Public Safety Canada Daily Infrastructure Report

The Public Safety Canada Daily Infrastructure Report is a compilation of summaries of publicly available emergency management information concerning critical infrastructure.

A summary of feedback results is now available.

News | Cyber tracking | Relevant links | Note to readers

DIR10-035 - February 19, 2010

News

Haiti earthquake: Update
Further to Public Safety Canada Daily Infrastructure Report DIR10-034, as of 16:00 EST on February 18, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada indicated that 1,897 Canadians have been located; 50 Canadians are unaccounted for; 4,618 have been evacuated on 48 flights; and 34 have been confirmed dead.
Source article – Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, February 18, 2010

Public Safety Canada’s Geomatics provides a map of Haiti.

USGS provides a map of the Haiti earthquake and aftershocks.

DFAIT provides more information on Canada’s response to the earthquake in Haiti, including assistance for Canadians in Haiti. DFAIT also provides more information on how the Government of Canada responds to natural disasters abroad.

National Defence and the Canadian Forces provides information on Operation HESTIA, which is the Canadian Forces participation in humanitarian operations conducted in response to the earthquake in Haiti.

The Canadian International Development Agency provides more information on how Canada is providing humanitarian assistance in response to the earthquake in Haiti.

Debit card skimmers hit Windsor, Ontario
On February 17, CBC reported that several debit machines at fast-food restaurants in the Windsor area were tampered with over the past few weeks. Windsor police suspect that thieves added Bluetooth chips to the PIN pads and that information about customers' accounts were then transmitted wirelessly to a car sitting in the parking lot. They are now investigating 217 complaints, and losses are estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Police said the suspects waited six weeks before striking, always withdrawing just under one of three limits: $200, $500 or $1,000. Staff Sgt. Gerry Corriveau indicated that many of the fraudulent transactions were made in the Quebec cities of Sherbrooke and Laval. The skimming was not limited to one financial institution, so all banks and credit unions across the city are issuing new cards to many of their customers. Police expect the number of cases to rise as banks send police their lists of affected customers. Police are advising residents to check their bank accounts, and merchants to either lock down or mark their PIN pads so they can't be switched without anyone noticing. Individuals who are proven to be victims of fraud are protected under the Canadian Code of Practice for Consumer Debit Card Services and will be reimbursed by their financial institutions. According to Interac Association, banks refunded customers $104.5 million because of debit card skimming in 2008.
Source article – CBC, February 17, 2010

WHO announces recommendation for 2010-2011 flu season
On February 18, the World Health Organization (WHO) made its recommendations for viruses to be used for influenza vaccines in the 2010-2011 influenza season for the Northern Hemisphere, which includes an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus.
CBC reported that last year, the H1N1 virus emerged too late before the regular flu vaccine could be produced to include the strain. The announcement followed a closed-door meeting of influenza experts who advise vaccine makers and guide governments on vaccine stockpiles. On February 23, WHO's expert influenza committee will meet to consider whether the world is moving to a post-peak period, where the pandemic continues but the virus is declining and flu infection rates fall back to normal levels. Many countries have already scaled back their H1N1 response as cases dropped steadily.
Source article – CBC, February 18, 2010
Source article - World Health Organization, February 18, 2010

WHO provides the full report of the recommended viruses for influenza vaccines for use in the 2010-2011 Northern Hemisphere influenza season as well as information regarding frequently asked questions.

WHO provides more information on H1N1 flu virus, also known as pandemic (H1N1) 2009.

New requirements for tomatoes originating from countries infested with tomato leafminer
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that effective February 24, 2010, tomatoes entering Canada from countries where tomato leafminer is known to occur will have to meet new interim requirements. Tomato shipments will have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with a declaration that the tomatoes originated from a place where tomato leafminer does not occur and were inspected and found free of tomato leafminer. These requirements will be in place until more permanent measures can be developed by the CFIA. Concurrently, the United States has enforced new import requirements for tomatoes. Effective February 1, 2010, tomatoes imported to Canada from countries infested with tomato leafminer are not allowed entry into the U.S., unless they have met additional import requirements set by the U.S.
Source article - Canadian Food Inspection Agency, February 17, 2010

The CFIA provides more information about Tomato leafminer.

Cyber tracking

CCIRC security publications
Over the course of the past 24 hours, CCIRC has not released any security publications.

CCIRC provides a list of recent and archived security publications.

Threat and vulnerability monitoring
CCIRC has not detected any new significant threats or vulnerabilities. Personnel responsible for information, systems and network security should continue to monitor and apply appropriate security precautions.

Relevant links

Below are links to sites related to Canada’s critical infrastructure.

Food Recalls and Allergy Alerts
Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Health Advisories, Warnings and Recalls
Health Canada

Disease Outbreak News
World Health Organization

Travel Health Notices
Public Health Agency of Canada

Transportation - Safety
Transport Canada

Travel Reports and Warnings
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Weather warnings for Canada
Environment Canada

Earthquakes
Earthquakes Canada

Hurricanes
Canadian Hurricane Centre

Hurricanes
U.S. National Hurricane Center

News Releases
Infrastructure Canada

 
 

Note to readers

Public Safety Canada collects information related to cyber and physical threats to, and events concerning, Canadian critical infrastructure. This allows Public Safety Canada to monitor and analyze threats and to issue alerts, advisories and other information products.

Links to sites not under the control of the Government of Canada are provided solely for the convenience of users. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. The Government of Canada does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

Public Safety Canada respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring that information products are available in both English and French. However, users should be aware that some links direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act and that these sources are only available in the language in which they are written.