warrant indenture dated October 30, 2024, between Stack Capital and Computershare Trust Company of Canada, as warrant agent (the “Warrant Indenture”). A copy of the Warrant Indenture can be found on Stack Capital’s profile on www.sedarplus.ca.

    No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. This news release is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities of Stack Capital in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, within the United States, its possessions and other areas subject to its jurisdiction or for the account or for the benefit of U.S. Persons (as defined under applicable securities laws) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration is available.

    About Stack Capital

    Stack Capital is an investment holding company and its business objective is to invest in equity, debt and/or other securities of growth-to-late-stage private businesses. Through Stack Capital, shareholders have the opportunity to gain exposure to the diversified private investment portfolio; participate in the private market; and have liquidity due to the listing of the Common Shares on the TSX. At the same time, the public structure also allows Stack Capital to focus its efforts on maximizing long-term performance through a portfolio of high growth businesses, which are not widely available to most Canadian investors. SC Partners Ltd. has taken the initiative in creating Stack Capital and acts as Stack Capital’s administrator and is responsible to source and advise with respect to all investments for Stack Capital.

    For more information, please visit our website at www.stackcapitalgroup.com or contact:
    Brian Viveiros
    VP, Corporate Development, and Investor Relations
    647.280.3307
    brian@stackcapitalgroup.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Illicit Massage Parlor Operators Sentenced

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Shaoping Wen and her son, Xu Wang, were sentenced on March 18, 2025, for their roles in operating massage parlors that operated as fronts for commercial sex operations, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

    In September 2024, Wen, 65, and Wang, 42, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Lubbock, Texas, for conspiracy to commit interstate travel and use of interstate facilities in aid of racketeering enterprises and other offenses related to the operation of illicit massage parlors in Texas and New Mexico and money laundering.   According to court documents, Wen owned and operated at least seven massage parlors where Asian women engaged in illegal commercial sex. Wang operated the parlors on Wen’s behalf when Wen was out of state.

    Shaoping Wen pled guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate travel and use of interstate facilities in aid of racketeering enterprises in November 2024.  She was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, to be followed by a one-year term of supervised release.  Wen was also ordered to forfeit $291,990.88 in U.S. currency and pay a money judgment of $1,771,360 to the United States.  

    Xu Wang pled guilty to misprision of a felony in November 2024 and was sentenced by Judge Kacsmaryk to time served (362 days), to be followed by a one-year term of supervised release.

    Court documents revealed that, on at least 10 occasions between June 2023 and February 2024, undercover officers purchased massages for varying dollar amounts at Wen’s parlors in Texas and New Mexico.  The officers were generally greeted by lingerie-clad women who agreed to have sex with them for an additional fee of between $140 and $200.  Several of the women used translation apps to negotiate for sexual services. When the women were arrested for prostitution, they identified themselves as Chinese citizens and listed their occupation as simply, “laborer.”  On several occasions, Wen or Wang facilitated payment of the arrested women’s cash bond.

    Officers also observed Wen’s vehicle transporting Asian females directly from the airport to her massage parlors. Neighbors said the women never left the building. Searches of the premises revealed beds placed on the floors, suggesting the women lived at the massage parlors.

    On at least one occasion, a passerby heard a woman screaming and entered the parlor to check-in.  He reported seeing three women between the ages of 30 and 50 dressed in provocative clothing.

    Officers found the massage parlors advertised on sites often used to advertise for commercial sex. The ads included photos of partially naked women and promoted “100% sexy” girls who “like to spend time with nice upscale gentlemen.”  They advertised the “girlfriend experience,” “porn star experience,” and “fantasy outfits on request.”  Prostitution is illegal in Texas and New Mexico.

    In March 2024, Wen’s seven illicit massage parlors were searched.  During the search, law enforcement located further evidence that the women were residing in the parlors, as well as condoms and other items indicative of sexual activity, and approximately $291,990.88 in U.S. currency. Casino records revealed that Wen frequently traveled to California to launder the proceeds of her illicit massage parlor businesses.  From between January 2018 and August 2023, Wen cashed out approximately $1,771,360 in chips from the casino.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office – Lubbock Resident Agency, Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Lubbock Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, HSI’s Albuquerque Field Office, the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Wolfforth Police Department, the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, the Carlsbad Police Department, the Roswell Police Department, the Clovis Police Department, the Roswell Fire Department, the Carlsbad Fire Department, the Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico. Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam prosecuted the case. 
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: High-Ranking MS-13 Leader Arraigned in Long Island Federal Court on Terrorism and Racketeering Charges After His Arrest in Mexico

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant, Who Was Added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List in February, Was a Founding Member of the Transnational Criminal Organization’s Ranfla en las Calles Leadership Structure

    CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, also known as “Veterano de Tribus,” a high-ranking leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as “MS-13,” was arraigned on a four-count indictment charging him, along with a dozen other high-ranking MS-13 leaders, with directing the transnational criminal organization’s unlawful activities in the United States, El Salvador, Mexico, and elsewhere over the past two decades.  Roman-Bardales, who had been a fugitive for nearly three years and was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List last month, was arrested by the FBI on March 18, 2025 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, California.  Roman-Bardales had been located and arrested by Mexican authorities in Veracruz on March 17, 2025, and after it was determined that he was an El Salvadoran citizen with no valid status in Mexico, he was expelled from Mexico.  Roman-Bardales is charged with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists, narco-terrorism conspiracy, and alien smuggling conspiracy.  Today’s proceeding was held before United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack.  Roman-Bardales was ordered detained pending trial in the Eastern District of New York.

    Pamela Bondi, United States Attorney General, John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Leslie Backschies, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, FBI, New York Field Office, announced the arraignment.

    “MS-13 is a terrorist organization and this case reflects the Department of Justice’s ironclad commitment to putting terrorists behind bars,” stated Attorney General Bondi.  “Members of MS-13 and similar groups should live in fear knowing that we will hunt them down, prosecute them, and deliver swift American justice for their heinous crimes.”

    “The prosecution in the Eastern District of New York of this international fugitive, who is one of the most senior leaders of the MS-13 in the world, is another momentous step in the dismantling of this evil criminal enterprise, whose bloodshed and reign of terror traverses all boundaries,” stated United States Attorney Durham.  “Thanks to the relentless and brave work of United States law enforcement, he will soon face reckoning in a courtroom on Long Island where his transnational criminal organization has impacted so many communities.”

    Mr. Durham expressed his appreciation to the Suffolk County Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, San Diego (HSI), the FBI’s San Diego Field Office and the Government of Mexico for their assistance.

    “FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Roman-Bardales has been extradited to the United States to be held accountable for the extreme and depraved violence and terror his leadership of MS-13 allegedly brought to the streets of the United States and across North America,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Backschies.  “The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners are committed to eradicating MS-13 and all violent transnational criminal organizations wherever they operate as we protect our nation.”

    As set forth in court filings, Roman-Bardales and his co-defendants are part of MS-13’s command and control structure, consisting of the Ranfla Nacional, Ranfla en Las Calles, and Ranfla en Los Penales.  They exercise significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations in El Salvador, Mexico, the United States, and throughout the world.  Roman-Bardales was himself a founding member of the Ranfla en las Calles and oversaw the “Western Zone” of MS-13 in El Salvador.  In the related case of United States v. Henriquez, et al., a grand jury in the Eastern District of New York previously indicted 14 members of the Ranfla Nacional, who functioned as MS-13’s “Board of Directors.” Formal extradition requests have been submitted by the United States and remain pending for 11 of those defendants who either are or were in custody in El Salvador.

    As further alleged, the defendants have engaged in a litany of violent terrorist activities aimed at influencing the policies of the government of El Salvador (GOES) and at obtaining benefits and concessions from GOES; targeting GOES law enforcement and military officials; employing terrorist tactics such as the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and grenades; operating military-style training camps for firearms and explosives; using public displays of violence to intimidate civilian populations; using violence to obtain and control territory; and manipulating the electoral process in El Salvador.

    Further, these defendants authorized and directed violence in the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere as part of a concerted effort to expand MS-13’s influence and territorial control.  As the leaders of the MS-13 transnational criminal organization, these defendants were an integral part of the leadership chain responsible for supervising MS-13 cliques in the United States that engaged in extreme violence, including countless murders, attempted murders, assaults, and related offenses.  For example, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has prosecuted hundreds of MS-13 leaders, members, and associates for carrying out more than 80 murders in the Eastern District of New York between 2009 and the present.

    Several of these defendants, including Roman-Bardales, coordinated MS-13’s expansion into Mexico (the Mexico Program), at the direction of the Ranfla Nacional, which was a coordinated effort to maintain MS-13’s continuity of operations in response to law enforcement pressure previously exerted by the United States and GOES.  Additionally, Roman-Bardales and the Mexico Program forged alliances with Mexican cartels, and engaged in narcotics trafficking, immigrant smuggling, extortion, kidnappings, and weapons trafficking.  As alleged in the indictment, the MS-13’s Mexico Program murdered some migrants bound for the United States, including suspected members of the rival 18th Street gang and MS-13 members attempting to flee MS-13 in El Salvador without permission.  Drug trafficking was an important part of MS-13’s moneymaking operation, especially in Mexico, and the defendants used MS-13’s large membership in the United States to generate financial support for MS-13’s terrorist activities in El Salvador.

    This case was brought by Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV), which was created to combat MS-13 and comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Eastern District of New York; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of New York; the District of Massachusetts; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division.  Additionally, the FBI; HSI; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the United States Marshals Service; the U.S. Bureau of Prisons; and the United States Agency for International Development, Office of Inspector General have been essential law enforcement partners and spearheaded JTFV’s investigations.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America and an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation.  Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted of the charges, Roman-Bardales faces up to life in prison or the possibility of the death penalty.

    The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division and as part of the work of the Office’s Transnational Criminal Organizations Strike Force.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Justina L. Geraci, Paul G. Scotti, and Megan E. Farrell are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Kerryanne Ucci and Automated Litigation Specialist Michael Compitello. 

    The Defendant:

    FRANCISCO JAVIER ROMAN-BARDALES (also known as “Veterano de Tribus”)
    Age: 47
    Ahuachapán, El Salvador and Veracruz, Mexico

    E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-429 (JMA)

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Women Champion Environmental Justice, Biodiversity, Commission Hears

    Source: United Nations 4

    In an interactive dialogue on environmental conservation, protection and rehabilitation, the Commission on the Status of Women today heard from speakers who called on Governments to bridge the gap between policy and practice and empower Indigenous women and other marginalized groups in a world where progress is “being slashed by anti-rights actors that are in the league with fossil-fuel industries and tech billionaires”.

    The Commission’s two-week annual session has centered on accelerating the implementation of the Platform for Action adopted at the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing, where world leaders pledged to achieve gender equality and uphold women’s rights.  Today’s panel discussion centred on cultivating a coordinated response to the triple planetary crisis — climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution — while emphasizing the need to reinvigorate efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Another dialogue was held on peaceful and inclusive societies.

    Lorena Aguilar, Executive Director at Kaschak Institute for Social Justice for Women and Girls at Binghamton University in New York, said that the discussion will centre on the key barriers Indigenous women face in securing land and resource rights, exploring how Governments and non-State actors, including academia, civil society and international organizations, can more effectively support Indigenous communities in overcoming these challenges.  Speakers will also examine the disconnect between policy and practice, particularly the obstacles preventing young women from pursuing education and careers in fields that foster their meaningful participation in the green and blue economies.  Looking ahead to 2030, she said, the dialogue will showcase best practices and scalable strategies that align the Beijing Platform for Action with the SDGs, advancing gender-responsive climate and environmental action.

    Exclusion of Women from Green, Blue Economies

    Manasiti Omar, Founder and Executive Director of Spring of the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands, said that, as a young Indigenous woman who has personally encountered the barriers hindering young women’s participation in the green and blue economies, she knows that the promise of a just transition will remain unfulfilled if powerful obstacles persist.  Too often, young women especially those from Indigenous, rural and marginalized communities struggle to access education, employment and leadership opportunities in climate and environmental action.  “The reality is a system designed to exclude young women,” she said.  On paper, many Governments have policies promoting environmental education, technical training and gender inclusion, yet these commitments rarely translate into real, tangible opportunities.  Structural inequalities, financial constraints, cultural biases and a lack of mentorship or institutional support create layers of exclusion that prevent young women from fully engaging in the green and blue economies.  It is important to dismantle these barriers, bridge the gap between policy and practice, and create pathways that empower young women to lead in climate and environmental action.  “I have seen first hand that, when young women are given the right opportunities, we don’t just participate, we transform entire communities, but we cannot do it alone,” she said.

    Need to Address Structural Inequalities

    Astrid Puentes Riaño, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, said that she is the first woman to serve as a UN Rapporteur and the first person from the Global South in this role, covering not only the environment, but also climate, toxins and water.  “This is the kind of changes, of course, that we need,” she added.  However, true progress isn’t about checking boxes; it requires a systematic and sustained approach to breaking barriers that have historically excluded women, particularly those from marginalized and Indigenous communities.  Looking ahead to 2030 and beyond, she said it is essential to ensure that policies promoting gender inclusion in environmental governance translate into real opportunities.  This means addressing structural inequalities, ensuring access to education and leadership roles, and creating pathways for women to actively participate in shaping climate and environmental action.  The need for expertise-driven, inclusive leadership is more critical than ever, and only by dismantling these barriers can truly create a just and sustainable future.  “Women and girls in marginalized situations are not only victims; we are also key actors for change,” she stressed.

    Hopes Slashed by Anti-Rights Actors

    “I am angry at what is happening in the world today,” said Sascha Gabizon, Executive Director of Women Engage for a Common Future and Co-Facilitator of the Women’s Major Group on SDGs.  She recalled working in Beijing at the fourth World Conference on Women 30 years ago.  “We had so much hope that we could make this world a better place,” she added, emphasizing:  “But, unfortunately, our work is being slashed by anti-rights actors that are in the league with fossil-fuel industries and tech billionaires that are clearly only interested in their own profit.”   Authoritarian regimes are trying to silence and criminalize climate activists and women environmental rights defenders.  In the Caucasus, where she works, the Government has rolled back gender equality laws and institutions and silenced feminist and civil society organizations through what they call foreign agent laws, a tactic which is spreading also now in other countries.  Half of the CO2 emissions come from only 36 fossil-fuel corporations annually, she noted.  Each year, $700 billion go into subsidies for fossil fuels.  “That is where we should be cutting,” she said, adding that “billionaires produce more carbon in 90 minutes than each of you in your entire life”.  She urged the need to continue to mobilize and collectively organize, to engage in policy processes, “to claim our seats, to go on strikes, to go onto the streets and to implement gender just solutions on the ground”.

    Solar Farming

    Valbona Mazreku, Founder and Director of Milieukontakt Albania, said that integrating gender-responsive policies into climate adaptation is crucial.  Over 50 per cent of rural women in Albania are engaged in agriculture, yet they have limited access to resources and technology, and “only 8 per cent of agricultural land is owned by women”, restricting their ability to make sustainable land-use decisions.  Highlighting the high cost of water, she said her organization worked with a group of farmers from a small village in south-east Albania to develop Piskova Solar Farming, a renewable energy cooperative.  It also created a curriculum on renewable energy aimed at young people “to influence women’s career aspirations in the energy sector”, she said.  Noting that the organization’s trainers and experts are women, she said:  “We not only break down gender stereotypes, but also prepare the next generation for participation in the green economy.”  Women should not just be seen as victims of climate change, but as key agents of change, she said, calling on UN-Women to partner with local organizations.

    Fisherwomen ‘Guardians of Local Biodiversity’

    Yuli Velásquez, Director of the Federation of Artisanal, Environmental and Tourist Fishermen of Santander, Colombia, speaking via video, said that, while her fishing community is male dominated, it is the fisherwomen of the Federation who serve as guardians of local biodiversity.  They are on the front lines of fighting for environmental justice, she said, highlighting several examples, including their work gathering evidence about water pollution in the Magdalene River.  Highlighting the crucial role of “community water monitoring”, she said:  “We are now learning how to do so with technical tools and instruments,” to facilitate this data-collection.  Women in her community who spoke out against corruption have received threats. “We have spoken out robustly,” she said, but due to prevailing impunity, the cases are often closed.  This demonstrates the need for stronger State institutions to ensure investigation and prosecution of crimes against social and environmental activists.

    __________

    * The 16th meeting was not covered.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Budget Delivers Record Revenue Sharing and Lowers Property Tax Rates

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 19, 2025

    All Saskatchewan communities and their residents share in the economic success of Saskatchewan through Municipal Revenue Sharing (MRS), which will be a record $361.8 million this year. This is an increase of $21.6 million, or 6.3 per cent, from the 2024-25 Budget.

    “Municipal Revenue Sharing remains a reliable and predictable tool for Saskatchewan municipalities to make investments they need to build strong and vibrant communities,” Government Relations Minister Eric Schmalz said. “Municipal Revenue Sharing can be used by those local governments to invest in services and programs that everyone in Saskatchewan relies on while keeping property taxes as low as possible.”

    MRS provides predictable, unconditional funding to Saskatchewan cities, towns, villages and rural municipalities based on three-quarters of one point of provincial sales tax revenue from two years prior. 

    At $361.8 million, the 2025-26 MRS program is 184 per cent higher than the revenue shared in the inaugural 2007-08 Budget at $127.3 million. More than $4.6 billion in provincial funding has been allocated to support municipalities through this program since 2007-08.

    The Government of Saskatchewan is also reducing the Education Property Tax (EPT) mill rates for all property classes to offset the impact of property revaluation. Total revenue to government will remain unchanged from the 2024-25 Budget, aside from base growth due to new construction in Saskatchewan.

    Property Class

    2024 Mill Rates

    2025 Mill Rates

    Agricultural

    1.42

    1.07

    Residential

    4.54

    4.27

    Commercial/Industrial

    6.86

    6.37

    Resource

    9.88

    7.49

    The reduction in all EPT mill rates is estimated to save Saskatchewan property owners more than $100.0 million annually. 

    For more information on the EPT mill rates, visit: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/taxes-and-investments/property-taxes/education-property-tax-system.

    In addition to a record setting MRS investment, the 2025-26 Budget includes $172.0 million in municipal investments including:

    • $76.5 million for the provincial portion of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (Government Relations);
    • $29.0 million in policing grants (Corrections, Policing and Public Safety);
    • $18.4 million for the Rural Integrated Roads for Growth (Highways);
    • $11.6 million grant to provincial Libraries (Education); and
    • $8.6 million for the Urban Connector Program (Highways).

    Residents can see MRS investment by community on the Saskatchewan dashboard under People and Community. Use the left-right toggle in the dashboard to see the historical investment for the province or by community. 

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  • MIL-OSI Canada: Budget Delivers More Access to Mental Health and Addictions Services

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 19, 2025

    A record investment of $623.8 million in the 2025-26 Budget supports mental health and addictions services with a $52.8 million, or 9.2 per cent, increase from 2024-25. This budget delivers on critical supports and investments, making services more accessible to individuals, improving coordination of care, getting people the treatment they need in a timely manner and transitioning to a recovery-oriented system of care.

    Of the overall Health budget, 7.7 per cent is directed to fund mental health and addictions initiatives with $486.7 million dedicated to mental health and $137.1 million for addictions. A new targeted funding increase of $20.1 million will expand access to mental health and addictions services and care for Saskatchewan people.

    An investment of $15.8 million will deliver on the Government of Saskatchewan’s commitment to add 500 addictions treatment spaces across Saskatchewan – double the amount now available in the province. Currently, 221 addictions treatment spaces are operational, with plans to have up to 400 of the 500 dedicated spaces ready by the end of 2025-26. 

    “We will build on the success of our Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan by supporting hundreds of newly established physical and virtual addictions treatment and recovery spaces in seven communities stretching from Estevan to Pinehouse,” Mental Health and Addictions Minister Lori Carr said. “This year, we will unveil expansion plans to ensure Saskatchewan residents can access these services when and where they need them to overcome addiction and live healthy lives.”

    A further $4.3 million in new, targeted funding will: 

    • Increase access to addictions medicine across the province by implementing a new Virtual Access to Addictions Medicine (VAAM) Program and adding supports for the existing Opioid Agonist Therapy Program in the province;
    • Support the development of a central intake and navigation system that patients can contact directly to self-refer for treatment; 
    • Fully fund the HOMEBASE Integrated Youth Services Site and open the final site at Sturgeon Lake First Nation;
    • Fund two additional five-bed homes for youth with chronic mental health and addictions issues;
    • Facilitate the transition to a recovery-oriented system of care model, which provides an improved focus on treatment and recovery; and
    • Increase funding for the Bridgepoint Centre for Eating Disorder Recovery.

    The 2025-26 Budget will provide $6.0 million in new capital funding for expansion of Complex Needs Emergency Shelters (CNES) in new communities. There are currently two 15-bed CNES pilot projects in Regina and Saskatoon that provide individuals in crisis with a safe place to stabilize while being monitored for the negative effects of drugs or alcohol.

    “These shelters have proven to be effective in protecting and supporting individuals who are intoxicated and presenting as a danger to themselves or others,” Carr said. “These facilities keep the individual in crisis safe and help transition them to support services and programs. We are exploring other potential locations that are best served by these facilities, as several Saskatchewan communities are interested in creating a Complex Needs Emergency Shelter to help individuals struggling with addictions and in need of these interventions.”

    The remaining $27.0 million is for increased utilization of hospital-based services, physician visits and prescription drug costs.

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  • MIL-OSI Canada: 2025-26 Budget: Delivering For You

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 19, 2025

    Saskatchewan’s 2025-26 Provincial Budget is delivering for the people of Saskatchewan.

    Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Jim Reiter tabled a budget today that delivers on the priorities of Saskatchewan people – affordability, health care, education, safer communities and responsible financial management – while addressing the challenges of a growing province.

    “We understand this budget is being delivered at a very volatile time, due to the constantly changing tariff threats from the United States,” Reiter said. “Right now, we do not know what tariffs the U.S. may impose or how long they may last. As a result, it was not possible to build the exact impact of tariffs into the budget.

    “However, we are not letting the tariff threat prevent us from following through on our commitments to the people of Saskatchewan. Our strong financial position means we are well-positioned to weather the impact of any tariffs that may be imposed on Canada and Saskatchewan.”

    As a signal of strong financial management, the Government of Saskatchewan is delivering a balanced budget in 2025-26, with a surplus of $12 million.

    Affordability

    In the 2025-26 Budget, the Government of Saskatchewan continues to take action to ensure the province remains the most affordable place in Canada to live, work, raise a family and start a business.

    The budget reduces income taxes for every resident, family and small business in the province. It also helps make life more affordable for seniors, families with children, persons with disabilities, caregivers, new graduates, first-time homebuyers and people renovating their homes.

    The taxation changes introduced in the 2025-26 Budget, including the initiatives in The Saskatchewan Affordability Act, provide over $250 million in tax savings this year. This is in addition to the more than $2 billion in affordability measures in each and every budget.

    The affordability measures in the 2025-26 Budget include those that help make life more affordable and those that support our growing province. Among the measures are:

    • Raising the basic personal exemption, spousal and equivalent-to-spousal exemption, dependent child exemption and the seniors supplement by $500 a year, for the next four years – over and above the impact of indexation – for the largest personal income tax reduction in the province since 2008;
    • Increasing monthly income assistance benefits by two per cent for Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) and Saskatchewan Assured income for Disability (SAID) clients;
    • Increasing the Disability Tax Credit and Caregiver Tax Credit by 25 per cent;
    • Doubling the Active Families Benefit refundable tax credit from $150 to $300 per child and doubling the income threshold to qualify to $120,000 to make children’s sports, arts, cultural and recreational activities more affordable for more Saskatchewan families;
    • Reinstating the Home Renovation Tax Credit, which will allow homeowners to save up to $420 annually in home renovation expenses, while seniors undertaking home renovations can save up to $525; 
    • Increasing the Graduate Retention Program benefit by 20 per cent to a maximum of $24,000; and
    • Permanently maintaining the small business tax rate at one per cent, benefiting more than 35,000 small businesses in Saskatchewan and saving them over $50 million in corporate income taxes annually.

    Property owners will also receive relief in this year’s budget. All education property tax mill rates will be reduced to absorb the increase in property assessment values and ensure this assessment year is revenue neutral for the province in each property class. This change will save property owners in the province more than $100 million annually.

    This is in addition to the Government of Saskatchewan extending the carbon tax exemption on home heating, which is expected to save the average Saskatchewan family approximately $480 in 2025.

    Health Care

    The 2025-26 Budget delivers better patient access and safer, more responsive care for Saskatchewan residents.

    Over the last two years, the Government of Saskatchewan has invested $15.7 billion in health care in the province. In the 2025-26 Budget:

    • The Ministry of Health receives a record $8.1 billion, an increase of $485 million, or 6.4 per cent;
    • The Saskatchewan Health Authority receives an increase of $261 million, or 5.6 per cent, for a record $4.9 billion budget; and
    • The Saskatchewan Cancer Agency receives $279 million, an increase of $30 million, or 12.2 per cent.

    This funding will provide better access to acute care programs and services to improve patient outcomes, such as:

    • Reducing surgical wait times as part of an ambitious plan to perform 450,000 procedures over four years; and
    • Realigning services at Saskatoon City Hospital to address inpatient capacity pressures by opening more than 100 beds.

    Mental health and addictions programs and services receive $624 million – 7.7 per cent of the overall Health budget – to deliver critical support and investments in Saskatchewan, including an increase of $20 million for targeted initiatives. This includes continued progress on the multi-year Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan, and expanded access to mental health and addictions services and care by delivering on the commitment to add 500 addictions treatment spaces across the province, doubling the public health system’s capacity.

    To ensure the professionals are in place to provide health care services, this year’s budget accelerates the hiring of health care professionals through the Health Human Resources Action Plan.

    The 25-26 Budget also invests in steady and significant progress on multiple infrastructure projects.

    Due to the positive response to the Regina Urgent Care Centre, planning is underway for additional urgent care centres in Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and North Battleford, as well as second urgent care centres in Regina and Saskatoon. 

    The budget also provides new capital funding for the expansion of Complex Needs Emergency Shelters in new communities, building on the pilot projects in Regina and Saskatoon. 

    Overall, health capital funding will increase by $140 million, for a total of $657 million – the highest ever capital budget to deliver major health infrastructure projects.

    Education

    Kindergarten to Grade 12

    The 2025-26 Budget delivers increased opportunities and supports for kindergarten to Grade 12 students, parents and teachers across Saskatchewan. 

    Over the last two years, more than $5 billion has been invested in kindergarten to Grade 12 education. In this year’s budget, the Ministry of Education receives $3.5 billion, an increase of $184 million, or 5.5 per cent, over the previous year. That includes an increase of $186 million, or 8.4 per cent, in school operating funding for a total of $2.4 billion.

    The 2025-26 Budget also includes an increase of $130 million to fund the new teacher collective agreement and address growing student enrollment and the challenges facing today’s classrooms. 

    Building on the success of last year’s pilot project in eight Saskatchewan schools, the budget provides funding for 50 additional specialized support classrooms throughout the province. The specialized classrooms help reduce interruptions by providing additional supports to students who need them. 

    Student literacy is another area of emphasis in the 2025-26 Budget. Learning to read is one of the most valuable skills developed during childhood and sets the foundation for lifelong academic success. For this reason, this year’s budget provides additional funding to improve kindergarten to Grade 3 reading levels in Saskatchewan.

    The budget delivers on the challenges of student enrolment growth by investing in new schools with a $191 million school capital budget. This includes ongoing funding for the 21 new or consolidated schools and three major renovations underway across Saskatchewan, as well as funding to begin planning for one new replacement school and preplanning for four new schools in the Saskatoon area.

    Post-Secondary

    The 2025-26 Budget also supports students as they advance into post-secondary education. It provides opportunities that will allow students to pursue post-secondary education close to home while focusing on programs that meet the needs of Saskatchewan’s labour force and provincial economy.

    The Ministry of Advanced Education receives $788 million in this year’s budget, with $1.6 billion invested in post-secondary education over the past two years. As part of their budget, universities, technical schools, Indigenous institutions and regional colleges will receive $718 million in operating and capital funding.

    Health care training is a key priority as part of the province’s Health Human Resources Action Plan. New and expanded programs will help build a stronger health care workforce to meet the needs of Saskatchewan residents, including training seats in areas of critical need. This includes supporting:

    • 60 new training seats this year – more than 900 training seats overall – for nurse practitioners, registered psychiatric nurses and medical radiologic technologists; and
    • Four new training programs that will be ready to accept students in fall 2025 (physician assistant) and fall 2026 (speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy).

    The 2025-26 Budget also delivers work on strategies to address veterinary services in rural and urban communities. This includes working toward an expansion of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in the future.

    To help ensure predictable and stable funding for the province’s post-secondary institutions, the 2025-26 Budget extends the current multi-year funding agreement for an additional year. The extension will allow government and post-secondary institutions time to work through the potential impacts of the federal government’s reduction of foreign student visas, before engaging in another multi-year funding agreement.

    Community Safety

    The 2025-26 Budget delivers safer communities across the province by enhancing the presence of law enforcement in Saskatchewan. 

    Over the last two years, $2 billion has been invested into community safety. For the upcoming fiscal year, the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety will receive $798 million, including $119 million for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, while the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General will receive $271 million.

    Increases to the Municipal Police Grant Program will help frontline officers respond to more calls for service, while increased funding for the RCMP will support operations in the province and the RCMP First Nations Policing Program. The budget also includes funding for previous commitments for approximately 100 new municipal police officers, 14 new Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods personnel and funding for the Saskatchewan Police College to train more officers in the province.

    This enhanced law enforcement presence extends to the border with the United States. The Saskatchewan Border Security Plan was introduced in January 2025 to mobilize Provincial Protective Services officers to work in partnership with provincial policing services and federal agencies to boost law enforcement near the border.

    To complement the increased presence of law enforcement personnel, the 2025-26 Budget includes funding to improve safety for correctional staff, offenders and the public, as well as address capacity concerns at correctional facilities. 

    Additional investments will be made in interpersonal violence programs and services, including second-stage housing. The budget also delivers funding to create a more accessible court system for municipal bylaw offences and ensuring cases are complete and ready to move to trial more quickly. 

    Delivering More For You

    The 2025-26 Budget delivers on the priorities of affordability, health care, education, community safety and fiscal responsibility. However, it delivers more than that. Some of the other important initiatives in this year’s budget include:

    • A record $362 million in municipal revenue sharing, an increase of $22 million, or 6.3 per cent, from 2024-25.
    • New funding to start multi-year repair and renovation projects for 285 Saskatchewan Housing Corporation-owned units in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert.
    • Funding for expanded homelessness services developed through the Provincial Approach to Homelessness. This includes investments in the Rental Development Program to partner with third-party organizations to develop new supportive housing units for people who need additional support to live independently.
    • Over the past two years, funding from the Ministry of Social Services has created 120 new emergency shelter spaces, 155 new supportive housing spaces, new street outreach services and an expanded income assistance mobile workforce serving clients on-site at more than 30 community-based organization locations.
    • A grant to the Food Banks of Saskatchewan to fulfill the Government of Saskatchewan’s two-year commitment to help families and food banks with high food costs.
    • A $20 million increase across government in funding for community-based organizations.
    • The creation of a new Saskatchewan Young Entrepreneur Bursary, which is an annual grant of $285,000 for a maximum of 57 bursaries distributed to support youth entrepreneurship in the province.
    • The creation of a new Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Tax Credit, a 45 per cent non-refundable tax credit for individuals or corporations that invest in the equity of an eligible Saskatchewan small and medium size enterprise.
    • Introduction of the Low Productivity and Reactivation Oil Well Program to encourage industry to make new capital investments in low-producing and inactive horizontal oil wells.
    • Investment in capital projects that will improve our provincial transportation system, including:
      • Passing lanes for Highway 10 between Fort Qu’Appelle and Melville, and Highway 17 north of Lloydminster;
      • Highway 39 twinning at Weyburn; 
      • Ongoing corridor improvements on Highway 5 east of Saskatoon; and 
      • Improvements of more than 1,000 kilometres of provincial highways.

    Fiscal Responsibility

    The surplus forecast for the 2025-26 Budget leaves Saskatchewan in one of the strongest financial positions among provinces.

    The surplus is driven by forecast revenues of $21.1 billion, an increase of $1.2 billion, or 6 per cent, compared to last year. Total expense is projected to be $21.0 billion, which is an increase of $909 million, or 4.5 per cent, from the 2024-25 Budget.

    Non-Renewable Resources revenue accounts for 12.8 per cent of total expense in this year’s budget. 

    Another sign of Saskatchewan’s strong financial position is the province’s net debt position, which remains the second lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio among Canadian provinces at 14.6 per cent. 

    The Government of Saskatchewan’s prudent financial management is also reflected in the province’s credit ratings. Saskatchewan currently maintains the second-best credit rating among the provinces when the ratings from the three major agencies – Moody’s Investors Service, Morningstar DBRS and S&P Global – are considered.

    Saskatchewan’s strong financial position in this year’s budget is buoyed by the provincial economy’s solid performance in 2024. Building upon this momentum, the Saskatchewan economy is expected to continue to grow in 2025 with real GDP projected to grow by 1.8 per cent according to the average private-sector forecast. 

    For more information on the 2025-26 Provincial Budget, please review the budget materials and ministry news releases on saskatchewan.ca/budget. 

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  • MIL-OSI Canada: Innovation Saskatchewan Delivering Research Infrastructure to Strengthen Global Leadership

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 19, 2025

    Innovation Saskatchewan, the provincial government’s innovation agency, is investing in research infrastructure to support Saskatchewan’s world-class research community.

    The 2025-26 Budget includes a $3.0 million commitment to the Canadian Light Source (CLS) and an additional $4.1 million commitment to the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) for enhancements to equipment and infrastructure.

    These targeted investments will strengthen existing facilities foundational to the province’s research landscape, making it easier for innovators to develop ideas in Saskatchewan, attract and retain top talent and share high-demand solutions with the world.

    “Saskatchewan is a global leader in cutting-edge research and technological innovation,” Minister Responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan Warren Kaeding said. “By investing in the province’s world-class research community, we are accelerating made-in-Saskatchewan solutions to global challenges, creating jobs and driving economic growth to achieve our 2030 Growth Plan goals.”

    A cornerstone of Saskatchewan’s research leadership is its network of world-class research centres, including CLS, a major international research facility home to Canada’s only synchrotron and one of the most advanced in the world, and VIDO, a global leader in infectious disease and vaccine research for over half a century.

    The additional $3.0 million for CLS matches federal funding to add new state-of-the-art equipment essential to continuing reliable and sustainable operations. The funding ensures CLS will remain at the forefront of research innovation and enhance its ability to advance scientific discovery.

    The additional $4.1 million commitment for VIDO builds on Innovation Saskatchewan’s $15.0 million commitment in 2021 to expand capabilities for the organization to become Canada’s Centre for Pandemic Research. This includes upgrading facilities to containment Level 4 standards – the highest level possible. Once completed, VIDO will be Canada’s only non-governmental facility capable of handling the world’s most dangerous pathogens, elevating Saskatchewan’s role in global health security.

    “For decades, Saskatchewan has strategically built a dynamic research ecosystem and CLS and VIDO are central to that vision,” Innovation Saskatchewan CEO Kari Harvey said. “Strengthening our commitments will broaden our impact, securing our province’s future and cementing our reputation as a global research leader.”

    In addition to the 2025-26 research investment, Innovation Saskatchewan continues planning for the redevelopment of the Galleria, the flagship building at its Innovation Place research and technology park in Saskatoon. The west wing is being transformed into a multi-tenant space for scaling companies – particularly those in agtech and other key sector industries – with integrated laboratories, pilot plant space and other specialized infrastructure to support Saskatchewan’s growing technology sector.    

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  • MIL-OSI Canada: 2025-26 Health Budget Delivers Record Funding for Better Patient Access, More Responsive Care

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 19, 2025

    The 2025-26 Budget delivers on key health care commitments including better access to acute and emergency care, team-based primary care and continuing care services. This year’s budget also supports progress on the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan, accelerates health care workforce hiring and continues building on future infrastructure projects, including new hospitals, long-term care homes and additional urgent care centres. 

    The record Ministry of Health budget is $8.07 billion, an increase of $484.6 million, or 6.4 per cent, over the previous year. The Saskatchewan Health Authority will receive a $261.1 million increase, or 5.6 per cent, for a total record budget of $4.94 billion. 

    “This year’s budget delivers on key commitments to deliver more timely access to our health care system,” Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. “Our government will provide significant budget investments to increase access to acute care in Saskatoon, perform more surgeries, increase access to specialized diagnostic imaging and invest in programs that connect all Saskatchewan residents to a primary health care provider.

    “This budget also expands glucose monitoring coverage to vastly improve quality of life and ease financial impacts for nearly 10,000 Saskatchewan people with diabetes. We will open the highly anticipated Breast Health Centre in Regina to provide a full range of services and wraparound support for women experiencing a challenging diagnosis.”

    The 2025-26 Budget provides better access to acute health care services for safer, more responsive patient care with total investment increases of $88.1 million. 

    Plans to ramp up surgical volumes this year through a $15.1 million investment increase will kickstart ambitious plans to perform 450,000 procedures over four years and reduce surgical wait times. This investment will introduce the innovative robot-assisted surgery program at Pasqua Hospital in Regina and enhance other services to meet this aggressive four-year surgical target.

    Optimizing space and realigning services at Saskatoon City Hospital will help address capacity pressures in Saskatoon with a multi-phased approach to open more than 100 acute care beds. This $30.0 million investment will support physical space upgrades to expand acute care and convert outpatient and other spaces to inpatient units.

    Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will receive a $6.6 million increase for additional paramedics in the system and Diagnostic Imaging will receive a $6.0 million boost to increase specialized medical imaging volumes to continue gains made in patient wait times.

    Other 2025-26 acute care investment increases include: 

    • $7.6 million for enhanced and expanded pediatric care, including specialist recruitment in areas of endocrinology, rheumatology and other specialties. The budget will also support additional multidisciplinary staff and physicians in pediatric gastroenterology, allergy and immunology, and cardiology programs, as well as enhancements to physician staffing at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Prince Albert;
    • $6.6 million for HealthLine 811’s Virtual ER Physician Program to expand support to a minimum of 25 small-to-medium rural Emergency Department locations;
    • $4.3 million to bolster the province’s kidney health programs to better meet patient demand for hemodialysis services closer to home;
    • $2.0 million for enhanced laboratory medicine services; 
    • $1.9 million to complete and fully staff the new Breast Health Centre in Regina; and
    • $1.9 million to support operational costs for the Regina Urgent Care Centre. 

    “Rural and northern Saskatchewan receive important focus in this budget with extensive kidney health enhancements and staffing for satellite hemodialysis services in rural locations, including Meadow Lake, North Battleford, Tisdale and Fort Qu’Appelle,” Rural and Remote Minister Lori Carr said. “A virtual ER physician program demonstrating great success will expand to more rural communities at risk of service disruptions this year, and increases to EMS will improve response times and stabilize services across the province.” 

    The 2025-26 Budget will deliver better and more prompt patient access to team-based primary care settings and preventative care initiatives to meet the health care needs of Saskatchewan people with a $42.4 million increased investment. 

    A $5.0 million increase will support primary care improvements, including the expansion of a new model of care called Patient Medical Homes to new communities following a successful pilot in Swift Current that demonstrated better access to primary care for patients. 

    In addition, a $7.1 million increase is provided for immunizations and program enhancements. Beginning April 1, 2025, nearly 10,000 Saskatchewan patients managing diabetes will benefit from a $23.0 million investment for a Glucose Monitoring Expansion Program for young adults aged 25-and-under and seniors aged 65-plus. 

    The 2025-26 Budget also includes new funding to support the transition to HPV self-screening for cervical cancer, make progress on a provincial lung cancer screening program, lower breast cancer screening eligibility to age 43 and support operations to add a second mobile mammography bus that will increase capacity for women in rural and northern Saskatchewan. 

    The 2025-26 Budget will further provincial commitments to accelerate the hiring and growth of the health care professional workforce in the third year of the ambitious, multi-year Health Human Resources Action Plan to recruit, train, incentivize and retain employees.

    The College of Medicine will add 10 more in-province physician training seats for family medicine, anesthesia, plastic surgery and other specialties, for a total of 150 provincial seats, as part of a $7.4 million increase. 

    Supports for 65 new and enhanced permanent full-time nursing positions in 30 rural and northern locations across Saskatchewan for improved nursing stability and reduced reliance on contract nurses will receive a $4.9 million increase.

    In addition, this year’s budget includes an additional $94.6 million increase for physician services to support the province’s efforts to recruit and retain doctors, including funding for negotiated Saskatchewan Medical Association fee increases, increased utilization of services and additional physicians. 

    This year’s budget will continue building momentum on strategic investments and successful programming within the multi-year Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan to improve patient access to professionals and services, delivering the help and support needed to overcome mental health and addictions challenges. This budget provides new capital funding to expand Complex Needs Emergency Shelters into new communities.

    Saskatchewan residents will see steady and significant progress throughout the province on multiple infrastructure projects, such as new hospital builds and long-term care facilities, with a total record capital investment of $656.9 million, a $140.1 million increase over last year.

    Major infrastructure investments include:

    • $322.4 million for Prince Albert Victoria Hospital construction;
    • $40.0 million for Regina Long-Term Care Specialized Beds construction;
    • $33.8 million for construction of the La Ronge Long-Term Care facility;
    • $24.4 million for Weyburn General Hospital construction; 
    • $10.0 million for Grenfell Long-Term Care project construction; and
    • $3.0 million to advance the Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre (UCC), in partnership with Ahtahkakoop Cree Developments.

    Due to the success of Regina’s UCC model in reducing emergency room pressures and providing access to thousands of patients, planning is underway for additional UCCs in Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and North Battleford, as well as second UCCs in Regina and Saskatoon. 

    Additional funding will continue to support ongoing projects, including the Yorkton Regional Health Centre, Rosthern Hospital, Royal University Hospital’s ICU Expansion, Saskatchewan Cancer Agency’s (SCA) Saskatoon Patient Lodge, Esterhazy Integrated Care Facility and long-term care projects in several communities including Regina, the Battlefords, Watson and Estevan.

    Other capital investments include leading-edge and upgraded technology, equipment and innovations to shape the future of health care.

    The 2025-26 Budget will ensure Saskatchewan people receive strengthened continuing care support to remain at home and within their communities for as long as possible. A $7.1 million increase will fund care for all ages – from children with complex medical needs to seniors – to support individuals of all ages and patients in the most appropriate community setting.

    The SCA will continue to deliver access to world-class care with additional funding toward oncology drugs, therapies and treatment options. The SCA will see an increase of $30.4 million, or 12.2 per cent, for a total record budget of $279.3 million. 

    The 2025-26 Budget also delivers on the Government of Saskatchewan’s commitment to provide a Fertility Treatment Tax Credit to improve affordability for individuals and couples to access fertility treatments.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Hong Kong: Article 23 law used to ‘normalize’ repression one year since enactment – Amnesty International

    Source: Amnesty International

    Just one year after its passage, Hong Kong’s Article 23 law has further squeezed people’s freedoms and enabled authorities to intensify their crackdown on peaceful activism in the city and beyond, Amnesty International said.

    “Over the past year, Article 23 has been used to entrench a ‘new normal’ of systematic repression of dissent, criminalizing peaceful acts in increasingly absurd ways,” said Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks.

    “People have been targeted and harshly punished for the clothes they wear as well as the things they say and write, or for minor acts of protest, intensifying the climate of fear that already pervaded Hong Kong. Freedom of expression has never been under greater attack.”

    People convicted and jailed for peaceful expression

    The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (known as Article 23) took effect on 23 March 2024. Amnesty International’s analysis shows that 16 people have since been arrested for sedition under Article 23. Five of them were officially charged under the law, and the other 11 were released without charge. None of those arrested is accused of engaging in violence, while the authorities have accused two of them of inciting violence without yet disclosing any details.

    Three of the charged individuals – after facing around three months’ pre-trial detention – were convicted for, respectively, wearing a T-shirt and mask printed with protest slogans; criticizing the government online; and writing protest slogans on bus seats. They were sentenced to between 10 and 14 months in prison.

    The remaining two charged people have been held in detention awaiting trial since November 2024 and January 2025, respectively. They are accused of publishing “seditious” posts on social media platforms.

    Article 23 entrenches denial of bail

    The presumption against bail in national security cases, originally imposed by the Beijing-enacted National Security Law (NSL), has now been extended to offences under Article 23. Among the five individuals charged under Article 23, the two who applied for bail had their applications denied because the magistrate believed they may “continue to commit acts endangering national security” – the same reasoning used to deny bail to others prosecuted under the NSL, including newspaper founder Jimmy Lai and opposition politicians.

    The remaining 11 individuals arrested under Article 23 are variously accused of publishing “seditious” posts, commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown and spreading “disinformation”. Despite having been released by the police without official charge, they remain at risk of prosecution at any time because Article 23 does not impose a time limit on bringing criminal charges.

    “Article 23 has been wielded by the Hong Kong government as a tool to suppress critical voices with the ultimate aim of eradicating them. Alongside the NSL, it has handed the authorities virtually unchecked power to arrest and jail anybody criticizing the government. The result is a Hong Kong where people are forced to second-guess what they say and write, and even what they wear,” Sarah Brooks said.

    “The now default use of pre-trial detention and refusal of bail are alarming examples of how Article 23 has been used to reinforce the repressive tools first introduced under the NSL.”

    ‘National security’ as a trump card overriding established laws

    Article 23 has also been weaponized to impose additional punitive measures against dissidents already serving sentences. Under the existing Prison Rules, last amended in 2014, prisoners with good conduct were eligible for early release after serving two-thirds of their sentences. However, according to new rules set by Article 23, the prison authorities can waive this practice if the release would be “contrary to the interests of national security”.

    Notably, at least two jailed activists have been denied early release, despite the fact that they were not convicted under Article 23 and had already begun serving their sentences before its enactment.

    One of the activists – who was convicted of incitement to wound, a charge unrelated to any national security legislation – was barred from early release despite Article 23 expressly stating that the new rules apply only to prisoners convicted of offences endangering national security.

    “Retroactively denying early release based on vague national security justifications undermines legal certainty and due process. The government’s failure to comply with the very text that it drafted further raises serious concerns about the arbitrary application of Article 23,” Sarah Brooks said.

    Extraterritorial application against overseas activists

    The worrying impact of Article 23 on human rights is not restricted to Hong Kong. Authorities have invoked Article 23’s extraterritorial scope to penalize a total of 13 Hong Kong activists residing overseas, including in the UK, the US, Canada and Australia. These penalties have included the cancellation of passports, suspension of lawyer licenses, removal from company directorships and prohibition of financial transactions, restricting a range of human rights such as their freedom of movement, right to privacy and right to work.

    These measures have been imposed alongside arrest warrants issued under the NSL, each carrying a HK$1 million (US$128,700) bounty, for these 13 individuals and six other overseas activists.

    “By sanctioning activists overseas, the Hong Kong government is attempting to extend its draconian laws beyond its borders to target potentially anyone, anywhere. The situation has resulted in a chilling effect on individuals who persist in exercising their freedom of expression, even after departing from the city. The international community cannot afford to ignore Article 23’s intended extraterritorial reach,” Sarah Brooks said.

    “We urge the Hong Kong and Chinese governments to immediately repeal Article 23, the NSL and any other legislation which violates international human rights laws and standards. We also call on other governments to safeguard the fundamental rights and freedoms of Hongkongers, in particular those actively defending human rights, within their jurisdictions.

    “The rising risk of transnational repression, which Amnesty has documented and which is explicitly tied to Hong Kong’s national security legislation, demands a response by governments worldwide. As a start, that means denouncing incidents of transnational repression and pursuing accountability for criminal acts targeting activists and others in the country of residence.”

    Background

    On 19 March 2024, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council unanimously voted to pass the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance based on Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.

    The law, which took effect on 23 March 2024, introduced China’s definition of “national security” and “state secrets”, together with other broadly defined offences which further restricted freedom of expression and the right to protest. It also replaced a widely used colonial-era sedition law with its own provisions on sedition which now expressly cover acts or speech which do not incite violence. The maximum prison sentence for sedition was increased from two to seven years, or up to 10 years if involving “collusion with an external force”.

    Amnesty International submitted an analysis of its proposals to the government during the consultation period, concluding that the offences and changes to investigatory powers are contrary to Hong Kong’s human rights obligations. After the law was passed, Amnesty International issued a briefing paperproviding an in-depth analysis of the effects of the law on both Chinese and non-Chinese individuals, in particular via its purported extraterritorial application.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Bendayan to participate in a Citizenship Ceremony to mark International Francophonie Day

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Media advisory

    Ottawa, March 19, 2025 —The Honourable Rachel Bendayan, in her first ceremony as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, will welcome 64 of Canada’s newest citizens from 31 different countries at this special ceremony to mark International Francophonie Day. MJ Quraishi will preside over the ceremony.

    Thursday, March 20, 2025

    2 p.m. ET

    Notes for media:

    • Media are asked to register in advance for this in-person event by sharing their name, title, email address and outlet with IRCC.Info-Info.IRCC@cic.gc.ca by Thursday, March 20, at 10:00 a.m. ET. Please include “RSVP for March 20 Citizenship Ceremony” in the subject line of the email.
    • Media attending the event in person are asked to arrive no later than 1:45 p.m. ET.
    • Photography and video are permitted during the ceremony.

    For more information (media only):

    Renée LeBlanc Proctor
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Minister
    Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
    Renee.Proctor@cic.gc.ca

    Media Relations
    Communications Sector
    Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
    613-952-1650
    media@cic.gc.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –