DOESN'T ANYONE USE CYBER SECURITY

Canada Post reports data breach to 44 large businesses, 950K customers affected

Twinkle Ghosh 

GLOBAL NEWS

26/5/2021

A malware attack on one of Canada Post's suppliers has caused a data breach affecting 44 of the company's large business clients and their 950,000 receiving customers, the postal agency confirmed Wednesday.

© Provided by Global News Canada Post mailboxes in Kingston, Ontario on Friday, Aug 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Lars Hagberg

It said the information affected is from July 2016 to March 2019, and 97 per cent of it comprised the names and addresses of receiving customers. The remaining three per cent contained email addresses and/or phone numbers, the company said.

"In all, the impacted shipping manifests for the 44 commercial customers contained information relating to just over 950,000 receiving customers," Canada Post said in an email to Global News.

The Crown corporation said it has already "implemented proactive measures and will continue to take all necessary steps to mitigate the impacts."

Read more: Where’s your delivery? Canada Post backlog amid COVID-19 keeps customers guessing

"Canada Post will also incorporate any learnings into our efforts, including the involvement of suppliers, to enhance our cybersecurity approach which is becoming an increasingly sophisticated issue," the statement said.

On May 19, Commport Communications -- an electronic data interchange (EDI) solution supplier used by Canada Post to manage shipping data of business customers -- informed the company that certain data associated with some of their customers had been compromised.

According to Canada Post, a detailed forensic investigation was carried but "there was no evidence" of any financial information being breached.

Though the breach occurred via a supplier, Canada Post said they "sincerely regret the inconvenience this will cause our valued customers," in a statement Wednesday.

"Canada Post respects customer privacy and takes matters of cybersecurity very seriously," it said.

"We are now working closely with Commport Communications and have engaged external cybersecurity experts to fully investigate and take action," the company said.

Currently, the postal agency is "proactively informing" the impacted business customers, while providing the necessary support and information "to help them determine their next steps."

"The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has been notified," Canada Post said.

In November 2020, Commport Communications had notified Innovapost, the IT subsidiary of Canada Post, of a potential ransomware issue. The matter was investigated and Commport Communications had advised at the time that there was no evidence to suggest any customer data had been compromised.

Rep. Ilhan Omar decries attacks on Jews while warning against equating 'legitimate criticism' of the Israeli government with antisemitism

© Getty Getty

Rep. lhan Omar decried the recent spike in attacks on Jews in the US and abroad.

"Fighting bigotry of any kind means fighting bigotry of every kind," she said.

Omar also warned against equating criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism.

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on Wednesday denounced a recent spike in attacks on Jews in the US and abroad while warning against treating "legitimate criticism" of the Israeli government as synonymous with antisemitism.

"The rise in antisemitic attacks at home and abroad is appalling," Omar tweeted. "We must be clear and unequivocal: antisemitism is unacceptable and has no place in any movement. Fighting bigotry of any kind means fighting bigotry of every kind."

The Minnesota Democrat went on to say, "And it also means we cannot equate legitimate criticism of the Israeli government, its policy, and its military occupation with antisemitism. Connecting the actions of a foreign country's government and military with an entire faith does nothing to keep the Jewish people safer."

Omar's tweets came after a group of Jewish Democrats in the House on Tuesday sent a letter to President Joe Biden decrying House lawmakers for calling Israel an apartheid state and accusing it of committing acts of terrorism. The letter didn't explicitly name Omar or any other lawmakers, but she was among a group of progressive Democrats who employed such rhetoric regarding the Israeli government in over the past few weeks.

Top human rights groups, including the Jerusalem-based organization B'Tselem, have said that the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians amounts to a form of apartheid.

In a tweet amid the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas, for example, Omar said, "Israeli air strikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism. Palestinians deserve protection. Unlike Israel, missile defense programs, such as Iron Dome, don't exist to protect Palestinian civilians."

In response to this tweet, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) released an ad superimposing Omar's image over Hamas rockets and distorting her words - prompting condemnation from Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The letter sent to Biden also condemned Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of North Carolina for equating COVID-19 restrictions with the Holocaust, accusing her of making "blatantly antisemitic statements."

Democrats are increasingly divided over US-Israel relations

 A woman gestures after finding her home collapsed after the cease-fire brokered by Egypt between Israel and Hamas in Beit Hanoun, Gaza on May 21, 2021. Mustafa Hassona/Getty Images

There's a growing schism in the Democratic party over US-Israel relations, with progressives like Omar urging the US government to take a more nuanced approach that shows more concern for Palestinians and human rights.

Progressive Democrats have sought to normalize criticism of the Israeli government, and a number of them - including Omar - were heavily critical of Biden's response to the recent Israel-Hamas fighting. Biden offered full-throated support to Israel as airstrikes pummeled Gaza in response to Hamas rocket attacks, most of which were intercepted by the US-funded Iron Dome defense system. And the president initially tiptoed around offering any public support for a cease-fire.

As the fighting was still ongoing, Omar at one point said the administration was "devoid of empathy and concern for human suffering."

The fighting killed over 250 people, predominantly Palestinians, including dozens of children.

With a cease-fire in effect as of last Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited leaders in the Middle East this week as part of an effort to ensure the fragile peace holds up. Among those Blinken met with was Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

"The aspirations of the Palestinian people are like those of people everywhere," Blinken said on Tuesday after their meeting, underscoring that the US is committed "to working with the Palestinian people to realize these aspirations."

During his visit to the region, Blinken announced that the US would reopen a consulate in Jerusalem to handle diplomatic relations with Palestinians, which was shut down under the Trump administration.

The top US diplomat also said the US was giving $110 million in new economic assistance to Palestinians, including $5.5 million in emergency assistance for Gaza. Blinken said this brings the total level of assistance to Palestinians from the Biden administration so far to over $360 million. The Trump administration, which unabashedly supported the agenda of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government, cut off virtually all assistance to Palestinians.

THE FIFTY FIRST STATE

The US gives Israel roughly $3.8 billion in military aid per year, on top of selling it weapons. Democrats like Omar have called for the US to consider conditioning aid to the Israeli government in relation to the peace process and occupation of Palestinian territories. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York both recently introduced resolutions aimed at blocking a $735 million arms sale to Israel.

Read the original article on Business Insider

SCOTUS VS SCOTUS

Justices signal they could limit Indian Country ruling
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted Oklahoma's request to retain custody of a man who has been on death row for killing three Native Americans, a sign the court may be willing to limit the fallout from last year's ruling that much of eastern Oklahoma remains a tribal reservation.   

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The action came in the case of Shaun Bosse, whose conviction and death sentence for the murders of Katrina Griffin and her two young children were overturned by a state appeals court.

The order makes it likely that the high court will weigh in soon on the extent of its 5-4 ruling last year in McGirt v. Oklahoma.

The state court had held that state prosecutors had no authority to try Bosse for the killings, which took place on the Chicksaw Nation's reservation, based on the McGirt decision.

Hundreds of criminal convictions, including several death sentences for first-degree murder, have been set aside, and tribal and federal officials have been scrambling to refile those cases in tribal or U.S. district court.

Oklahoma argued to the Supreme Court that it can prosecute crimes committed by non-Native Americans like Bosse, even if the scene of the crime is on tribal land. The state also said there might be technical legal reasons for rejecting Bosse's claims.

The three liberal justices dissented from the order but did not explain their disagreement. They were in last year's majority, along with Justice Neil Gorsuch, the author of the opinion. Gorsuch did not publicly dissent from Wednesday's order.

The fifth member of the McGirt majority was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September. She has been replaced by Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Bosse already has been charged with the killings in federal court, and he had been scheduled to be transferred to federal custody. But he could not be sentenced to death under the federal charges.

The Associated Press

WTF!  QU'EST-CE QUE LA BAISE! 
Quebec confirms a young bear captured near Montreal has been euthanized

Animal rescuer shocked to learn captured bear was euthanized 

MONTREAL — Quebec's Wildlife Department has defended its decision to euthanize a young bear that was captured after being found wandering in a Montreal suburb, as criticism poured in from citizens and an animal rescue group.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The young adult bear was deemed a risk to human safety because it showed no fear of venturing into a noisy urban environment, the department said in an email Tuesday. The animal caused a stir on Sunday after it was spotted wandering through backyards in Dorval, Que., a suburb just west of the city.


At the end of an operation that lasted several hours, government wildlife officers and a rescue group convinced the animal to climb a tree, where it was shot with tranquillizer darts and eventually captured safely.

The bear was put in a cage, after which wildlife experts made the decision to euthanize it, the department said. "Releasing an animal that has lost its fear of humans can pose a risk to human safety when it is a predator like the bear," the statement read.

It's unclear how the animal, which was estimated to be about a year and a half old, got to the city. The Wildlife Department said it was the first time it had been called about a bear on the Island of Montreal.

Sauvetage Animal Rescue, the group that spent several hours helping police and wildlife agents corral the wayward bear, said it was "shocked" to learn of the animal's death.

Video: Animal rescuer shocked to learn captured bear was euthanized (cbc.ca) Duration 4:36

The group said in a statement late Monday it had been assured the bear would be put back into the wild, adding that it would have helped place the animal in a refuge if release wasn't possible.

"At the end of (Sunday's) operation, we were informed that the bear was going to be released away from the city," the group wrote in a statement published on Facebook. "We were not contacted by the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks to tell us that another decision had been taken."

Wildlife officials said the agency considers refuges temporary solutions to rehabilitate animals that can be returned to the wild. "However, the stay of a wild animal in such an environment presents a risk of habituating the animal to humans," the email read.

The statement said officials did not consider sending the bear to live in a zoo or other facility long term, stating that a life in captivity is "not optimal" for bears, which need a large territory to roam.

Montrealers took to social media to express anger over the bear's death, and an online petition calling for the resignation of province's wildlife minister had gathered over 4,500 signatures as of midday Wednesday.

The petition also accused the department of deciding to "euthanize deer in several sectors when refuges wanted to take care of them," and failing to properly fund organizations that help wildlife.

Sauvetage Animal Rescue posted the link to the complaints page of the Wildlife Department website, suggesting citizens could write to the minister directly to express their displeasure.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2021.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press

CN promises sale of KCS line between New Orleans and Baton Rouge to win approval


Canadian National Railway Co. says it has made a pre-emptive move to address competition concerns from the U.S. regulator by agreeing to sell Kansas City Southern's line between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The Montreal-based railway says the commitment to sell the 100-kilometre line eliminates the sole area of overlap between the CN and KCS networks.

The promise is part of a motion CN and KCS jointly filed with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board on Wednesday for approval of a key voting trust they want to use to complete the deal.

CN chief executive JJ Ruest said the trust is an essential step so KCS shareholders can receive the full value of their shares while the STB reviews the takeover.

"So I think this morning, we filed a lot of what the STB is looking for and providing a lot of substance and detail to some of the questions that they raised earlier last week," Ruest told an investor conference.

He said the Canadian railway read the STB's comments about a trust being a privilege and must be in the public interest and addressed those concerns.

"We are confident our filing will demonstrate why our combination is pro-competitive, that it will provide economic growth and that it will realize multiple network benefits across the continent."

KCS formally backed the CN offer last week over an earlier deal with Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.

CP chief executive Keith Creel told the conference that the Calgary-based railway continues ready to step in once the regulator blocks the CN voting trust because that merger is not in the best interests of shippers and the U.S. railway system as a whole.

"Even after last week, CP is not deterred in our collective conviction for this perfect combination remains the same. We believed then and we believe now that our proposal between CP and KCS is a perfect marriage between two rail networks that serves the public's best interests as well as serving all stakeholders' best interests."

He said selling off the Baton Rouge to New Orleans line is not good for KCS employees and is not a very attractive alternative to two robust networks competing to handle today's business and future growth.

"There's competitive concerns that's not isolated to 65 miles as some would suggest," he said in reference to the line CN proposes to sell.

KCS chief executive Patrick Ottensmeyer told the Wolfe Research Global Transportation and Industrials conference that its board looked beyond just CN's higher price before determining its offer was superior to CP's.

"Our board considered really all aspects of the transaction: value, risk across the board, not just at the front end but across the integration and the future outlook of the combined networks and determined that this was a superior transaction," he said, adding that details of the process will be included in the proxy statement that should be available in the next few weeks.

He said KCS will operate independently during the voting trust period with former CEO Dave Starling being a trustee and Ottensmeyer continuing to lead the company.

"We're very confident that this will satisfy the STB's requirements for independence and are confident that, that will lead to an approval of the voting trust."

The sale agreement still needs approval from KCS shareholders as well as regulatory approval from the STB, the Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE) and Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) in Mexico.

STB decision on CN's voting trust is expected some time in June with the deal expected to close in late 2022.

Ruest said that on the "outside chance" that the takeover isn't approved, CN will talk with KCS and decide at that time the most appropriate action.

Analyst Kevin Chiang of CIBC World Markets upgraded CN to outperformer from neutral because the railway's shares have come under pressure since its bid for KCS, falling 14.5 per cent their closing price before the railway made its takeover offer.

"As such, if CN’s voting trust application is denied, the financial hit has already been more than reflected in the decline in its market cap," he wrote in a report.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR)

Ross Marowits, The Canadian Press

#FRACKQUAKE

Fracking likely to create stronger, more common earthquakes in B. C: study

More damaging earthquakes can be expected more often in northern British Columbia as fracking oil and gas wells increases pressure underground, says newly published research.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

"It makes earthquakes more common and it makes larger ones more common," said Allan Chapman, an independent researcher and formerly senior scientist with the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission.

"There appears to be a fairly strong relationship between this cumulative water loading underground and the magnitude of an event."

Chapman said his study suggests that homes and infrastructure in northern B.C. could be at risk from earthquakes and that current government safeguards are inadequate.

"For many of these large events there may be no warning."

Chapman looked at the Montney field near Fort St. John, B.C. For years, that area has seen intensive oil and gas development using fracking, which injects high-pressure fluids deep underground to fracture rocks and release oil and gas.

That technique has become increasingly associated with earthquakes. In parts of the Montney, a total of 439 earthquakes up to 4.6 magnitude were associated with fracking between 2013 and 2019.

Previous research has linked the pressure at which the fluids are injected to the resulting temblor.

Chapman looked at the total volumes of water injected wells within five kilometres of an earthquake epicentre. He found that areas where water volumes built up over time — sometimes from several different companies — were associated with stronger magnitudes of at least 3.0, enough to be felt on the surface.

The number of earthquakes also increased.

One part of the Montney generated about 20 earthquakes when one million cubic metres of fluids were pumped underground. That same area registered more than 160 events when injection grew to 3.5 million cubic metres.

"It makes the earthquakes more common and it makes the large ones more common," Chapman said.

He noted that fracking is expected to increase in the Montney. Many sites only have four wells on a pad.

"At full development, you're expecting to see 20 or 30 wells on a pad. What's going to happen if the amount of fracking rises substantially?"

In a statement from spokeswoman Lannea Parfitt, The B.C. Oil and Gas Commission criticized Chapman's peer-reviewed work.

"Our geological and engineering experts have concluded it is based on a number of unproven assumptions or incomplete consideration of the factors cited," the commission said in an email.

The commission said the paper didn't account for variation in rock strata, fault types and local stresses. It called Chapman's conclusions "speculation."

"Our geologists and seismic experts use sound, peer-reviewed research, data, and predictive modelling to understand, regulate and mitigate seismic activity," it said.

B.C. and Alberta have instituted what's called a "traffic light" approach to manage risk. Companies are expected to reduce pumping pressure and volume once light earthquakes are felt and to stop completely as they increase.

But Chapman points out four of the region's five biggest recent earthquakes — all over magnitude 4.0 — weren't preceded by any warnings.

"There was no precursor," he said.

"Magnitude 4 is a big event, shaking the ground for 30 kilometres. If you had one within a couple kilometres of your house, you'd be worried about damage."

Fracking has already induced earthquakes in China rated at 5.3, Chapman's study says.

"There is no upper limit."

Fort St. John, with 20,000 residents, felt five earthquakes between 2013 and 2019. The largest was rated at 4.2.

The region's bridges and dams could also be vulnerable, Chapman said.

He is joining other researchers who have already called for a no-fracking zone in areas with susceptible geology, homes and buildings.

"We do need to look at places that are too high-value. They need to have a no-frack zone around them."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2021.

— Follow @row1960 on Twitter

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

All the fish in the sea, except mackerel: Scotia-Fundy fishers fight to keep 2021 mackerel quota

CANSO – “I am not shocked that the quota dropped … but the way that it was done was quite shocking to us,” Ginny Boudreau, manager of the Guysborough County Inshore Fishermen’s Association (GCIFA), told The Journal May 25 during an interview about the mackerel fishery in the Scotia-Fundy region, which spans the entire province of Nova Scotia into southern New Brunswick.

On May 14, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) issued a notice closing the mackerel fishery in Scotia-Fundy. Fishers in Guysborough County already had their traps in the water in preparation for the opening of the two-week season.

The May 14 closure notice was later amended, allowing a reduced mackerel fishery in the region. A news release from DFO on May 21 announced the reversal of the closure, stating the total allowable catch for the commercial Atlantic mackerel fishery this year would stand at 4,000 tonnes “in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, a 50 per cent reduction from last year. To help ensure all fleets have some fishing opportunities, the quota will be released in two equal amounts with one release now and one release later in the summer.”

Given the nature of the mackerel fishery in the Scotia-Fundy region – mackerel are only available during the spring migration – the quota is effectively reduced to 2,000 tonnes, as the summer quota release isn’t applicable.

Part of Boudreau’s shock at the May 14 closure notice was due to the fact that GCIFA has been taking part in the Atlantic Mackerel Advisory Committee and the Scotia-Fundy Mackerel Advisory Committee.

“That was quite a lengthy process and we assumed that the Minister [Bernadette Jordan, minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard] had all the information to make a decision long before now. It was quite shocking when our fish just arrived, and everything got shut down … she couldn’t have picked a worse time to shut it down. If it had taken any longer for her to make a decision, then it wouldn’t have mattered if she opened the fishery or not because the fish would have already gone past here.”

The reason for the change on quotas is that DFO science has concluded the mackerel stock is in critical condition.

“Unfortunately, the number of spawning-age mackerel is at an historic low. Immediate action must be taken to conserve and rebuild the population,” stated the DFO release last week.

Minister Jordan added this comment to the release: “This is a difficult decision that has economic impacts on commercial harvesters and their communities, but the science is clear – stronger actions need to be taken to rebuild the Atlantic mackerel stock. I am hopeful that this decision will lead to growth in the stock over the next two years, as demonstrated by the science model. However, if the spawning biomass does not increase over the next two years, we are likely heading towards a commercial Atlantic mackerel fishery closure. I recognize that many harvesters depend on this fishery, and we will continue working with them and fishing groups across the Atlantic over the next two years to ensure the best outcome for the stock and all involved.”

Boudreau said local fishers would not welcome a closure of the mackerel fishery, but they would accept it. However, closing the fishery in some areas, such as Scotia-Fundy, and not others would not be fair.

“We were told at the rebuilding table [a working group with representatives from DFO, provincial governments, industry stakeholders, and Aboriginal partners to improve the management of the Atlantic mackerel fishery] that everyone would be treated equally,” she said.

The closure announced May 14 was seen as unfair treatment and sparked an outcry from fishers, fishing organizations and elected officials; notably Guysborough-Eastern Shore-Tracadie MLA Lloyd Hines, who represents many fishers impacted.

Hines told The Journal last Monday, “First of all, on a Friday at a quarter-to-eight in the evening – after the fishers had already deployed their traps – DFO precipitously announced the closure of Scotia-Fundy but not the Gulf fishery which included Quebec and Newfoundland. What that meant was that the trap fishermen, who in good faith – not expecting a complete closure, had already deployed their traps … all of a sudden they were given a 24-hour notice that they had to get their traps out of the water.”

He went on to say that he realized the peril the mackerel stock was facing but this shotgun approach to management was unacceptable.

“Preservation of that stock has to be the number one priority and, I have to say, what I have seen in the evolution of the fishery in Nova Scotia, is fishermen accept that and work at it.

“The need to protect the stock is not the argument. The argument was the precipitous nature that DFO employed to shut down the piece of the fishery which was in Nova Scotia,” said Hines, adding, “waiting for fishermen to put traps in the water, expend all that energy and all that money and then to pull it out; seems to me is mismanagement by DFO. That is not an acceptable outcome.”

Following the announcement regarding the closure of the Scotia-Fundy mackerel fishery, Hines was in discussion with local stakeholders, and both the federal and provincial fisheries ministers.

“Though it is a federal issue [Atlantic fisheries], I reached out to the two federal MPs who are in my area – Sean Fraser (Central Nova) and Mike Kelloway (Cape Breton-Canso) – but I also had a really good conversation with the Fisheries Minister [Bernadette Jordan]. She committed to me that she would look into the matter.”

As news spread, the issue was picked up by the media and some fishers in the impacted areas planned protests. While the mackerel fishery is small in comparison to others, such as lobster, it is an integral part of the fishing economy with knock-on effects, particularly in regard to the lobster fishery which uses mackerel as bait.

“At the end of the day,” said Hines, “the fisheries minister understood the problem very well and agreed … They cut the quota quite significantly; cut it in half from 8,000 to 4,000 tonnes and they split it into two pieces, 2,000 tonnes for Scotia-Fundy and 2,000 tonnes for Gulf.”

Local fishers were somewhat relieved by the change in the closure notice, but Boudreau said that – going forward – other issues should be addressed in regard to the status of the mackerel stock. She added, instead of always pointing the finger at the Canadian-based fishery when a stock is in peril, consideration has to be given to the international nature of the stock; and measures, or lack thereof, in place to preserve the stock in the United States. Research into copepods (the primary food source for mackerel), seal predation, gear type and the effects of the 2012 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the Atlantic mackerel stock could all create a clearer picture of the road to stock preservation.

Lois Ann Dort, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journ

WAIT, WHAT?!

Nova Scotia companies chosen to help build Canada's first commercial spaceport

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia company planning to build Canada's first commercial spaceport announced on Wednesday some of the firms it has chosen to design and construct its proposed launch pad.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Maritime Launch Services says it picked Strum Consulting, Stantec, Nova Construction and St. Francis Xavier University, among other organizations, to help it launch satellites into orbit.

"We want to get to the ground breaking and the jobs associated with that as early as we can, this year if at all possible," Stephen Matier, president and CEO of Maritime Launch Services, said in an interview Wednesday.

Stantec, a global consulting company with offices in Nova Scotia, will lead the spaceport design team, and Antigonish-based Nova Construction will be involved with building roads and with other civil construction work at the launch site, located near Canso, in northeastern Nova Scotia.*

St. Francis Xavier has been chosen to implement an air-monitoring program for the spaceport with the help of the university's FluxLab, led by Dr. David Risk.

Matier said Maritime Launch Services plans to keep as much of the building process as possible within Nova Scotia and Canada.

The company is to host an industry day in the coming months to recruit people from the Guysborough, N.S., municipality to work on the project, and Matier said up to 125 will be involved in building the spaceport. He said the company's workforce could grow up to 250 people once the launch pad is operational.

Maritime Launch Services, he said, is aiming to have the project ready by the end of 2023.

Nova Scotia's Environment Department in March granted the company an 18-month extension to begin construction on the spaceport.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2021.

— — —

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Danielle Edwards, The Canadian Press

*STANTEC IS AN EDMONTON BASED COMPANY THAT IS EMPOYEE OWNED

Canada announces plans to land a rover on the moon in the next five years

OTTAWA — Science Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Canada plans to land a rover on the moon in the next five years

.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The Canadian Space Agency says the unmanned robotic vehicle will aim to gather imagery and measurements on the moon's cratered surface, showcasing technologies from Canadian companies in a polar region of the earth's only natural satellite.

Conducted in partnership with NASA, the mission hopes to have the rover make it through an entire lunar night, which lasts about two weeks and presents major technological challenges due to the extreme cold and dark.

Lisa Campbell, president of the space agency, says it will put out a request for proposals on design and development from two companies in the coming months.

Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques, decked out in his flight suit, was also present at the virtual announcement Wednesday, and will be among the candidates for the one Canadian spot on a four-person mission to travel around the moon in the next few years.

The announcement happened to come the same day the moon drifted through the earth's shadow in the first total lunar eclipse since January 2019.

The federal government pledge falls under a $150-million lunar exploration program launched that year.

In December the government signed an agreement with the United States to send a Canadian astronaut around the moon as part of a broader effort to establish a new space station above the lunar surface.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2021.

The Canadian Press

GM's newest vehicle: Off-road, self-driving rover for moon

© Provided by The Canadian Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — General Motors is teaming up with Lockheed Martin to produce the ultimate off-road, self-driving, electric vehicles — for the moon.

The project announced Wednesday is still in the early stages and has yet to score any NASA money. But the goal is to design light yet rugged vehicles that will travel farther and faster than the lunar rovers that carried NASA’s Apollo astronauts in the early 1970s, the companies said.

“Mobility is really going to open up the moon for us,” said Kirk Shireman, a former NASA manager who is now Lockheed Martin's vice president for lunar exploration.

The rovers used by the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 moonwalkers ventured no more than 4 1/2 miles (7.6 kilometers) from their landers. GM also helped design those vehicles.

NASA last year put out a call for industry ideas on lunar rovers. The space agency aims to return astronauts to the moon by 2024, a deadline set by the previous White House.

Their initial rovers will be designed to carry two astronauts at a time, according to company officials. A brief company video showed a large, open rover speeding over lunar slopes, with more headlights in the distance.

This is "just a glimpse of how we see the opportunity playing out,” said Jeff Ryder, a vice president for GM Defense.

By operating autonomously when needed, Shireman noted, the rovers can keep astronauts safely away from dangerous spots like the permanently shadowed craters at the moon’s South Pole. Frozen water gathered from these dark corners could be used for drinking, growing plants and creating rocket fuel.

Autonomy could also improve efficiency, with astronauts focused on collecting rocks as a rover follows behind like a puppy, he said.

In a separate venture begun two years ago, Toyota partnered with the Japanese Space Agency to build a pressurized electric-powered lunar rover for astronauts. They're calling it the Lunar Cruiser.

GM and Lockheed Martin's vehicle will be unpressurized, meaning that riders will need to wear spacesuits at all times. There's room for both models, according to Shireman.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press