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Category: Canada

  • MIL-OSI: Canadian Large Cap Leaders Split Corp. Receives Approval for Normal Course Issuer Bid

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    [Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States]

    TORONTO, June 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ninepoint Partners LP (“Ninepoint”), on behalf of Canadian Large Cap Leaders Split Corp. (the “Company”) (TSX: NPS/NPS.PR.A), announced today that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) has accepted its notice of intention to make a normal course issuer bid (the “NCIB”) to purchase its class A shares (“Class A Shares”) and preferred shares (“Preferred Shares”) through the facilities of the TSX and alternative trading systems in Canada. The NCIB will commence on June 9, 2025 and terminate on June 8, 2026.

    Pursuant to the NCIB, the Company proposes to purchase, from time to time, up to 176,492 Class A Shares and 176,492 Preferred Shares of the Company, representing 10% of the public float of 1,764,915 Class A Shares and 1,764,915 Preferred Shares. As of June 4th, 2025, there were 1,764,915 Class A Shares and 1,764,915 Preferred Shares issued and outstanding. The Company will not purchase, in any given 30-day period, in the aggregate, more than 35,298 Class A Shares or more than 35,298 Preferred Shares, being 2% of the issued and outstanding Class A Shares and Preferred Shares as of June 4th, 2025.

    Under Ninepoint Partners prior NCIB, which commenced on May 28, 2024 and ended on May 27, 2025, Ninepoint Partners obtained approval to purchase up to a total of 209,947 Common Shares, reflecting a security split that took effect on Feb 4, 2025, and 182,563 Preferred Shares, of which 49,450, on the post-split basis, Common Shares, and 43,000 Preferred Shares were purchased through the facilities of the TSX at a weighted-average price of approximately $10.39, on the post-split basis, per Common Share, and $10.45 for Preferred Shares.

    Ninepoint, the manager of the Company, believes that such purchases are in the best interests of the Company and are a desirable use of its funds. All purchases will be made through the facilities noted above and in accordance with the rules and policies of the TSX. All Class A Shares or Preferred Shares purchased by the Company pursuant to the NCIB will be cancelled.

    About Ninepoint Partners LP
    Based in Toronto, Ninepoint Partners LP is one of Canada’s leading alternative investment management firms overseeing approximately $7 billion in assets under management and institutional contracts. Committed to helping investors explore innovative investment solutions that have the potential to enhance returns and manage portfolio risk, Ninepoint offers a diverse set of alternative strategies spanning Equities, Fixed Income, Alternative Income, Real Assets, F/X and Digital Assets.

    For more information on Ninepoint, please visit www.ninepoint.com or for inquiries regarding the Offering, please contact us at (416) 943-6707 or (866) 299-9906 or invest@ninepoint.com.

    Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, those identified by the expressions “expects”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “will” and similar expressions to the extent that they relate to the Company. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect Ninepoint’s current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Although Ninepoint believes the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Neither the Company nor Ninepoint undertake any obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement or information whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

    The MIL Network –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Lunenburg County — Man faces multiple charges after he fled from police

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    A Nine Mile River man has been charged with multiple offences after he fled from police.

    On May 29, at approximately 11:50 a.m., an officer from Lunenburg County District RCMP observed a grey Honda civic with no license plate on Hwy. 103 near Chester Basin. The officer activated his emergency lights and sirens and attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver increased speed and did not stop. The officer deactivated his emergency equipment and did not pursue the vehicle in the interest of public safety.

    The vehicle was then observed driving westbound in the eastbound lane of Hwy. 103 near Exit 9 for a short distance. Additional RCMP officers and the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources air services were engaged.

    Through the investigation, officers learned the driver was a man wanted in connection with an ongoing investigation led by Shelburne District RCMP, and that there was a passenger in the vehicle.

    At approximately 1:15 p.m., officers located the vehicle parked near Oakland Rd. in Oakland. Both the driver, 23-year-old Justin Oakley, and youth passenger were outside the vehicle. Officers safely arrested Oakley. No one was physically injured in the incident.

    Oakley has been charged with Flight from Peace Officer and Dangerous Operation in relation to this incident. He has also been charged with Flight from Peace Officer (two counts), Dangerous Operation and Assault with a Weapon in relation to an incident on May 27 in Barrington Passage, which is being investigated by Shelburne District RCMP.

    On May 27, at approximately 8:49 p.m., an officer from Shelburne District RCMP observed a grey Honda civic with no license plate and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle On Highway 330 in Barrington. The civic pulled over, but when the officer opened his door to exit his police vehicle, the civic backed up toward the officer then drove away. The officer did not pursue the vehicle in consideration of public safety.

    Through the investigation, officers were able to identify the driver as Oakley.

    Oakley appeared in Bridgewater Provincial Court on May 30 and was released on conditions. He is scheduled to appear again in Bridgewater Provincial Court on July 9 at 9:30 a.m.

    File # 2025-736441, 2025-727047

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: G7 Foreign Ministers Declaration on Maritime Security and Prosperity

    Source: United States Department of State (3)

    Office of the Spokesperson

    G7 Foreign Ministers Declaration on Maritime Security and Prosperity

    Media Note

    March 14, 2025

    The text of the following statement was released by the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union.

    Begin Text:

    1. We, the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, reaffirm the G7’s steadfast commitment to contribute towards a free, open, and secure maritime domain based on the rule of law that strengthens international security, fosters economic prosperity, and ensures the sustainable use of marine resources.
    2. Maritime security and prosperity are fundamental to global stability, economic resilience, and the well-being of all nations, and the conservation and sustainable use of ocean ecosystems is essential to all life on Earth. Over 80% of global trade is transported by sea, and 97% of global data flows through submarine cables. Disruptions to maritime routes pose a direct threat to international food security, critical minerals, energy security, global supply chains, and economic stability. We express deep concern over the growing risks to maritime security, including strategic contestation, threats to freedom of navigation and overflight, and illicit shipping activities. State behaviour in these areas has increased the risk of conflict and environmental damage, and imperils all nations’ prosperity and living standards, especially for the world’s poorest.
    3. We recognize the role of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the legal framework for governing all activities in the oceans and the seas.
    4. We recall the G7 Statements on Maritime Security adopted in Lübeck (2015) and Hiroshima (2016). We welcome related work presently underway through other G7 ministerial tracks and working groups, on a range of issues including securing undersea cable networks and combating abandoned fishing gear. We welcome, as well, G7 work relating to transnational organized crime and terrorism that touches on the maritime domain, including in relation to piracy and armed robbery at sea, trafficking in persons, and strengthening the maritime law enforcement capabilities of coastal states. We acknowledge the importance of regional maritime security frameworks, to support coastal states to address collectively threats to their maritime security. We welcome existing initiatives, such as the G7++ Friends of the Gulf of Guinea (G7++ FoGG, that Canada chairs this year), which has been, the primary forum for dialogue among G7 members and partners on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.

    Emerging Threat on Safe Seas and Freedom of Navigation and Overflight

    1. Enhancing Stability: We underscore the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight and other internationally lawful uses of the high seas and the exclusive economic zones as well as to the related rights and freedoms in other maritime zones, including the rights of innocent passage, transit passage and archipelagic sea lanes passage, as provided for under international law. We share a growing concern at recent, unjustifiable efforts to restrict such freedom and to expand jurisdiction through use of force and other forms of coercion, including across the Taiwan Strait, and in the South China Sea, the Red Sea, and the Black Sea. We condemn China’s illicit, provocative, coercive and dangerous actions that seek unilaterally to alter the status quo in such a way as to risk undermining the stability of regions, including through land reclamations, and building of outposts, as well as their use for military purpose. In areas pending final delimitation, we underline the importance of coastal states refraining from unilateral actions that cause permanent physical change to the marine environment insofar as such actions jeopardize or hamper the reaching of the final agreement, as well as the importance of making every effort to enter into provisional arrangements of a practical nature, in those areas. We condemn, as well, dangerous vessel maneuvers, the indiscriminate attacks against commercial vessels and other maritime actions that undermine maritime order based on the rule of law and international law. We reiterate that the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal on 12 July 2016 is a significant milestone, which is legally binding upon the parties to those proceedings and a useful basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties. We reaffirm that our basic policies on Taiwan remain unchanged and emphasize the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as indispensable to international security and prosperity. We welcome the resumption of exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. Freedom of navigation for commercial shipping in the Black Sea must be upheld.
    2. Attempts to Change the Status Quo by Force: We oppose unilateral attempts to change the status quo, in particular by force or coercion including in the East and South China Seas. We undertake to implement means through which to track systematically and report on attempts to change the status quo by force and by the establishment of new geographical facts, including through coercive and dangerous actions on the oceans and seas that might threaten regional and international peace and security.
    3. Protecting Critical Maritime and Undersea Infrastructure: We are seized of the fact that vital energy and telecommunications infrastructure under the oceans and seas connects our economies and is vital to our prosperity. We recall the G7 Joint Statement on Cable Connectivity for Secure and Resilient Digital Communications Networks (2024) and the New York Joint Statement on the Security and Resilience of Undersea Cables in a Globally Digitalized World (2024). We share a growing concern that undersea communications cables, subsea interconnectors and other critical undersea infrastructure have been subject to critical damage through sabotage, poor seamanship or irresponsible behaviour which have resulted in potential internet or energy disruption in affected regions, delays in global data transmission, or compromised sensitive communications. We will enhance our cooperation with industry mitigate risks, reduce bottlenecks to operational tasks while strengthening repair capacities in order to improve the overall resilience of critical undersea and maritime infrastructure. In this respect, we welcome the EU Action Plan on Cable Security adopted in February 2025 by the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
    4. Maritime Crime: Maritime crime, including piracy, armed robbery at sea, maritime arms trafficking and sanctions evasion, human trafficking, illegal drug trafficking and Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, continues to impede maritime security, freedom of navigation, and our economy and prosperity. We have been working together to tackle these maritime crimes, but maritime illegal activities have extended into new areas, to become an urgent issue to be addressed. We welcome the G7 Action Plan to combat migrant smuggling adopted under Italy’s 2024 G7 Presidency.
    5. Protecting Freedom of Trade: In the past year, indiscriminate Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have endangered maritime security of vessels and their crews, disturbed international trade, and exposed neighboring countries to environmental hazards. Enabled by Iran’s military, financial, and intelligence support, these illegal attacks have also contributed to increased tension in the Middle East and Yemen, with severe repercussions on the intra-Yemeni peace process. The vessel “Galaxy Leader” seized by the Houthis must be released immediately. We appreciate the efforts of all those countries that have engaged to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, protecting crucial shipping lanes and helping to restore regular flows of trade through the Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In this regard, we commend the efforts of EU’s maritime operation “Aspides” and U.S.-led operation “Prosperity Guardian”.

    Safe Shipping and Supply Chain Security

    1. Curtailing Unsafe and Illicit Shipping Practices: The rise of unsafe and illicit shipping practices, including fraudulent registration and registries, poses a significant threat to global trade and environmental sustainability. We are concerned that unsafe and illicit shipping imposes heavy costs on industry, governments and citizens. Russia’s ability to earn revenue has been sustained through its extensive effort to circumvent the G7+ oil price cap policy through its shadow fleet of often older, underinsured, and poorly maintained ships that routinely disable their automatic identification systems or engage in “spoofing” to avoid detection and circumvent international safety, environmental, and liability rules and standards. North Korea continues to pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and evade sanctions, particularly through its illicit maritime activities, including prohibited ship to-ship transfers of petroleum and other UN-banned commodities. Through G7 coordination, we have exposed North Korea uses of “dark” vessels – those that engage in illicit activity – to circumvent United Nations Security Council mandated sanctions. Russia and North Korea are strengthening their economic relations including through maritime routes, such as the reported transfer of petroleum products from Russia to North Korea Unregulated, “dark” vessels undertake IUU fishing, destroying marine habitats and depleting fish stocks, with negative impacts for biodiversity and food security. Unregulated, inadequately insured “dark” vessels also pose a high risk of maritime accidents, including in fragile ecosystems such as the Arctic and Antarctic. We commit to strengthen our coordination, amongst the G7 and with other partners, to prevent the use of unregistered or fraudulently registered, uninsured and substandard vessels engaged in sanctions evasion, arms transfers, illegal fishing and illicit trade. We encourage relevant International Organizations to improve maritime domain awareness by expanding satellite-based vessel tracking and establishing comprehensive data records of the movement of individual ships and of ship-to-ship transfers, as a means of identifying and tracking illicit maritime activities. We are also committed to capacity building of the countries in the region in law enforcement and Maritime Domain Awareness.
    2. Shadow Fleet Task Force: We invite members of the Nordic-Baltic 8 (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden), and possibly others, to join participating G7 members in a Shadow Fleet Task Force to enhance monitoring and detection and to otherwise constrain the use of shadow fleets engaged in illegal, unsafe or environmentally perilous activities, building on the work of others active in this area. The Task Force will constitute a response by the participating States to the call by the International Maritime Organization in its Resolution A.1192(33) of 6 December 2023 for Members States and all relevant stakeholders to promote actions to prevent illegal operations in the maritime sector by shadow fleets and their flag states, including illegal operations for the purposes of circumventing sanctions, evading compliance with safety or environmental regulations, avoiding insurance costs, or engaging in other illegal activities.
    3. Enhancing Maritime Supply Chain Resilience and Energy and Food Security: Maritime supply chains will continue to underpin the global economy, but these face a variety of threats, both present and future, stemming from both geopolitical tensions and environmental factors. Maritime disruptions raise consumer costs, increase transit times, and can reduce demand in importing countries, which in turn means lower revenues and diminished competitiveness for producers in exporting countries. Such vulnerabilities in maritime transport can undermine energy and food security, particularly for developing nations reliant on stable shipping routes, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). We welcome maritime initiatives involving and supported by G7 partners intended to promote energy and food security, such as the Grain from Ukraine scheme, and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. We invite cooperation with the African Union (pursuant to Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy 2050) and other relevant International Organizations to identify best practices for enhancing maritime supply chain resilience and for safeguarding energy and food security, including in times of geopolitical crisis.
    4. Promoting Safe and Resilient Ports and Strategic Waterways: Port ownership and operational control matter to national security, as foreign control or influence over critical port infrastructure can create vulnerabilities in trade, in defense and security, and in economic stability. Port resilience is also crucial to economic stability and global trade and yet ports face growing risks from environmental degradation, extreme weather events and geopolitical conflicts. Strengthening port security and modernizing infrastructure are essential to maintaining safe and efficient maritime trade. Ensuring that the ownership and management of strategic waterways and key maritime choke points are not vulnerable to undue influence by potential adversaries is also essential to national security. We underscore the importance of scrutiny of ownership structures and port management and resilience within our own national jurisdictions, including with regard to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems, to ensure that adversaries do not gain leverage over supply chains, military operations, or the flow of strategic resources. We will work with partners and with relevant International Organizations to encourage robust cybersecurity standards for port ICT infrastructure, to increase resilience against malicious cyber incidents on maritime logistical networks, to reduce monopolistic power over key supply chain nodes, to promote secure and transparent port ownership, to limit unsolicited or undue foreign influence over critical infrastructures and strategic waterways, and to otherwise encourage greater focus on such potential vulnerabilities.
    5. Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) at sea poses a significant hazard to the marine environment, to the safety of fishermen and other users of the maritime space, and to various marine economic activities. We commit to enhancing diplomatic efforts and to exchanging best practices among national authorities, relevant international and regional organizations, and relevant industry sectors to accelerate the clean-up of UXO from the seas and ocean.

    Sustainable Stewardship of Maritime Resources

    1. Strengthen Enforcement Against IUU Fishing: IUU fishing is a major contributor to declining fish stocks and to marine habitat destruction. It may account for a third of all fishing activity worldwide, at a cost to the global economy of more than US$23 billion per year and with negative consequences for fisheries as an enduring economic asset, including for developing countries. We welcome the Canadian-led Dark Vessel Detection System in Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and would see value in replicating the model to support other partners whose fisheries are under threat from IUU fishing. We recognize that data sharing and transparency play a key role in this fight by exposing bad actors and that technological advances can support a robust Monitoring, Control and Surveillance and enforcement landscape. We encourage further progress in addressing IUU fishing, working with and through relevant International Organizations to establish and strengthen rules to sustainably manage fish stocks on the high seas and to improve the enforcement of these measures, including through the further development of detection technologies, aircraft patrols and high seas boarding and inspection of vessels, building upon the 2022 G7 Ocean Deal.
    2. We welcome the Third UN Ocean Conference, in Nice, France, from 9 to 13 June 2025.

    PARTNERSHIPS

    1. This G7 Maritime Security and Prosperity Declaration provides a framework for cooperation with non-G7 Partners, including countries hosting major ports, large merchant fleets, or extensive flag registries as well as relevant regional and International Organizations, such as the International Maritime Organization and ASEAN. We would welcome robust cooperation with Partners to take forward the goals set out in this Declaration, consistent with the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, under the efforts of the G7 countries, including a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific region, to build a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law, and of commitment to the sustainable development of the world’s maritime spaces.
    2. We welcome the cooperation on Coast Guard Functions, including the Global Coast Guard Forum hosted by Italy in 2025, as well as the Arctic Coast Guard Forum, which could also support the objectives of this Declaration.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Scott Jennings on SiriusXM Patriot

    Source: United States Department of State (3)

    Marco Rubio, Secretary of State

    Washington, D.C.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Scott Jennings on SiriusXM Patriot

    Interview

    February 10, 2025

    QUESTION:  Scott Jennings sitting here on SiriusXM Patriot 125, normally the David Webb Show.  I am guest hosting for Mr. Webb today, and it is our honor to welcome to the airwaves this morning the Secretary of State of the United States Marco Rubio, former senator from Florida, and now, thanks to President Trump, the United States Secretary of State. 

    Mr. Secretary, welcome to the show. 

    SECRETARY RUBIO:  Hey, thanks for having me. 

    QUESTION:  I appreciate you being on this morning.  You’re on the move.  You have just returned from your first foreign trip.  You went to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.  I want to jump right in this morning and just ask how was the trip, what did we accomplish, and what’s the disposition in those countries towards the United States now that we have a new administration?

    SECRETARY RUBIO:  I think the disposition is very positive.  I think these are countries that want to be aligned with the United States.  That’s why we picked them.  They also happen to be countries that are on the migratory route, on the drug routes, and face tremendous challenges because of that.  These are the places people cross in order to come to the U.S., so each of them are very different. 

    Like in the case of Panama, obviously we have an issue with the canal and foreign influence over it, and so we raised that.  And I think we’re going to make a couple of announcements.  We saw the – Panama pulled out of the Belt and Road Initiative with China, which is the first country in the Western Hemisphere to actually pull out of that.  And I think we’ll hear more things.  They’ve got to work through their own processes there, but I think we’ll see even more in the days to come.  So, it’s very positive. 

    Costa Rica is an advanced economy.  They’re doing very well, of course, but they do have some challenges where drug rings are running through there, and so we partner with them to stop that.  But that’s a very pro-American government, and we wanted to interact with them.  They’re very good partners and, also, have been very strong at standing up to the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in the region, and so that’s been great. 

    And then moved on to El Salvador.  We have a great partner there in Nayib Bukele.  I’ve known him for a long time, and he made a very generous offer.  I don’t know if it can happen because of our own laws, but he offered to not only take in gang members that are illegally in the country but also any Americans who are in our jails – almost like outsourcing.  So, it was an interesting offer from him.  But he’s a great pro-American leader and, again, someone that has been very popular in his country by the way.  He’s like 90 percent approval rating. 

    Guatemala is a country that obviously is right on the border with Mexico.  They struggle with the migration.  They’re a source country, but they’re also a transit country for drugs and people.  And so, they’re trying to – they’re doing the best they can with their limited resources, and we’re helping them to stop the drugs and the migration.  But they’ve also – they’re going to almost double the number of deportation flights they’re going to take, and they’re also going to accept third-country people, people from other countries that are not from Guatemala, as part of this process, and then from there move them on to the – their nation of origin. 

    And then we finished in the Dominican Republic, which really the biggest challenge they face there are two-fold.  The one is what’s happening right across their border with Haiti, which they’re deporting people back to Haiti every day.  That – we can’t really visit Haiti right now, but that’s as close as we could get.  And so, we wanted to talk about that from there, and that’s important because that also poses a threat to the United States that there’s a mass migration event.  And it’s just a horrifying situation with these gangs taking over Port-au-Prince or large parts of it. 

    And then they’re also a great partner stopping drugs.  A lot of drug rings are – bring – try to bring drugs into the Dominican Republic because from there, over the Mona Passage, they get to Puerto Rico.  And once you get into Puerto Rico, you’re in the U.S.  There’s no more customs after that.  There’s no more border protection after that.  So, it’s something we’re going to work with them on. 

    So, it’s a good start to the trip, and then we finished off on Friday going to Southern Command, which is the Pentagon’s command for the whole region, and talked through some of these issues with them and the partnerships they have in the region.  So, it’s a good way to start my – I guess my second – end my second week as Secretary of State.

    QUESTION:  Yeah, most folks when they start a new job in the second week are still looking for the bathroom, and here you are in all these other countries.  It’s a really good way to get going.

    SECRETARY RUBIO:  Yeah, well, we’re still looking for the bathrooms but – finding out where everything is at in the building, but it was important to get out there and visit these countries early. 

    QUESTION:  So, you raised an issue that I think Donald Trump, President Trump, deserves a lot of credit for tackling immediately, and that is the concept of the United States combatting Chinese influence in this region, in this hemisphere.  And obviously, this has been an issue with Panama and the Panama Canal, but it’s really an issue everywhere.  Can you talk a little bit about this?  Is this one of your principal missions to make sure that the United States, and not China, is the dominant superpower at a minimum in this region and in the world?

    SECRETARY RUBIO:  Yeah, look, China is a rich, powerful country and that’s what they’re going to be.  Like that’s not going to change, right?  They’ve got over a billion people.  They’ve got a big economy, second-largest economy in the world.  I mean, and we’re going to be competing with them for the rest of the century and beyond.  And I think the story of the 21st century is going to be about what happened between the U.S. and China. 

    What we can’t allow is for that to come at our expense.  What we can’t allow is an imbalance, a dangerous imbalance, to build up where they’re more powerful than we are, and then – or we become dependent on them.  And that danger is already there that we’ve become dependent on them for supply chains, for manufacturing, economically, all these sorts of things.

    So, what’s happened in part of the region is that they swoop in.  And look, they’re doing what I would do.  If I was in charge of China, I would do exactly what they’re doing.  But I have to – I I’m not in charge of China.  I run the State Department for the United States and I’m an American citizen, so I’ve got to do what’s good for America.  That’s what President Trump is for.  And that includes not getting run out of the Western Hemisphere, not waking up one day and finding out that China has more influence over our neighboring countries than we do, that China has more presence in our neighboring countries than we do.  That’s – it’s – geography is real and it’s right on top of us, and these are countries that are our neighbors, and we just – we can’t live in a world in which they have more influence and more presence than we do in the countries closest to us.

    QUESTION:  So, on the prospect of American influence in the world – and I wholeheartedly agree with you about our need to stand up to China – a lot of people are wondering about the reorientation of American soft power in the world.  Obviously, President Trump and his administration and working with you have made some dramatic shifts in the way we distribute foreign aid and the bureaucracy, the USAID bureaucracy, which you are now also simultaneously in charge of. 

    I think there’s a lot of misinformation out there and a lot of political attacks out there of people trying to score points.  I just kind of want to set the record straight here about what we’re doing.  And we’ve eliminated some bureaucracy, but you’re in charge of American soft power and you’re in charge of our influence around the world.  Can you kind of give us an idea of how this is going to work, and why the American people should be reassured that American influence is going to be top of mind for your State Department?

    SECRETARY RUBIO:  Well, first of all, we’re not walking away from foreign aid.  We will be involved in foreign aid.  I believe that foreign aid done right is good for the country, but it has to be done right.  Now, the idea that somehow we spend between $40 and $60 billion on foreign aid and all that money is well spent or on things that make sense is absurd.  There’s a lot of it that isn’t.  And so the goal is very simple:  Go through all of our foreign aid – a lot of it is through USAID, some of it is through State Department; identify the foreign aid that makes sense, the foreign aid that actually supports our country and that supports our national interests, and continue to do that; and then get rid of the ones that are a waste of money, or in some cases or run counter to our foreign – to our national interest and to our interests around the world.  And that’s what we’re going through right now. 

    The problem is that this foreign aid industrial complex has built up of NGOs and all kinds of groups that benefit from these programs, and argue that you can’t get rid of a single one of them; if you cut any of them, if you even ask questions about them, you’re undermining American soft power.  So, this is not – despite some of these reports, this is not about walking away from foreign aid.  This is about doing the aid that makes sense and getting rid of the aid that does not make sense.  That’s it.  That’s what this is about.

    So we were in Guatemala, right?  And they have a program where we help them to improve their police department so they can stop and identify fentanyl before it gets into America.  That’s foreign aid we’re going to support.  In fact, I issued a waiver so we can continue that program.  There are other things that we’re not going to do.  We shouldn’t be sponsoring LGBTQ operas.  I don’t know how that foreign – furthers the national interest. 

    And this is taxpayer money.  Look, if someone wants to pay for that stuff, you’re more than happy to go out, go ahead.  It’s legal.  Go out and raise all the money, private-sector money, and spend it on that.  But we shouldn’t be spending taxpayer money or using American Government agencies to sponsor things that make absolutely no sense.  So, we put a pause on all foreign aid, and now we’re going through it project by project.  We’re going to get rid of the ones that don’t make sense, and we’re going to keep or even build on the ones that do make sense. 

    QUESTION:  So, the things that make sense in your mind – fighting drugs, fighting illegal immigration.  What about lifesaving issues?  There’s been a lot of back and forth in the media about things that we do from a humanitarian perspective that are lifesaving medical-type programming, particularly in Africa with PEPFAR and malaria and such.  How do you view those things?

    SECRETARY RUBIO:  I’m a supporter of PEPFAR.  I have been in Congress.  I am now as Secretary of State.  It’s a program we want to continue.  Obviously, we’re going to have questions about it.  Look, if PEPFAR is working well, it’s a program that should be getting smaller over time, not bigger, right?  Because you’re preventing HIV, you’re preventing the spread of HIV, and so people aren’t testing positive because their viral load gets down, they’re not passing it on to their children. 

    So ideally, it’s a program that over time shrinks, not expands, because less and less people are getting HIV or are transmitting it to their children.  That was always the goal was an AIDS-free generation, so no child was born with HIV.  And – but it’s a program I’ve supported, and we want to continue to do it.  And things like are people going to starve to death, are we going to have a famine?  Is it going to destabilize a country in a way that would be negative to our national interest and open the door for radical jihadists or others to take advantage?  We’re going to continue to do those.  But the problem is that the definition of humanitarian has expanded beyond that – to all kinds of other things that do not make sense.  That doesn’t mean they’re bad ideas.  Someone should do it.  It just shouldn’t be the American taxpayer. 

    So that’s the kind of things that we’re going through right now and identifying.  And by the way, we issued a waiver which allowed all these lifesaving programs to continue.  And obviously, there’s – any time you have a pause or some hiccups about how to restart the payment programs, but all that’s going to get taken care of here very quickly, and those programs will continue.  We’re not walking away from foreign aid.  We are walking away from foreign aid that’s dumb, that’s stupid, that wastes American taxpayer money.  We’re just not going to continue to do those.

    QUESTION:  I think that what you’re doing is long overdue.  This whole bureaucracy existed, and it really existed with very little political oversight.  And really all that the Trump Administration, at your direction, is doing is making sure that whatever money we spend somehow helps the national interest.  And I think every American taxpayer wants the money we spend to help the national interest.  And Trump and you, Mr. Secretary, on the right side of what I think is an 80-20 issue here.  And so, you see this amazing disconnect in the media, people fussing about this. 

    But some of these projects that you’ve identified are patently ridiculous.  And so, by moving this into your office and by taking personal political oversight over it, not only are you saving us money, but you’re just aligning our spending with what’s in direct interest of the United States foreign policy under the direction of the President of the United States.  I mean, that’s the point of elections.  That’s the point of having a government, not to let unelected bureaucrats determine our national direction but to let our political leadership do it.

    Mr. Secretary, in the time that we have, I want to move ahead.  You’re about to embark on your second foreign trip.  You’re going to the Munich Security Conference, and then you’re going to the Middle East.  I think you’re going to Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia – obviously a hot spot or region.  What is your mission here?  What are we trying to accomplish in the Middle East?  What’s your message at the Munich Security Conference later this week?

    SECRETARY RUBIO:  Well, in Munich, I think it’s just to reaffirm to everybody – even though it’s located in Europe – obviously, that’s where the forum is – it’s not just about Europe.  People from all – leaders from all over the world go that conference.  But the top of mind for everyone is going to be war in Ukraine, and the President has been very clear.  President Trump has been clear that the war in Ukraine needs to end.  There’s a – he’s going to sort of begin to lay out a broad path forward, and he wants that war to end.  It’d be in the interest of everybody for that war to end, and so obviously we’ll be discussing that with foreign ministers and other leaders there. 

    And then in the Middle East, beyond just the – what we know has happened with – after October 7th, there’s some potentially exciting opportunities to really change the dynamic in that region, and that’s the things we want to talk about.  We’ve seen in Lebanon where a new government is now in place and Hizballah has been – I mean, imagine a region where you have a stable Lebanese government and Hizballah is no longer controlling the southern part of Lebanon and threatening Israel every day.  Imagine potentially – we’ve got to wait and see, right? – but a Syria no longer under Assad, no longer with Iranian or Russian influence, no longer with ISIS, sort of no longer a security threat to Isreal.  Imagine a region where Israel now feels secure because of what’s happened in Lebanon and in Syria that they can enter into a peace deal with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf kingdoms; a Sunni-Israeli peace deal akin to the Camp David Accords with Egypt and the peace with Jordan.  Suddenly you have a very different region where all kinds of things that were not possible before are now possible. 

    And that’s the opportunity that we hope to explore and see if it’s possible.  We have an obligation to explore, at the end.  I mean, President Trump has made very clear that part of his agenda is promoting peace in the world; and if there’s a chance to create conditions for peace, that’s certainly something we’re going to do our best to try to foster and be a part of. 

    QUESTION:  I want to ask you briefly about the hostage deal that was in place as Biden was exiting and President Trump was coming in.  Obviously, a few hostages have been released.  Some of the video of the hostages is, frankly, horrific.  What they had done to them in captivity at the hands of Hamas is nothing short of barbaric.  I saw that President Trump last night on the way to the Super Bowl made a comment about this and said he’s seen some of these abductees coming out.  He said, “They look like Holocaust survivors.  I know there’s an agreement that Hamas releases a little every week, but I don’t know how long I’ll continue to endure this.  My patience is running out.”

    Is this something you’re going to discuss when you’re in the Middle East?  Are we – is our patience running thin here, and are these hostages being more mistreated than we could have even imagined before?

    SECRETARY RUBIO:  Well, I don’t think there’s any coincidence in the schedule that they’re being released where they obviously released the ones, they thought were in the best condition first, then over time you’re starting to see the impact of this.  But I also think it’s very revealing of who Hamas is and what Hamas is. 

    You look at these images of what they – first of all, the humiliation that they have to go through.  Just put aside for a moment the horrifying conditions they were kept and the horrifying things that happened to some of those hostages, on top of the fact that these were innocent civilians.  I mean, none of these were soldiers.  These are not combatants.  These are just people that were abducted for purposes of being used as leverage.  And they’re getting, what, 200 certified killers in exchange for one innocent hostage.  But it reveals who Hamas is.

    Look at these humiliation, they put them through before they’re released, where they do these big public displays of force.  Do any of those Hamas fighters look like they’ve been skipping meals?  Do any of those Hamas fighters that you see look like they’ve been suffering over the last year and a half?  Clearly, these people are – the ones suffering are the people from Gaza, but not them.  And then the conditions they’re held in.  So, it’s incredibly revealing about what we’re dealing with.  This is an evil organization.  Hamas is evil.  It’s pure evil.  These are monsters.  These are savages.  That’s a group that needs to be eradicated. 

    And let me tell you, if they still are the dominant power in Gaza when all this is done, there is not going to peace in the Middle East, as long as a group like Hamas physically controls territory and is the most dominant power in Gaza or anywhere in the Middle East.  And I hope people can see who these people actually are, in the condition of these hostages – not just the conditions that they’re in when they’re released, but what they have to endure on the way out.

    QUESTION:  You raise the issue of Gaza, and before you go, obviously President Trump made some news on this last week.  And it strikes me that what you’re executing is a realistic foreign policy.  I mean, we’re in the common-sense doctrine era of the United States, which people are saying thank goodness, finally.

    On Gaza, on the idea of a two-state solution, is this no longer the policy of the United States?  It seems to me that you all are injecting realism into this situation and that most of the people the Israelis have had to deal with over time simply don’t want peace, and we’ve been trying to put a square peg in a round hole here.

    What is our policy?  That people that run Gaza eventually are going to have to accept peace? And that’s not what – that’s just not been the disposition of the folks we’ve been dealing with heretofore.

    SECRETARY RUBIO:  Well, the big challenge for this whole two-state solution has not been Isreal. It’s been:  Who’s going to govern that second state?  Who’s going to be in charge of it?  If the people in charge of it are Hamas or Hizballah or anybody like that, these are groups that – whose goal is the destruction of the Jewish state.

    So, I don’t know how you’re going to have peace if you’re turning over territory to a group whose stated purpose is the destruction of the Jewish state.  Why would any country in the world agree to create a second state on their border that is governed by armed elements who kidnap babies and murder babies and rape teenage girls and abduct innocents and whose stated goal and purpose for existing is the – is your destruction?  Who would agree to that?  So that’s the fundamental challenge.

    On the broader challenge of Gaza, the President’s just pointed to the obvious.  I mean, Gaza is a place that, in addition to all the damage it suffered in the war – Hamas hides in the tunnels.  It’s the civilians who they hide behind and underneath that have suffered the consequences of this.  But that’s a place where there’s all kinds of unexploded munitions and bombs that Hamas has, that’s been used in the conflict.  Someone’s got to go in – for anybody to be able to live there, someone’s got to – you’ve got to clean it up.  You’ve got to clean all that out of there even before you begin the process of removing rubble and debris and rebuilding housing, like permanent structures.  Who’s going to do that? 

    And right now, the only one who’s stood up and said I’m willing to help do it is Donald Trump.  All these other leaders, they’re going to have to step up.  If they’ve got a better idea, then now is the time.  Now is the time for the other governments and other powers in the region, some of these very rich countries, to basically say, okay, we’ll do it.  We’re going to pay for this; we’re going to step forward; we’re going to be the ones that take charge.  None of them is offering to do it.  And I think that you can’t go around claiming that you’re a fighter for, an advocate for the Palestinian people, but you’re not willing to do anything to help rebuild Gaza.  And so far, we haven’t seen a lot of – they’ve all – they’ll all tell you what they’re not for.  But we’re still waiting for more countries to step forward and say here’s what we’re willing to do.  And right now, they’ve not been willing to do anything and – or at least anything concrete.

    So that’s a challenge that President Trump’s put out there.  And it’s outside the box, but that’s what he always is.  I mean, he is going to state the obvious.  It’s the one thing about Donald Trump – he doesn’t hide behind silly, traditional lies and things of that nature.  He’s going to put out blunt truth.  And the blunt truth is that the Middle East has, for too long, been a region of places all of whom love to talk but don’t want to do.  So, it’s time – if they don’t like Donald Trump’s plan, then it’s time for these countries in the region to step forward and offer their solution. 

    QUESTION:  Well, I think under President Trump’s leadership, under your leadership, we’re living in a common-sense era, we’re in an aspirational era, and we’re in a realistic era.  And I think the American people are grateful for it.  You have had an amazing run already, just in the first few weeks of being in office.  You had an amazing first foreign trip.  You’ve got one coming up this week.

    The foreign affairs wins of the Trump Administration are already piling up, with Mexico agreeing to send troops to their border; Canada playing ball on their border issues; Colombia accepting the repatriation flights; Panama ending its Belt and Road Initiative deal with China; the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.  We’ve taken out an ISIS leader in Somalia.  You guys are off to an amazing start.  And I think that’s why Donald Trump has a high approval rating right now, and why people are so grateful that you accepted this job as U.S. Secretary of State.

    Secretary Rubio, thanks for being with us on SiriusXM Patriot today. 

    SECRETARY RUBIO:  Thanks for having me on.

    QUESTION:  All right.  Safe travels.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Media Advisory: Global Energy Show Canada 2025 to Convene World Energy Leaders for Critical Industry Dialogue

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CALGARY, Alberta, June 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

    WHAT: We are pleased to share the following major events taking place during the Global Energy Show (GESC), organized by dmg events, in Calgary from June 10-12, 2025.
       
      Media interviews and photo opportunities will be available with spokespeople for the duration of the event.
       
      REMINDER: All registered media must obtain their accreditation badge from the registration area. Media accreditation must be visible at all times and cannot be shared with others. The Media Room is located on the 2nd Floor, BMO Centre and will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 11, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 12.
       
    WHEN: Tuesday, June 10 – Thursday June 12, 2025
       
    WHAT: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
       
      • 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. – Pancake Breakfast
      • 9:20 a.m. – Opening Plenary: Joelle Tomlinson, Journalist, Media Personality and Global Energy Show Host and Mayor Jyoti Gondek, City of Calgary
      • 10 a.m. – Official Exhibition Opening
      • 10 a.m. – Keynote with His Excellency Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General, OPEC and conversation with Peter Mansbridge, former news anchor
      • 10:30 a.m. – Peter Mansbridge and Stastia West, Shell Canada President and Country Chair  
      • Site tours
      ο Details here.
       
      Wednesday, June 11, 2025
       
      • 10 a.m. – Keynote: Hon. Danielle Smith, Premier, Government of Alberta and conversation with Peter Mansbridge
       
      Tuesday, June 10 – Thursday June 12, 2025
       
      • Executive Conference
      ο Full program here.
      ο Speaker list here.
      • Energy Influencer Program
      ο Full schedule here.
      ο Speaker list here.
      • Executive Leadership Roundtables
      ο Sessions here.
       
      For more information on the exhibitions, conference features and special features, please visit https://www.globalenergyshow.com/.
      *Please note, schedule is subject to change.
       
    WHERE: BMO Centre at Stampede Park – Calgary
       
      Visitor Entrance: Corral Trail SE entrance of the NEW BMO Centre, 1912 Flores LaDue Parade, Calgary, Canada.
       

    For media inquiries, please contact:

    Shauna MacDonald
    Principal, Brookline PR
    403-585-4570
    smacdonald@brooklinepr.com

    The MIL Network –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan announce support through the Red Cross to help those impacted by Saskatchewan wildfires

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    June 4, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario

    Today, the Government of Canada announced that it will match every dollar donated to the Canadian Red Cross 2025 Saskatchewan Wildfires Appeal to support wildfire disaster relief and recovery efforts across Saskatchewan.

    The Government of Saskatchewan will be immediately providing $15 million to the Canadian Red Cross to work with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency to support wildfire evacuees.

    Donation matching will be open for 30 days, retroactive to when the appeal first opened on May 30th. The funds raised will be used to assist those impacted by the wildfires in Saskatchewan, including those who have evacuated their homes.

    Thousands in Saskatchewan have been displaced as wildfires continue to threaten communities across the province. In response, the Canadian Red Cross is working closely with Indigenous leadership and all levels of government to provide emergency accommodations, personal services, and critical information to people who have been forced from their homes.

    The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan are committed to doing everything they can to support all those affected.

    Canadians wishing to make a financial donation to help those impacted by wildfires in Saskatchewan can do so online at www.redcross.ca or by calling 1-800-418-1111.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Hillsvale — Southwest Nova District RCMP arrests four people, seizes drugs, cash and firearms

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Southwest Nova District RCMP Street Crime Enforcement Unit (SCEU) has arrested four people following the execution of a search warrant in Hillsvale.

    On June 3, Southwest Nova District RCMP SCEU, assisted by officers from West Hants District RCMP, executed a search warrant at a home on Ardoise School Rd. in relation to an ongoing drug trafficking investigation. At the home, a 59-year-old woman, a 59-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, all from Hillsvale, and a 36-year-old man from Middle Sackville were safely arrested.

    During the search, officers located and seized a quantity of cocaine, cash, five rifles and drug paraphernalia.

    Melissa Sharon Millett, 40, who was wanted on a province-wide arrest warrant, has been charged with:

    • Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking
    • Possession of Firearm Knowing its Possession is Unauthorized

    Millett appeared in court and was remanded into custody. She will appear in Kentville Provincial Court on June 6, 2025, at 9:30 a.m.

    The three other people who were arrested were released on conditions. They will appear in Windsor Provincial Court at a later date to face charges of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking and Possession of Firearm Knowing its Possession is Unauthorized.

    The investigation continues.

    Anyone with information about illicit drugs or other criminal activity in West Hants County is encouraged to contact West Hants District RCMP at 902-798-2207. To remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips app.

    File: 2025-351020

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with the Minister of International Trade of Canada

    Source: ASEAN

    Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, met with the Minister of International Trade of Canada, H.E Maninder Sidhu, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, France, on 4 June 2025. Their discussions explored potential opportunities to deepen ASEAN- OECD cooperation, aligned with the implementation of the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme (SEARP) in 2026, including specific areas to support the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.
     

    The post Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with the Minister of International Trade of Canada appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Gen Z and the sustainability paradox: Why ideals and shopping habits don’t always align

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Melise Panetta, Lecturer of Marketing in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University

    Often praised as the ‘sustainability generation,’ Gen Z has been at the forefront of calls for ethical production, environmental accountability and climate-conscious living. (Shutterstock)

    As the summer shopping season kicks off, all eyes are on Gen Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 and whose purchasing power wields significant influence over market trends.

    Often lauded as the “sustainability generation,” a closer look reveals a complex internal struggle: despite their strong desire for eco-conscious living, many Gen Z consumers find themselves drawn to the allure of fast, affordable, trend-driven consumption.

    This discrepancy between belief and action, known as the “attitude-behaviour gap,” is a defining characteristic of Gen Z consumerism. While it’s not unique to Gen Z, it’s particularly pronounced due to their vocal environmentalism and their immersion in a hyper-consumerist digital world.

    Understanding consumer behaviour at a deeper level means looking past stated preferences and focusing instead on the economic, technological and cultural forces that shape real-world decisions.

    The rise of the eco-conscious Gen Z consumer

    There’s no denying Gen Z’s pronounced environmental awareness compared to other generations.

    Raised in the era of climate crisis and corporate responsibility, they gravitate toward brands that reflect their values. Over 75 per cent say sustainability matters more than brand name, and 81 per cent are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products.

    This isn’t merely performative — Gen Z actively integrates sustainability into their lives. They’re more likely than any other generation to research a brand’s ethics and environmental impact before buying, often using social media to guide decisions.

    More than 70 per cent discover sustainable products via platforms like Instagram and TikTok, fuelling social movements like Who Made My Clothes and supporting businesses like LastObject, a company that uses digital crowdfunding to engage environmentally conscious consumers.

    They’re also behind the rise of the second-hand market, which is expected to hit US$329 billion globally by 2029. With 40 per cent of Gen Z — the highest rate of any age group — shopping resale, platforms like Depop and ThredUp have seen explosive growth.

    Gen Z’s consumer behaviour is also influencing the spending habits of older generations. According to the World Economic Forum, increased spending on sustainable brands by groups like Generation X is being driven, in part, by Gen Z’s values, behaviours and expectations.

    Gen Z’s push for sustainable consumption is shifting the market and everyone in it.

    When values clash with spending habits

    Fast fashion, frictionless e-commerce and the constant churn of social media trends have created a marketplace where sustainable intentions are easily sidelined.

    Viral phenomena like Shein hauls — videos where social media influencers flaunt dozens of ultra-cheap outfits — spotlight the contradiction.

    In the first 19 weeks of 2025 alone, Shein’s app amassed over 54 million downloads, a staggering number that underscores how affordability and instant gratification often win out over sustainability. Built on rapid production and ultra-low prices, Shein’s model encourages frequent, high-volume purchases — the antithesis of the “buy less, buy better” ethos that underpins sustainable consumption.

    And this pattern extends far beyond fashion. The wider consumer landscape rewards speed and low cost at every turn. Gen Z came of age with one-click ordering and next-day delivery — conveniences that are now baseline expectations for shoppers. These days, nearly half of Gen Z consumers prioritize fast shipping, despite its high environmental cost.

    Meanwhile, the social media platforms where they discover new eco-conscious brands are the same ones pushing relentless trend cycles that encourage over-consumption, from gadgets to clothing and lifestyle products.

    Sustainability often comes with a steep price tag, one many young Gen Z consumers simply can’t afford. Brands like Patagonia or Allbirds are aspirational, but in the context of the cost-of-living crisis, fast-fashion giants like Zara, H&M and TJX Companies offer more budget-friendly options.

    Navigating the ‘attitude-behaviour’ gap

    The disconnect between Gen Z’s values and their consumption patterns isn’t about hypocrisy. Rather, it’s about navigating a system where sustainable choices are harder, more expensive and often less visible.

    Gen Z’s struggle shows that living sustainably in a world designed for speed, savings and social validation is an uphill battle — even for the generation most determined to make a difference.

    Bridging this gap demands action on several fronts. For businesses, it means innovating to make sustainable options more affordable and accessible. Transparency in supply chain practices and clear communication about environmental impact are also key to building trust with consumers.

    For Gen Z themselves, transparency about the true cost of consumption is vital. Fostering critical thinking about marketing messages and the impact of social media trends can empower them to make choices that more consistently align with their values.

    As the summer unfolds and consumer spending rises, the choices made by Gen Z will be a significant indicator of our collective path towards a more sustainable economy. Their ideals are a powerful force for change, but translating those ideals into consistent action remains the critical challenge.

    Melise Panetta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Gen Z and the sustainability paradox: Why ideals and shopping habits don’t always align – https://theconversation.com/gen-z-and-the-sustainability-paradox-why-ideals-and-shopping-habits-dont-always-align-257601

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: A First Nations power authority could transform electricity generation for Indigenous nations

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Christina E. Hoicka, Canada Research Chair in Urban Planning for Climate Change, Associate Professor of Geography and Civil Engineering, University of Victoria

    First Nations across British Columbia have developed renewable electricity projects for decades. Yet they’ve experienced significant barriers to implementing, owning and managing their own electricity supply. That’s because there have been few procurement policies in place that require their involvement.

    While municipalities are allowed to own and operate electricity utilities in B.C., First Nations are not. The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) in B.C. requires that First Nations are provided with opportunities for economic development without discrimination.

    Many First Nations in B.C. view the development of renewable electricity projects on their lands (like hydro power, solar panels, wind turbines and transmission lines) as a way to achieve social, environmental and economic goals that are important to their community.

    These goals may include powering buildings in the community, creating economic development and local jobs, earning revenue, improving access to affordable and reliable electricity or using less diesel.

    Our new study shares the story of a coalition of First Nations and organizations that advocated for changes to electricity regulations and laws to give Indigenous communities more control to develop renewable electricity projects. Our interviews with knowledge holders from 14 First Nations offer insight into motivations behind their calls for regulatory changes.

    The coalition includes the Clean Energy Association of B.C., New Relationship Trust, Pembina Institute, First Nations Power Authority, Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council, and the First Nations Clean Energy Working Group.

    Models for a First Nations power authority

    Almost all electricity customers in B.C. are served by BC Hydro, the electric utility owned by the provincial government.

    The coalition argues that applying DRIPA to the electricity sector should allow First Nations to form a First Nations power authority. Such an organization would provide them with control over the development of electricity infrastructure that aligns with their values and would also help B.C. meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.

    In the Re-Imagining Social Energy Transitions CoLaboratory (ReSET CoLab) at the University of Victoria, we analyzed regulatory documents from the B.C. Utilities Commission, and advocacy documents and presentations for discussion developed by the coalition.

    We identified six proposed First Nations power authority (Indigenous Utility) models:

    A capacity building point-of-contact model streamlines the development of renewable electricity projects to sell power to the provincial utility. For example, the First Nations Power Authority in Saskatchewan was formed for this purpose by SaskPower.

    This would be the most conformative model. It would provide vital networks and connections to First Nations while allowing BC Hydro and the British Columbia Utilities Commission to maintain full control over the electricity sector.

    In the second model, called a “put” contract, a B.C. First Nations Power Authority represents First Nations wishing to develop renewable electricity projects. Whenever the province needs to build new electricity generation projects to meet growing electricity demand, a portion of the new generation is developed by the First Nations authority.

    In the third model, First Nations build and operate electricity transmission and distribution lines to allow remote industrial facilities and communities to connect to the electricity grid. This is called “Industrial Interconnection.”

    For example, the Wataynikaneyap Power Transmission line in Ontario is a 1,800-kilometre line that provides an electricity grid connection for 17 previously remote nations. Twenty-four First Nations own 51 per cent of the line, while private investors own 49 per cent.

    In the fourth model, the B.C. First Nation Power Authority acts as the designated body for various opportunities in the electricity sector, such as the development of electricity transmission, distribution, generation or customer services. This model is referred to as “local or regional ‘ticket’ opportunities.”

    Fifth, the First Nation Power Authority develops renewable electricity projects and distributes electricity from these projects to customers as a retailer, or under an agreement through the BC Hydro electricity grid. For example, Nova Scotia Power’s Green Choice program procures renewable electricity from independent power producers to supply to electricity customers.

    Sixth, new utility is formed in B.C., owned by First Nations, that owns and operates electricity generation, transmission and distribution services and offers standard customer services in a specific region of B.C. (called a “Regional Vertically-Integrated Power Authority”).

    Most of these models would require changes to regulations. The sixth and most transformative model would provide First Nations with full decision-making control over electricity generation, transmission and distribution. It would also give them the ability to sell to customers and require extensive changes in electricity regulation.

    Improving living standards

    First Nations knowledge-holders told us that a lack of reliable power, high electricity rates, lack of control over projects on their traditional lands and the need for resilience in the face of climate events were motivations for taking electricity planning into their own hands.

    They also expressed that varied factors motivate community interest in renewable energy: improving the quality of life for community members; financial independence; mitigating climate change; protecting the environment; reducing diesel use and providing stable and safe power for current and future generations.

    First Nations are already seeking to capitalize on the benefits of renewable energy by developing their own projects within the current regulatory system.

    Most of those we spoke to see a First Nations power authority in B.C. as a means to provide opportunities for economic development without discrimination — and to achieve self-determination, self-reliance and reconciliation by addressing the root causes of some of the colonial injustices they face by obtaining control over the electricity sector on their lands.

    This article was co-authored by David Benton, an adopted member and Clean Energy Project Lead of Gitga’at First Nation and Kayla Klym, a BSc student in Geography at the University of Victoria.

    For this research project, Dr. Christina E. Hoicka received funding from Natural Resources Canada Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities Program (CERRC), Capacity Building Stream funding program. The research was conducted in partnership for the Clean Energy Association of British Columbia, and the New Relationship Trust. This work was also supported by the New Frontiers in Research Fund Global NFRFG-2020-00339 and the Canada Research Chair Secretariat CRC-2020-00055.

    Anna Berka is affiliated with Community Power Agency, a not-for-profit workers co-operative working to ensure a fair and accessible energy transition for all.

    Adam J. Regier and Sara Chitsaz do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. A First Nations power authority could transform electricity generation for Indigenous nations – https://theconversation.com/a-first-nations-power-authority-could-transform-electricity-generation-for-indigenous-nations-254982

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scottish Greens call for an end to complicity at Red Line for Gaza protest 

    Source: Scottish Greens

    04 Jun 2025 External Affairs

    The Labour government is on the wrong side of history and it has Palestinian blood on its hands

    More in External Affairs

    Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman joined protesters outside the UK Government offices in Edinburgh as part of the Red Line for Gaza demonstration, calling for an immediate end to arms sales to Israel and demanding accountability for the UK’s role in the ongoing violence against Palestinians.

    The protest coincides with Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, with catastrophic impacts on civilians.

    The UK Government is currently facing a judicial review in the High Court challenging their continued supply of F-35 parts in arms exports used by Israel. Despite mounting evidence the Government lawyer’s have argued no violation of the duty to prevent genocide “can occur unless and until there is actually a genocide”.

    European countries such as Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy have suspended arms sales to Israel, however, the UK Government continues to fight the case as aircraft continue to bomb Gaza.

    Ms Chapman said:

    “Gaza has been turned into rubble – hospitals, schools, homes – all destroyed. Over 90% of housing has been wiped out. Families are being displaced and forced into camps with no food, water or shelter. This is not just a humanitarian crisis – it’s a moral catastrophe and the UK Government is helping it happen. The UK Government is complicit.

    “It’s shameful that the UK refuses to act. Instead of standing up for peace, the Prime Minister came to Scotland to announce more money for war. Keir Starmer’s expects yet more UK tax money to feed the war machine and his government’s denial of genocide shows he’s more interested in retaining power than defending human rights. This Labour government is on the wrong side of history and it has Palestinian blood on its hands.

    “The UK Government is currently defending its position in a high court case, claiming there’s “no evidence” of genocide or intentional targeting of civilians in Gaza. It doesn’t require much thought to reject that argument outright: this genocide is being live-streamed for all to see. We’ve all seen the videos. We’ve seen the bodies. The world knows what’s happening in Gaza – the destruction, the killing of women and children. For the UK Government to say there’s no evidence is not only dishonest – it’s dangerous.

    “The Scottish Greens know that genuine security doesn’t come at the end of a gun or aftermath of a bomb. It comes from investing in healthcare, affordable housing and a green economy built on sustainability and compassion.

    “We have consistently called for an immediate end to arms sales to Israel, full transparency over any UK or indeed Scottish Government funding linked to Israeli military production, an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, recognition of the State of Palestine, and Israel’s suspension from international bodies, including the United Nations, until compliance with international law is restored.

    “Together, outside the UK Government offices, we gathered in protest but we also gathered in hope. Hope for the Palestinian people and hope for humanity.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Travelling Gallery’s 2025 tour continues with SEEDLINGS: Diasporic Imaginaries

    Source: Scotland – City of Edinburgh

    Continuing Travelling Gallery’s 2025 programme is a group exhibition exploring ways to connect with our worlds through other-than-human perspectives. Challenging the boundaries between culture and nature, the exhibition looks to destabilise colonial systems, categories, and hierarchies, that tend to favour scientific theory and marginalise ancestral knowledges and indigenous cosmologies.

    Curated with Jelena Sofronijevic, and featuring work by artists Emii Alrai, Iman Datoo, Remi Jabłecki, Radovan Kraguly, Zeljko Kujundzic, Leo Robinson, and Amba Sayal-Bennett, the exhibition brings together a variety of contemporary artistic practices, including drawing, printmaking, sculpture and film, that reimagine our collective understandings and visions of places and times.

    Common across the works in the exhibition is the use of the seed as a means to think about and connect themes concerning ecologies, environments, and migration. For some, the seed represents a world of its own, a self-contained body or cell, capable of crossing borders. For others, it serves as a starting point for alternative possibilities and ways of being. Many of the artists have researched specific seeds, in their ‘native’ soils, and displaced in banks and libraries. The potato is offered as an incidental ‘root’ to many of their works. In the film, Kinnomic Botany (2022), Iman Datoo draws upon research in the Commonwealth Potato Collection at the James Hutton Institute near Dundee, the UK’s largest collection of potato seeds, to challenge dominant taxonomies or ways of classifying lives.

    More speculative connections can be made between Remi Jabłecki and Radovan Kraguly’s practices. The former’s futuristic sculptures remind us of the otherworldly, even alien qualities of these most earthly and everyday British crops, with the artist using them as a means to think about transformation and personal growth. Kraguly’s prints,though as detailed as scientific and botanical illustrations, are similarly cosmic, avoiding categorisation in their ambiguous representations and titles. Reflecting on relations of control between humans and nature, his works also illustrate the role of different pastoral and agricultural environments in the formation of the artist’s own identity and early adoption of ‘climate politics’, connecting his formative experiences growing up on a farm in the former Yugoslavia, to his later practice in rural Wales.

    Amba Sayal-Bennett’s architectural sculptures Kern (2024) and Phlo (2024) are part of the artist’s investigations into rubber, a commodity once so highly demanded its value surpassed that of silver. In a mission facilitated by the British government, Henry Wickham stole and trafficked 70,000 rubber seeds from the Amazon rainforest in Brazil in 1876. Transported to Kew Gardens in London, they were then dispersed to British colonies for cultivation. Its plural uses and potential for profit led to its proliferation across the globe – yet the soil in India refused to take the seeds, which the artist puts forward as a form of environmental resistance to the colonial project. Artist Emii Alrai, by contrast, focusses on excavation, exploring archaeology, Western museological structures, and the complex process of ruination.

    Scotland has proved fertile land for many of the artists’ practices, yet, for some, SEEDLINGS presents the first opportunity to experience their works in these contexts. Born in Subotica, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), Zeljko Kujundzic lived and worked in Edinburgh between 1948 and 1958, before moving with his partner and frequent collaborator, Ann, and their children, to British Columbia (BC). His developed, complex work in ceramic sculpture, often featuring the thunderbird, a mythological bird-like spirit widespread in North American indigenous and First Nation cultures and storytelling, is deeply rooted in these early experiences. Yet his part in Edinburgh’s growing artistic community, and work with artists and writers like Ian Hamilton Finlay, Nannie Katharin Wells, Bernard Leach, and Joan Faithfull, has, thus far, been walked over, in more conventional art histories. A selection of archive materials concerning his invention of the solar kiln, unearthed from public and private collections across the UK and Canada, are presented here for the first time – the exhibition itself seeking to germinate future research.

    The exhibition will also include a newly commissioned essay, How does a tree fit inside a seed?, exploring the artists’ works, both individually, and as constellated in the exhibition, by the curator Jelena Sofronijevic. The text journeys through the construction and overlapping uses of terms like ‘native’ and, ‘invasive’, ‘indigenous’, ‘naturalisation’, and ‘dispersal’, to challenge binaries between beings, and consider ideas of home, identity, and belonging in the context of diasporas.
    Launching in Edinburgh on Calton Hill (outside the Collective Gallery) on Friday 6 June from 11am to 5pm, the exhibition will tour to arts venues, community centres, high streets and schools across Scotland including in the Western Isles, Glasgow, Falkirk,Clackmannanshire, North Lanarkshire, Scottish Borders before culminating at Edinburgh Art Festival in August.

    It is accompanied by a series of interventions on social media, highlighting the artists’ connections to the places of our tour, and a number of talks, tours, and workshops, including with artist Leo Robinson.

    Details of confirmed tour dates and venues can be found on the Travelling Gallery website. 

    Louise Briggs, Curator, Travelling Gallery said:

    It has been a real pleasure to work with Jelena Sofronijevic on this exhibition and to be introduced to the work of a number of artists, many of whom have interesting connections to Edinburgh and Scotland through their work & research as well as their personal & professional lives. This exhibition continues to explore our annual theme looking at The Environment and Climate Emergency. We hope SEEDLINGS will offer visitors a new way of thinking about our relationship with, and connection to nature and may encourage them to perhaps think about our worlds and our interconnectedness in different ways.

    Culture and Communities Convener Margaret Graham, said: 

    The Travelling Gallery is a unique and fantastic example of how art can and should be accessible for all. I’m delighted that, with our support, the Gallery has been able to remove barriers to art by taking powerful and thought-provoking exhibitions into communities across Scotland.

    This year’s exhibition not only invites us to engage with outstanding contemporary works but also encourages us to reflect on the world through different lenses. With such a talented group of artists involved, I encourage everyone to visit when the gallery sets off this week.

    Additional thanks go to: All of the exhibiting artists; Nena Kraguly; Family and Friends of Kujundzic; The City of Edinburgh Council; Creative Scotland; City Art Centre, Edinburgh; Government Art Collection; Ingleby Gallery; Carbon 12 Gallery; Palmer Gallery; and the University of British Columbia Library Rare Books and Special Collections, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
     
     
     

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Report shows Alberta producing more oil and less emissions

    Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: BC Hydro launches new actions to power B.C.’s clean-energy future

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    BC Hydro has launched two requests for expressions of interest (RFEOI) to explore the next era of the province’s power potential, expand clean-energy resources and advance energy efficiency.

    These actions are critical to ensuring a stable, reliable electricity system that supports new housing, businesses and industries while keeping energy costs affordable for people.

    “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead the world in clean energy and we’re acting with urgency to make sure every British Columbian benefits,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions. “By expanding our clean-power supply and increasing energy efficiency, we’re securing our power grid, building a resilient electricity system and creating sustainable jobs that drive economic growth.”

    The first RFEOI focuses on expanding B.C.’s long-term capacity to meet peak electricity demand as consumption patterns evolve. BC Hydro is seeking ideas on capacity and baseload energy projects, including geothermal, pumped storage and hydroelectric resources. Capacity and baseload projects can reliably deliver firm power and provide backup for intermittent energy projects, such as wind and solar that rely on external, uncontrollable conditions such as the wind blowing or the sun shining to deliver power.

    The second RFEOI targets innovation in energy efficiency by identifying partners capable of delivering market-ready technologies that help conserve energy in homes and buildings. Through the RFEOI, BC Hydro seeks to collaborate with industry leaders and forward-thinking organizations to help people in British Columbia save energy and lower costs.

    Energy efficiency is the cleanest and least expensive way to meet increasing demand for power. The energy-efficiency RFEOI supports BC Hydro’s comprehensive Power Smart energy savings program and complements BC Hydro’s $700 million expanded Energy Efficiency Plan, which increases investments in tools, technologies and rebates. These initiatives encourage energy-conscious decisions and help customers reduce electricity consumption. BC Hydro estimates that this plan will save customers $80 million annually and deliver more than 2,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity savings by 2030, the equivalent of powering more than 200,000 homes.

    “We are looking beyond the near term and opening up exploration of the next chapter of B.C.’s energy future by advancing the dialogue with industry participants and potential partners around clean-technology investments and expanding our leading energy-efficiency programs,” said Chris O’Riley, president and CEO of BC Hydro. “With BC Hydro’s long-standing legacy of delivering clean, reliable power, these initiatives will drive growth, sustainability and energy security, creating new opportunities across British Columbia.”

    The information gathered from both RFEOIs will guide future energy planning and procurement strategies. Submissions will close in September 2025.

    Both initiatives are part of the recently announced Clean Power Action Plan, an ambitious strategy to strengthen energy security, enhance system resilience and accelerate the transition to clean power. The plan also includes:

    • launching a second call for power to acquire a target of as much as 5,000 gigawatt-hours per year of energy from large, clean and renewable projects, which builds on the success of the 2024 call for power and resulted in 10 new renewable-energy projects, with First Nations asset ownership between 49% and 51%, capable of powering about 500,000 new homes;
    • investing more than $12 million from the B.C. Innovative Clean Energy fund in a targeted three-year call for new, made-in-B.C. clean-energy technologies that will combat climate change and create sustainable jobs; and
    • streamlining connections to B.C.’s grid to enable new homes and businesses to access clean electricity faster and less expensively.

    Through these actions, BC Hydro is reinforcing its commitment to delivering clean, reliable energy, supporting British Columbia’s transition to a low-carbon economy and ensuring electricity remains affordable, sustainable and accessible to all residents.

    Quick Facts:

    • The following BC Hydro actions will power more than one million new homes in the coming years: 
      • adding the Site C hydroelectric dam, which will generate enough electricity to power 500,000 homes and increase supply by 8%;
      • bringing new renewable wind and solar projects into service from the recent call for power, collectively powering 500,000 homes and boosting supply by 8%; and,
      • expanding investments in energy efficiency, expected to save 2,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power 200,000 homes.

    Learn More:

    To learn more about the Province’s plans to power B.C.’s potential, visit: https://www.bchydro.com/poweringpotential

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Investor Alert: Impersonation Scam Uses Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Image and Fake News Articles to Target Saskatchewan People

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on June 4, 2025

    The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (FCAA) warns investors in Saskatchewan of an impersonation scam on social media using fake news articles claiming that Prime Minister Mark Carney is endorsing the trading platform Canfirst.

    “Do not make investment decisions solely due to a notable figure endorsement,” FCAA Securities Division Executive Director Dean Murrison said. “Scammers can create fraudulent news articles that imitate the real media source. Before you consider investing with an entity, always check the registration status at aretheyregistered.ca and do not deal with any unregistered entities.”

    Canfirst claims to offer Saskatchewan residents trading opportunities, including stocks, cryptocurrencies and forex. 

    This alert applies to the online entity using the website “canfirst net” (this URL has been manually altered so as not to be interactive).

    Canfirst is not registered with the FCAA to trade or sell securities or derivatives in Saskatchewan. The FCAA cautions investors and consumers not to send money to companies that are not registered in Saskatchewan, as they may not be legitimate businesses. 

    If you have invested with Canfirst, or anyone claiming to be acting on their behalf, contact the FCAA’s Securities Division at 306-787-5936.

    In Saskatchewan, individuals or companies need to be registered with the FCAA to trade or sell securities or derivatives. The registration provisions of The Securities Act, 1988, and accompanying regulations are intended to ensure that only honest and knowledgeable people are registered to sell securities and derivatives and that their businesses are financially stable.

    Tips to protect yourself:

    • Always verify that the person or company is registered in Saskatchewan to sell or advise about securities or derivatives. To check registration, visit The Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Registration Search at aretheyregistered.ca.
    • Know exactly what you are investing in. Make sure you understand how the investment, product, or service works.
    • Get a second opinion and seek professional advice about the investment.
    • Do not allow unknown or unverified individuals to remotely access your computer.
    • Never make an investment decision based solely on a notable figure endorsement. Scammers often create fake news articles to mimic legitimate media.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: London — RCMP statement regarding media reports on the structural investigation into the Israel-Hamas conflict

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    In light of recent media coverage regarding the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) involvement in matters related to the Israel-Hamas armed conflict, we wish to clarify the nature and scope of our activities.

    In early 2024, the RCMP initiated a structural investigation in connection with this ongoing conflict. A structural investigation is a broad, intelligence-led intake process designed to collect, preserve, and assess information potentially relevant under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. This includes gathering open-source material and voluntary submissions from individuals wishing to provide information. The primary objective is to proactively collect relevant information that may support future investigative steps, should jurisdictional and legal thresholds be met.

    It is important to emphasize that a structural investigation is not a criminal investigation. The RCMP employs a well-established structured protocol to efficiently triage and process incoming information related to global conflicts, this standardized initial procedure serves as a foundation for every case, after which specialized investigative techniques are applied to address the unique aspects of each investigation, including the Israel-Hamas structural investigation. Should a perpetrator of core international crimes—such as genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity—with the appropriate nexus to Canada be identified, the RCMP will initiate a separate criminal investigation. To date, the RCMP has not initiated any related criminal investigations.

    Although this work has been underway in a developmental capacity since early 2024, it has not been publicly announced as the RCMP continues to develop essential supporting operational tools. This includes a secure online portal available in French, English, Hebrew and Arabic, to facilitate the structured and secure any submissions of information by the public and potential witnesses. Unfortunately, technical challenges have resulted in delays to the rollout of this critical tool; once this online portal is ready for access, we will advise the public.

    The RCMP remains committed to its mandate under Canadian law, to assess credible allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. We conduct this work with impartiality, relying on evidence-based assessments in alignment with the principles of the rule of law.

    Given the sensitivity of the matter, we urge the public to refrain from drawing premature conclusions about the RCMP’s role or intent. This initiative is solely focused on collecting relevant information and does not target any community or group.

    Further updates will be provided once the public reporting portal has been made available.

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: For Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic, ‘reproduction is like a death sentence’

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Masaya Llavaneras Blanco, Assistant Professor of Development Studies, Huron University College, Western University

    On May 9, Lourdia Jean-Pierre, a 32-year-old Haitian migrant woman, died after giving birth in her rural home in El Ceibo, Dominican Republic. The cause of death was a postpartum hemorrhage, according to a news report in The Haitian Times.

    Despite needing medical attention, Jean-Pierre was reportedly afraid to go to the hospital. Why? She feared being deported.

    Jean-Pierre was not wrong to be afraid. Soon after her death, paramedics arrived with police officers to check on the newborn and detain her husband, Ronald Jean. Jean left the newborn with a relative as he waited to be deported.

    Between April 21 and the end of May this year, 900 lactating or pregnant women were deported from the Dominican to Haiti. They are part of the new, extreme tough-on-immigration policies in the Dominican Republic. In May alone, 22,778 Haitians were deported to Haiti.

    A new wave of mass deportations

    Last October, the Dominican government initiated a new wave of mass deportations as President Luis Abinader ordered a quota of 10,000 Haitians deported per week. On April 6, he announced new extraordinary measures to control immigration.

    The rollout of this policy began on April 21. Migration officials were assigned to work in hospitals and required migrants to show their documents before receiving medical care or face deportation.

    The new protocol does not specify pregnant and breastfeeding women. However, it effectively targets them in hospitals. Evidence of this is the fact that the policy was immediately implemented in the 33 hospitals “that report the largest number of pregnant migrant women — mainly those of Haitian origin.”

    The targeting of pregnant women is not new

    The targeting of pregnant migrants in the DR isn’t new. In September 2021, the Ministry of the Interior and Police announced a protocol to limit pregnant migrant women’s access to health care in the DR.

    Dozens of deportation raids were carried out in maternity wards in the capital and other large urban centres. According to immigration officials, attendance at pre-natal appointments fell by 80 per cent by the end of 2021.

    Deportation raids in maternity wards slowed down between 2022 and 2024, but women were still afraid to go for their check-up appointments. Pre-natal care is essential in preventing maternal deaths.

    According to a media report, the Dominican’s National Health System estimates that Haitian women accounted for 56 per cent of maternal deaths in the first half of 2022.

    No documents, no health care

    There are almost no ways for Haitians in the Dominican Republic to apply for or renew visas. And Dominican consulates in Haiti have been closed since September 2022.

    There is a long history of a lack of documentation among Dominicans of Haitian ancestry, exacerbated by the denationalization of up to 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian ancestry in 2013. That means Dominican-Haitians are also at risk of being deported when accessing health care.

    This happened to Mirryam Ferdinad who, according to community reports, went to a hospital for a programmed Caesarean section and was instead detained in Haina, the country’s largest migrant detention centre. Ferdinad was released one week on Saturday May 31st. Is it possible to add that update with this link? https://www.instagram.com/p/DKWAD44N_N7/?igsh=cXY5a21xY2pud2tp

    Deportations are expected to occur after people recover from their ailments. But human rights organizations report that deportations regularly take place in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, in trucks filled beyond capacity.

    Structural racism

    Elena Lorac, co-founder of Reconocido, an advocacy group of denationalized Dominicans of Haitian descent, said the situation is exacerbated by structural racism.

    Anti-Black racism and anti-Haitianism runs through the politics of the Dominican Republic, whereby Blackness is associated with undesirable cultural and physical traits, and linked to neighbouring Haiti.

    In contrast, DR’s nationalist groups, such as the Antigua Orden Dominicana, emphasize their colonial Spanish roots.

    Reproductive health rights under attack

    Haitian pregnant women are between a rock and a hard place. Hemorrhages and unsafe abortions are among the main causes of maternal mortality. Most of these cases are preventable if pregnant people have access to health services.

    Haiti has the highest maternal mortality in the Western hemisphere.

    Maternal mortality in the DR is lower. But its mistreatment of pregnant migrants, and its criminalization of abortion in all circumstances, pose significant risks for women.

    Haiti: A country in humanitarian crisis

    Deported migrants usually have no family or social networks in the locations they are deported at. And they have limited to no access to health services and social services.

    Dominican-Haitians also get deported because they have no legal documents despite having lived there their whole lives. They often have never been to Haiti, and barely speak Haitian Creole.

    In Haiti, about 40 per cent of primary health care was funded by the now almost completely defunded United States Agency for International development (USAID).

    Though there are some groups supporting deportees, global cuts to humanitarian agencies like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and International Organization for Migration are affecting personnel on the ground. The humanitarian conditions in Haiti are increasingly challenging.

    Financial cuts worsen the extremely precarious living conditions. Nine per cent of the population is internally displaced. More than half the population is expected to experience acute food insecurity by June.

    Protesting violence

    On May 28, 13 organizations led a demonstration in front of the Dominican Republic Health Ministry. Peasant women, domestic workers, artists and feminists demanded an end to deportation raids in maternity wards and the removal of immigration officials from hospitals.

    Sirana Dolis, co-founder of Movement of Dominican-Haitian Women MUDHA, said of the situation:

    “Haitian women and women of Haitian descent are a people who love life, but under these circumstances, reproduction is like a death sentence.”

    Masaya Llavaneras Blanco receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

    – ref. For Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic, ‘reproduction is like a death sentence’ – https://theconversation.com/for-haitian-migrants-in-the-dominican-republic-reproduction-is-like-a-death-sentence-257427

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Saskatchewan Recognizes Deafblind Awareness Month

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on June 4, 2025

    The Government of Saskatchewan has officially proclaimed June 2025 as Deafblind Awareness Month in recognition of individuals in the Deafblind community and the organizations that support them. 

    “The Government of Saskatchewan is proud to recognize Deafblind Awareness Month, and we value the important work of Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Deafblind Community Services,” Social Services Minister Terry Jenson said. “We look forward to continuing to build strong, inclusive communities for persons with disabilities alongside our disability services community partners.” 

    Deafblind Awareness Month raises awareness about the unique experiences and contributions of individuals who are Deafblind. It also highlights the importance of accessible programs, services and supports that promote inclusion and independence. 

    Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) Deafblind Community Services (DBCS) provides specialized support and advocacy for individuals with combined vision and hearing loss. Across Canada, DBCS offers intervenor services, life-skills training and advocacy to help individuals overcome barriers, build independence and enhance their quality of life. 

    “We commend the Government of Saskatchewan for proclaiming June as Deafblind Awareness Month and for its ongoing commitment to accessibility and inclusion,” CNIB Deafblind Community Services Vice-President Sherry Grabowski said. “This recognition is an important step in amplifying the voices of the Deafblind community and raising awareness of the unique barriers they face. We look forward to working together to ensure every person with a dual sensory loss can thrive and participate fully in their communities.” 

    On December 3, 2024, the Government of Saskatchewan released its first Accessibility Plan, required by The Accessible Saskatchewan Act, to improve the accessibility of government services. Over the next three years, government will provide leadership on accessibility and inclusion in the province; work to improve knowledge and awareness to support a diverse and inclusive workforce; and enhance the accessibility of digital content, provincial parks and government buildings.  

    For more information about the Government of Saskatchewan’s accessibility initiatives, visit: accessiblesk.saskatchewan.ca. 

     To learn more about CNIB Deafblind Community Services, visit: deafblindservices.ca.  

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: TAB Bank Prescribes $2 Million Asset-Based Line of Credit for a Medical Supply Chain Financing and Logistics Company

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    OGDEN, Utah, June 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TAB Bank has provided a $2 million revolving asset-based line of credit for a Canadian medical supply chain financing and logistics company. The company opened a $2 million Certificate of Deposit (CD) at TAB Bank to serve as collateral on the loan.

    TAB Bank’s high-yield CD rate, currently at a 4.15% Annual Percentage Yield (APY), is a primary reason the medical supply chain solution provider chose to work with TAB. This strategic move allows the company to earn a return on its deposit while simultaneously building its commercial borrowing profile.

    The company offers supply chain financing and logistics support tailored specifically for North American medical service providers purchasing from local and global manufacturers. It provides a data-driven approach to procurement, inventory and end-to-end supply chain management of essential medical commodities, such as surgical supplies and medical devices for healthcare providers.

    “The medical supply chain solution provider’s decision to utilize TAB Bank’s high-yield CD as collateral is a smart, forward-thinking strategy,” said Ryan Gabriel, Vice President and Business Development Officer for the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada at TAB Bank. “It also highlights one of TAB’s key strengths—offering competitive deposit products that work hand-in-hand with our lending solutions to build value for our clients.”

    TAB Bank offers customized financial products to small and midsized businesses across a wide range of industries, like asset-based lending, equipment financing and working capital solutions. The bank’s personalized service and bold financial solutions continue to attract clients across North America.

    About TAB Bank
    At TAB Bank, our mission is to unlock dreams with bold financial solutions that empower individuals and businesses nationwide. We are committed to making financial success accessible to everyone through our innovative banking products. Our dedication drives us to continuously improve, ensuring that we meet the evolving needs of our clients with excellence and agility. For over 25 years, we have remained steadfast in offering tailored, technology-enabled solutions designed to simplify and enhance the banking experience. 

    For more information about how we can help you achieve your financial dreams, visit www.TABBank.com.

    Contact Information:
    Trevor Morris
    Director of Marketing
    801-624-5172
    trevor.morris@tabbank.com

    The MIL Network –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Sidhu meets with United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade Jonathan Reynolds

    Source: Government of Canada News

    June 4, 2025 – Paris, France – Global Affairs Canada

    The Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, met with Jonathan Reynolds, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade, on the margins of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris, France.

    Minister Sidhu and Secretary of State Reynolds discussed expanding trade and investment through the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement. Minister Sidhu highlighted the importance of Canada continuing to work with the United Kingdom through forums such as the G7, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and with international organizations in support of the rules-based global trading system.

    Minister Sidhu looks forward to continuing working with Secretary of State Reynolds on the Canada-UK trade relationship.

    Associated links

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Moser RIver — RCMP arrests two women in Moser River following an altercation

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment has arrested two women in Moser River following a report of an altercation.

    This morning, at approximately 1:10 a.m., RCMP officers responded to a report of an altercation at a home on Moser River North Rd. When officers arrived, six adults were located inside the residence; five of whom displayed signs of impairment.

    While gathering information, one RCMP officer was assaulted by a 20-year-old woman from Halifax. During her arrest she assaulted a second officer.

    Through the investigation, it was learned that a 19-year-old woman present in the home, who is also from Halifax, had lied about her identity and was currently wanted on a province-wide arrest warrant. She was safely arrested.

    The 20-year-old woman was later released on conditions. She is scheduled to appear in Dartmouth Provincial Court on July 23, at 9:30 a.m., to face two counts of Assaulting a Peace Officer, Resisting Arrest and Mischief.

    The 19-year-old woman was later released. She is scheduled to appear in court at a later date to face a charge of Obstructing a Peace Officer.

    The investigation into an assault that occurred at the home between the persons present is ongoing.

    File #: 25-78392

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: ‘Blue Whales’ exhibition opens at Museum of Natural Sciences June 21

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: ‘Blue Whales’ exhibition opens at Museum of Natural Sciences June 21

    ‘Blue Whales’ exhibition opens at Museum of Natural Sciences June 21
    jejohnson6
    Wed, 06/04/2025 – 10:58

    Blue whales are BIG! How big are they? They can grow up to 110 feet long, weigh up to 400,000 pounds, and have a heart the size of a small car. Even their appetites are big: they can eat 16 tons of tiny, shrimp-like krill in a day. And their voices? Blue whale songs can travel 1,000 miles underwater and measure 190+ decibels. Dive into the details behind their mind-blowing biology and discover how these mammals became and remain our planet’s largest animals ever in “Blue Whales,” a new special exhibition opening at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on June 21. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

    Visitors to “Blue Whales” will see the enormous skeleton of a recovered blue whale and the only blue whale heart model in the world, then discover how these giant creatures evolved from land to sea, how they became so giant and how they breathe. Or step into the exhibition’s Whale Sound Chamber and experience surround-sound whale calls, compare different whale songs, and learn how and what exactly whales are communicating.

    Visitors will also learn about blue whales’ remarkable feeding behavior. Their enormous mouths contain rows of baleen — made of keratin like human nails or hair — that hang in “plates” from their upper jaw and act like a sieve. During feeding, blue whales open their mouths wide and engulf large volumes of water and krill, then push the water out of their mouth with their tongue while their baleen keeps the krill trapped inside. The exhibition even offers “License to Krill,” an exciting game of survival where visitors try to dodge dangerous obstacles and “dive deep” to capture and eat krill.

    Despite their massive size, blue whales are very vulnerable, and their population is only a small fraction of what it was before commercial whaling significantly reduced their numbers during the early 1900s. This immersive exhibition provides insight into what caused the decline of blue whales, what’s being done to protect them, and how scientists are using DNA to unlock some of the secrets of these elusive creatures.

    “Blue Whales” is produced and circulated by the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), Toronto, Canada. Sponsored by Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. After nine blue whales were trapped beneath sea ice and died off the coast of Newfoundland in 2014, researchers from ROM worked with community partners to recover two of the whales, one of which is featured in this exhibition.

    “Blue Whales” runs through Jan. 11, 2026, and is offered in English and French.

    Admission: Museum Members get in FREE. Join today at naturalsciences.org/membership. Non-member Adults $18, Children (3–12) $14. Tickets are available onsite at the Museum Box Office or online at naturalsciences.org/whales. Exhibition Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (last entry at 4 p.m.); also open Mondays (May 26 – Sept. 1 only), 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (last entry at 4 p.m.).

    About the NC Museum of Natural Sciences
    The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh (11 and 121 W. Jones St.) is an active research institution that engages visitors of every age and stage of learning in the wonders of science and the natural world. In addition to two downtown buildings showcasing seven floors of world-class exhibits, the Museum runs Prairie Ridge Ecostation, a 45-acre outdoor education and research facility in west Raleigh, as well as satellite facilities in Whiteville, Greenville and Grifton (Contentnea Creek). Our mission is to illuminate the natural world and inspire its conservation. Downtown Raleigh Hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. General admission is free. For more information, visit www.naturalsciences.org.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
    Jun 2, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Racist incident helpline making a difference

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    One year after its launch on May 30, 2024, the Province’s racist incident helpline is making a difference for people in B.C. experiencing racism, with approximately 94% of callers reporting their needs were met.

    “Racism has no place in B.C., but we know it exists, and we are determined to continue to fight it in all its forms, through all the tools available at our disposal,” said Niki Sharma, Attorney General. “As part of that work, we are proud to provide this resource that is connecting so many people in need with services that can help them heal and reclaim their sense of safety and belonging. We will continue to strengthen and grow the helpline’s network so that nobody ever has to navigate the impact of a racist incident on their own.”

    The racist incident helpline is a toll-free, multilingual service for people who have been subjected to discrimination based on the colour of their skin, culture, ethnicity or place of origin. Callers receive support, guidance and referrals to local community-support services. One year after its launch, the helpline has received calls from 807 people seeking help dealing with racism, and has made more than 2,329 referrals to support services. This call volume is more than double that reported by the state of California for the first year its hate helpline was operational (2023-24), despite California’s population being seven times the size of B.C.’s.

    “I know this is a long process, but it makes me feel better to talk about everything,” said one caller to the helpline, whose family was experiencing harassment, racism, aggression, micro-aggressions and intimidation from their neighbour on a shared yard. “Thank you for your time and for listening to me. I feel less pressured now. This has been really helpful.”

    This caller accepted referrals to resources for tenant rights, legal assistance and mental-health supports.

    On average, each caller was directed to three support services, indicating people coping with racism require help on multiple fronts, such as legal advice, peer support and mental-health resources. To help strengthen the efficacy of these support networks, the Province invested $2.2 million in 32 community organizations in the 2023-24 fiscal year, for enhanced services and to better meet the urgent and diverse needs of those affected by racism in their communities.

    “The racist incident helpline is a core pillar of government’s efforts to counter racism and discrimination in B.C.,” said Jessie Sunner, parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives. “It bridges a gap between people dealing with the trauma of racism and the essential services they need to heal. We are committed to continuing to empower local advocates, communities and organizations so that we can together create a province where everyone feels safe, supported and valued.”

    The toll-free helpline is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, at 1 833 457-5463 (1 833 HLP-LINE). Service is offered in more than 240 languages, and after-hours callers can request a call back during regular hours. For immediate assistance or in the case of an emergency, people should call 911.

    Quotes:

    Helpline staff member –

    “As a racialized person with lived experience myself, for me this extends beyond just a job – it is an honour to do this work. Getting to support and hold space for members of racialized communities who have experienced or witnessed a racist encounter brings me a sense of fulfilment and purpose. Amidst the daily landscape of race- and hate-motivated harms that can feel all-consuming, divisive, isolating and othering, each person I am able to support and each conversation I have is an act of solidarity.”

    Saša Loggin, executive director, Skeena Diversity Society –

    “This funding has provided us with an invaluable opportunity to dedicate staff not only to respond to incidents of racism but also to develop workshops and resources. Through this, we have deepened our connections to organizations and resources across the northern region, honouring the unique characteristics of different communities while also turning our shared humanity into a source of strength.”

    Boma Brown, executive director, Support Network for Indigenous Women & Women of Colour –

    “Our clients, who are racialized women, often experience racism at any point in their day, making culturally informed counselling an essential resource that we are able to provide thanks to this grant. This support is vital for empowering women and fostering healing in our communities.”

    Penny Bradley, executive director, Alex House, of the Association of Neighbourhood Houses of B.C. –

    “As a neighbourhood house in South Surrey and White Rock, we know that when people feel a strong sense of belonging, they thrive. Our approach is to bring together people from diverse backgrounds to learn from each other, because we believe that when we learn together, we grow together. This grant allows us to widen our reach and deepen our connections with the community. That is how we can create a community of allies that believe strongly in anti-racism.”

    Learn More:

    View the full list of racist incident helpline grant recipients here: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/RacistIncidentHelplinegrantrecipients.pdf

    For more about the racist incident helpline, visit: https://racistincidenthelpline.ca/

    For more about the Anti-Racism Act, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/30655

    For more about the Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network, visit: https://www.resiliencebc.ca/

    A backgrounder follows.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Change in Measles Immunization Recommendations for Infants with a High Risk of Exposure

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on June 4, 2025

    Saskatchewan is making the measles vaccine available to younger children in areas with measles cases and high chance of exposure. 

    Infants ages six months to 11 months who live in, are traveling to, or have contact with individuals in areas where there is a high risk of measles exposure can now receive an early dose of measles vaccine.

    “Our government wants to make sure that those who are most vulnerable and at high risk of exposure have the best protection possible,” Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. “Providing parents with the option for an additional dose of measles vaccine for infants, helps to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”

    Immunization is the single most effective way to protect against measles. 

    Routine measles vaccination is still needed at 12 and 18 months to provide lifelong protection. 

    “Most children in Saskatchewan should follow the regular schedule for measles immunization, however, in outbreak situations infants six to 11 months can be offered an earlier dose,” Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said. “This is similar to what is already being offered to some infants travelling internationally or to other parts of Canada with higher measles case numbers.”

    Measles is highly contagious and spreads easily to others through open air. Symptoms can include fever, cough, red eyes and a blotchy red rash. Severe complications of measles may include pneumonia, swelling of the brain and death.

    Individuals with symptoms of measles should stay home and call HealthLine 811 for instructions. Do not go to a clinic, health care facility or hospital in person without calling ahead.

    The measles vaccine has been safely used for over 50 years and is free in Saskatchewan at public health offices. 

    “As we move into the summer months, measles continues to pose a risk for people in Saskatchewan,” SHA Senior Medical Health Officer Dr. Julie Kryzanowski said. “Please check your measles vaccination records and ensure you are up to date.”

    For a current list of areas with a high risk of exposure and more information on measles, please visit: saskatchewan.ca/measles.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    Media Desk
    Health
    Regina
    Phone: 306-787-4083
    Email: media@health.gov.sk.ca

    Media Relations
    Saskatchewan Health Authority
    Regina
    Phone: 1-833-766-4392
    Email: media@saskhealthauthority.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Removing Trade Barriers With Other Provinces, Federal Government

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Trade barriers between Nova Scotia, several provinces and the federal government will soon be removed.

    Nova Scotia, along with Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Prince Edward Island have taken action to remove barriers and red tape that will open up new trade and investment opportunities. It is also anticipated that the federal government will do the same.

    “Removing these barriers will open up new opportunities for Nova Scotian businesses and help grow our economy – that means more jobs for Nova Scotians,” said Premier Tim Houston. “This is how Nova Scotia and Canada can be more economically secure.”

    The barriers being removed by Nova Scotia focus on three key areas:

    • ending Canadian Free Trade Agreement exemptions that limit interprovincial trade with Nova Scotia
    • allowing goods or services that are legally sold, used or provided in another province to automatically be able to be sold/used/provided in Nova Scotia without having to meet Nova Scotia’s specific labelling, packaging, certification or inspection requirements
    • removing labour mobility barriers by requiring regulators to process equivalent licences within 10 business days and restricting application requirements to evidence of good standing and liability insurance.

    The Province introduced the Free Trade and Mobility within Canada Act in February 2025 to help create mutual recognition of goods, services and labour mobility between Nova Scotia and other jurisdictions in Canada. The act allows the Province to remove barriers to trade and investment with others that will do the same for Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia’s removal of trade barriers with Alberta and P.E.I. comes into effect immediately, while barriers with the other provinces and federal government will be removed upon proclamation of their equivalent legislation.

    Quotes:

    “Alberta is proud to stand alongside Nova Scotia in advancing a more open and co-operative Canadian economy. I commend Premier Tim Houston and the Nova Scotia government for taking meaningful action to support freer trade within Canada. By recognizing Alberta-approved goods without additional red tape, Nova Scotia is showing leadership that supports businesses, strengthens interprovincial ties and moves us closer to the internal trade framework Canadians expect and deserve.”
    — Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta

    “With tariffs and tariff threats taking aim at Canada’s workers and businesses, it’s never been more important for us to work together from coast to coast to tear down internal trade barriers so we can make Canada stronger and more united than ever before. We’re going to keep working with our federal, provincial and territorial partners to unlock economic opportunity and build a more competitive, resilient and prosperous country that can stand up to tariffs and anything else that comes our way.”
    — Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario

    “This announcement is one of the first tangible steps in adopting mutual recognition policy and breaking down interprovincial trade barriers, showing that the Premier and his government are serious about free trade within Canada. Simply put, this is good news for small businesses in our province. Now, eight in 10 small businesses across Canada are looking to their provinces to take the necessary steps to follow Nova Scotia’s lead.”
    — Duncan Robertson, Director of Legislative Affairs (Nova Scotia), Canadian Federation of Independent Business

    Quick Facts:

    • interprovincial exports contribute about 17 per cent of Nova Scotia’s gross domestic product
    • interprovincial exports make up about half of Nova Scotia’s total exports (about 48 per cent of all goods and services)
    • in 2023, the value of Nova Scotia’s interprovincial exports was nearly $29 billion
    • one-third of Canadian businesses participated in internal trade by buying or selling goods across provincial or territorial borders
    • more than $530 billion worth of goods and services moves across provincial and territorial borders every year – equal to 20 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product

    Additional Resources:

    Free Trade and Mobility within Canada Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/free%20trade%20and%20mobility%20within%20canada.pdf

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: A Milestone in Realizing a Vision for Canadian Leadership in Arctic Science: New exhibition about Indigenous Knowledge App opens at Canadian High Arctic Research Station

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    June 4, 2025-Cambridge Bay, Nunavut

    Today, a vision for Arctic science realizes a major milestone. Polar Knowledge Canada marks 10 years since its creation through a knowledge-sharing collaboration with the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Arctic Eider Society.

    On display at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, is a new exhibition co-developed by the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Arctic Eider Society with support from Polar Knowledge Canada. The exhibition showcases SIKU: The Indigenous Knowledge App, as a practical application of Indigenous Knowledge taking a leading role in science.

    SIKU is the Inuktitut word for sea ice. SIKU, the mobile and online technology platform created by and for Indigenous communities provides a platform for communities to manage their own programs for harvesting, guardians and community-driven research and monitoring.

    The exhibition at CHARS, which is open to the public and will be on view until the end of 2025, tells the story of how SIKU was developed on a framework of self-determination and data sovereignty piloted by the Arctic Eider Society. With stunning imagery and interactive displays, visitors can learn how individual harvesters, as well as communities, use their own language and knowledge systems to document environmental changes and observations in marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

    The exhibition is a symbol of the vision that began almost 20 years ago to establish a world-class research facility in the Canadian high Arctic. Polar Knowledge Canada was created in June of 2015 with the Royal Assent of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station Act. CHARS was built over the first five years and is now fully operational, hosting and collaborating with researchers from across Canada and around the world.

    The scientific program strives to advance knowledge of ecosystems in the North – terrestrial, freshwater, marine and air – to monitor and understand the effects of changes to the climate in the Arctic, where the earth is warming at a rate four times faster than the rest of the planet. To examine and test sustainable energy technologies and infrastructure solutions and how they work in the extreme Northern environment, in an effort to reduce the use of fossil fuels in the North and the impacts it has on communities and the environment. And to understand the connection between community wellness and environmental health, such as the impact of diseases in animals that are traditionally harvested, as well as to communicate to Northern communities about how to protect themselves when consuming country food with the changes the mammal, fish and bird populations are experiencing.

    More about the exhibition: SIKU: The Indigenous Knowledge APP

    Divided into five sections, the exhibition, includes information panels and testimonials, as well as three videos, two activities for children and a feature presentation of the film People of a Feather.

    The first section introduces SIKU including a video The second and third sections delve into the importance of SIKU as a tool for Indigenous self-determination and for sharing Indigenous knowledge. Five project case studies from Nunavut, Nunatsiavut, Nitassinan and Eyou Itshee are featured in more detail. There are also videos about the SIKU Ice Watch and Goose Watch campaigns, which engage users in sharing knowledge about ice conditions and the spring goose migration.

    The fourth section zeroes in on projects around Cambridge Bay that use SIKU. One monitors the prevalence of biting insects, and the other is SmartICE, a well-established ice-monitoring program across the Arctic.

    The final section delves into the creation of SIKU by the Arctic Eider Society, an Inuit organization in Sanikiluaq, including its use as part of the Qikiqtait Protected Area initiative for the Belcher Islands Archipelago. Visitors can then grab a seat in the Knowledge Centre at CHARS and enjoy the award-winning feature film, People of a Feather, which portrays the unique relationship between Sanikiluaq Inuit and eider ducks.

    A comprehensive exhibition about the Inuit of Sanikiluaq, the Arctic Eider Society and the Qikiqtait Protected Area (including the SIKU App) will open September 26 in the Northern Voices Gallery at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. This exhibition is also presented with the support of Polar Knowledge Canada.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Greenwood — RCMP conducting further inquiries as the investigation into the homicide of Esther Jones continues

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    This week members of the Southwest Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit are in Greenwood conducting further inquiries related to the homicide of Esther Jones.

    The Southwest Nova Major Crime Unit continues to investigate the homicide, which occurred in Greenwood on August 31, 2024. In September 2024, Dale Allen Toole was arrested and charged with Esther’s murder, and he remains in custody, Update: Southwest Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit charge man with First Degree Murder | Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

    Despite the extensive investigation, Esther’s remains have not yet been located. As the investigation continues, officers will be conducting further inquiries in Greenwood over the next several days; residents can expect to see police in the area.

    These inquiries are a continuation of the investigational efforts. To date, investigators have formally interviewed more than 100 people, obtained video surveillance from more than 50 businesses and homes, and searched multiple locations looking for Esther’s remains.

    The Southwest Nova Major Crime Unit continues to ask anyone who may have information to contact investigators at (902) 365-3120 or Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222- TIPS (8477) or online at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca.

    File #2024-1287809

    MIL Security OSI –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Gaza: Minister for the Middle East statement, 4 June 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Oral statement to Parliament

    Gaza: Minister for the Middle East statement, 4 June 2025

    Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer made a statement to the House of Commons on Gaza.

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    We are appalled by repeated reports of mass casualty incidents, in which Palestinians have been killed when trying to access aid sites in Gaza. 

    Desperate civilians who have endured 20 months of war should never face the risk of death or injury to simply feed themselves and their families.

    We call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events, and for the perpetrators to be held to account.

    It is deeply disturbing that these incidents happened near the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution sites.  

    They highlight the utterly desperate need to get aid in. 

    The Israeli Government says it has opened up aid access with its new system. 

    But the warnings raised by the United Kingdom, the United Nations, aid partners and the international community about these operations have materialised and the results are agonising.

    Israel’s newly introduced measures for aid delivery are inhumane, foster desperation and endanger civilians. 

    Israel’s unjustified block on aid into Gaza needs to end. It is inhumane. 

    Israel must immediately allow the UN and aid partners to safely deliver all types of aid at scale to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity. It must ensure food and other critical supplies can reach people safely where they are across the whole of the Gaza Strip. Civilians, medical and humanitarian workers and facilities must be protected.  

    We will continue to be steadfast in our support for the UN and other trusted INGOs as the most effective and principled partners for aid delivery. 

    Our support has meant over 465,000 people have received essential healthcare, 640,000 have received food, and 275,000 people have improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.

     Just two weeks ago, my honourable friend, the Minister for Development, announced £4m additional funding to support the British Red Cross, enabling the delivery humanitarian relief in Gaza through their partner the Palestinian Red Crescent. Th was part of our wider £101m support package for this financial year. Aid must be allowed in so this support can continue. 

    Today, the UN Security Council is expected to consider a resolution for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all the hostages and the lifting of all Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid, and supporting delivery by the UN.  

    And we will once again use our vote in support of these goals.  

    Following our leadership in coordinating dozens of countries to address the humanitarian situation, the joint statement from the UK, France and Canada, as well as the actions announced by my Right Honourable Friend the Foreign Secretary on 20 May, we will continue to convene international partners to increase the pressure and take further steps to address the catastrophic situation on the ground.  

    We will continue to strongly support the efforts led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. As the Prime Minister has said, a ceasefire is the best way to secure the release of all remaining hostages and achieve a long-term political solution. 

    This Israeli Government’s decision to expand its military operations in Gaza and severely restrict aid undermine all these goals. 

    Madam Deputy Speaker,

    We repeat our utter condemnation of Hamas, our demand that it releases all the hostages immediately and unconditionally. They can have no role in the future governance of Gaza. 

    A two-state solution is the only way to bring the long-lasting peace, stability and security that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve. We welcome France and Saudi Arabia’s leadership in chairing an international conference later this month.

    I commend this statement to the House.

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Loyal to the oil’ – how religion and striking it rich shape Canada’s hockey fandom

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Cody Musselman, Preceptor, College Writing Program, Harvard University

    Some Edmonton Oilers fans are pinning their Stanley Cup hopes on captain Connor McDavid. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

    Déjà vu is a common occurrence in the world of sports, and the Edmonton Oilers are no strangers to repeat matchups. The Canadian team faced off against the New York Islanders in both 1983 and ’84 for hockey’s biggest prize, the Stanley Cup. In this year’s National Hockey League finals, the Oilers will try to avenge their Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers in 2024.

    Edmontonians who have been “loyal to the oil,” as fans say, have been waiting for redemption ever since. The Trump administration’s threats toward its northern neighbor has fueled a wave of nationalism, making even more fans eager for a Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup – which has not happened since 1993. With hopes pinned to Edmonton, the finals also brings renewed attention to some of Canada’s biggest exports: hockey and oil.

    Novelist Leslie McFarlane once observed that for Canadians, “hockey is more than a game; it is almost a religion.” Prayers and superstitions abound, from wearing special clothing to fans averting their eyes during penalty shots.

    The Oilers also evoke another aspect of Canadian society that, for some, has almost religious importance: resource extraction. In American and Canadian culture, oil has long been entangled with religion. It’s a national blessing from God, in some people’s eyes, and a means to the “good life” for those who persevere to find it. For many people in communities whose economies center around resource extraction, the possibility of success is valued above its environmental risks.

    We are scholars of religion who study sports and how oil shapes society, or petro-cultures. The Edmonton Oilers showcase a worldview in which triumph, luck and rugged work pay off – beliefs at home on the ice or in the oil field. The Stanley Cup Final offers a glimpse into how the oil industry has helped shaped the religious fervor around Canada’s favorite sport.

    Edmonton Oilers fan Dale Steil’s boots before the team’s playoff game against the Los Angeles Kings on April 26, 2024.
    AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

    Boomtown

    Edmonton is the capital of Alberta, a province known for its massive oil, gas and oil sands reserves. With five refineries producing an average of 3.8 million barrels a day, oil and gas is Alberta’s biggest industry – and a way of life.

    This is especially true in Edmonton, known as the “Oil Capital of Canada.” Here, oil not only structures the local economy, but it also shapes identities, architecture and everyday experiences.

    Visit the West Edmonton Mall, for example, and you’ll see a statue of three oil workers drilling, reminding shoppers that petroleum is the bedrock of their commerce. Visit the Canadian Energy Museum to learn how oil and gas have remade the region since the late 1940s, and glimpse items such as engraved hard hats and the “Oil Patch Kid,” a spin on the iconic “Cabbage Patch Kids” toys. Tour the Greater Edmonton area and see how pump jacks dot the horizon. Oil is everywhere, shaping futures, fortunes and possibility.

    Pump jacks near Acme, Alberta – a regular sight.
    Michael Interisano/Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    Set against this backdrop, the Oilers’ name is unsurprising. It is not uncommon, after all, to name teams after local industries. Football’s Pittsburgh Steelers pay homage to the steel mills that once employed much of the team’s fan base. The Tennessee Oilers were originally the Houston Oilers, prompting other Texas teams such as the XFL’s Roughnecks to follow suit. Further north, the name of basketball’s Detroit Pistons references car manufacturing.

    Teams with industry-inspired names play double duty, venerating both a place and a trade. Some fans are not only cheering for the home team, but also cheering for themselves – affirming that their industry and their labor matter.

    Ales Hemsky of the Edmonton Oilers skates out from under the oil derrick for a game at Rexall Place in 2008 in Edmonton, Alberta.
    Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images

    In a TikTok video from last year’s Stanley Cups playoffs, a man overcome with joy at the Oilers’ victory over the Dallas Stars claps his hands and hops around his living room. The caption reads, “My first-generation immigrant oil rig working Filipino father who has never played a second of hockey in his life … happily cheering for the Oilers advancing in the playoffs. Better Bring that cup home for him oily boys.” He appears to be cheering for the Oilers not because they are a hockey team, but because they are an oil team.

    And indeed, the Oilers are an oily team. The Oilers’ Oilfield Network, for example, describes itself as “exclusively promot[ing] companies in the Oil and Gas industry,” allowing leaders to connect “through the power of Oilers hockey.”

    The Oilers’ connection with industry is further underscored by their logos. The current one features a simple drop of oil, but past designs featured machinery gears and an oil worker pulling a lever shaped like a hockey stick.

    Simply put, “Edmonton is all oil,” Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner shared after defeating the Dallas Stars to win the 2025 Western Conference Final.

    Liquid gold

    There is a long tradition of pairing hockey with oil – and with Canada itself.

    After the British North America Act founded Canada in 1867, the new nation searched for a distinctive identity through sport and other cultural forms.

    Enter hockey. The winter game evolved in Canada from the Gaelic game of “shinty” and the First Nations’ game of lacrosse and soon became part of the glue holding the nation together.

    Ever since, media, politicians, sports groups and major industries have helped fuel fan fervor and promoted hockey as integral to Canada’s rugged frontiersman character.

    The Montreal Amateur Athletic Association posing with the first Stanley Cup in 1893.
    Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images

    In 1936, Imperial Oil, one of Canada’s largest petroleum companies, began sponsoring Hockey Night in Canada, a national radio show that reached millions each week. Several years later, Imperial Oil played a major role in bringing the show to television, where the Imperial Oil Choir sang the theme song. Imperial Oil and its gas stations, Esso, also sponsored youth hockey programs across the nation. In 2019, Imperial inked a deal to be the NHL’s “official retail fuel” in Canada.

    Striking it rich

    Connections between hockey and industry in Alberta’s oil country aren’t just about sponsorships. Central to both cultures is the idea of luck – historically, one of the many things it takes to extract fossil fuels. “Striking it rich” in the oil fields has become entangled with the idea of divine providence, especially among the many Christian laborers.

    Philosopher Terra Schwerin Rowe has written about North America’s “petro-theology,” explaining how many perceive oil as a free-flowing gift from God meant to be taken from the Earth – if you can find it.

    A Canadian oil worker kisses his wife and daughter goodbye as he sets off to work in northern Alberta in the 1950s.
    John Chillingworth/Getty Images

    Oil represents fortune, and who wouldn’t want to borrow a bit of that for their team? Sports are thrilling because sometimes talent, team chemistry and the home-field advantage still lose to a stroke of good luck. Oil culture pairs the idea of divine favor with an insistence on rough-and-tumble endurance, similar to hockey.

    Sometimes if you don’t strike it rich the first time, you have to keep on drilling. The next well may be the one to bring wealth. Oil prospectors know this, but so do sports fans who maintain hope season to season.

    Soon fans from around the world will join Edmonton locals in rooting for the Oilers. They’ll throw their hands up in despair if captain Connor McDavid enters the “sin bin” – the penalty box – or dance in celebration to the Oilers’ theme, “La Bamba.” Some of them will be cheering, too, for oil.

    This is an updated version of an article originally published on June 19, 2024.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. ‘Loyal to the oil’ – how religion and striking it rich shape Canada’s hockey fandom – https://theconversation.com/loyal-to-the-oil-how-religion-and-striking-it-rich-shape-canadas-hockey-fandom-258024

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    June 5, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Martha Stewart to Keynote Applied Net 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Chicago, IL., June 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Applied Systems® and Applied Client Network today announced that entrepreneur, best-selling author of 101 books, and Emmy Award-winner Martha Stewart will be the featured keynote speaker at Applied Net 2025. The lifestyle expert founded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, the first multi-channel company, which today reaches more than 100 million devoted fans on a monthly basis through her magazines, television shows, books, and products for the home. Martha will share her incredible journey of building a media empire from the ground up.

    “The insurance industry is built on entrepreneurial professionals who have turned their passion for helping people and communities safeguard and protect what matters most into a career, much like Martha Stewart has done with her passions for all things style and elegance,” said Brian Langerman, chief executive officer, Applied Client Network. “This year’s keynote will inspire our guests from across the insurance industry to continue turning their passion into new ways to serve their clients and build their businesses.”

    “Martha Stewart is one of the most successful and iconic business leaders of our time, with so many experiences to share that will inspire and motivate our Applied Net guests to dream big and turn their passions into great experiences for their teams and their clients,” said Taylor Rhodes, chief executive officer, Applied Systems. “Personally, I can’t wait for the Applied Net community to be inspired by her wisdom, wit and the many successes she’s accomplished in the business world and beyond.” 

    # # #

    The Applied products and logos are trademarks of Applied Systems, Inc., registered in the U.S.

    About Applied Systems
    Applied Systems is the leading global provider of cloud-based software that powers the business of insurance. Recognized as a pioneer in insurance automation and the innovation leader, Applied is the world’s largest provider of agency and brokerage management systems, serving customers throughout the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. By automating the insurance lifecycle, Applied’s people and products enable millions of people around the world to safeguard and protect what matters most.

    The MIL Network –

    June 5, 2025
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