Keyword
infrastructure

B.C. and federal governments assessing impact of wildfires on province’s agriculture sector

The governments of British Columbia and Canada have announced that they are working under the federal-provincial AgriRecovery disaster framework to determine the type of assistance that may be required by the province’s agriculture sector to recover from the impact of wildfires. The announcement was made on Wednesday following the first meeting between Lawrence MacAulay, the federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and B.C. Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham.

Government officials are working together to quickly assess the “extraordinary costs” farmers are incurring and what additional assistance may be required to recover and return to production following the wildfires, noted a joint statement from B.C.’s Ministry of Agriculture and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

B.C. ranchers say costs of wildfires likely top hundreds of millions

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – The British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association says wildfires have inflicted a terrible financial and emotional toll on its members. Association manager Kevin Boon says wildfires that broke out earlier this month in B.C.’s Cariboo and Chilcotin regions are…

Cyber threat landscape growing, potential for emergence of destruction of service attacks: Cisco

The potential for “destruction of service” (DeOS) attacks is greatly concerning and organizations would be well-advised to adopt a proactive cyber stance in their protection efforts to combat increasingly sophisticated attackers, warns a new report from Cisco. “Cyber incidents such…

Applying blockchain technology could slash US$40 billion in costs for financial services: BIS Research

Implementing blockchain technology could produce hefty cost savings in the billions of dollars annually for the financial services market, suggests a new report released Friday by Minnesota-based BIS Research. Characterizing blockchain as a revolutionary development, its application “could lead to…

Worldwide IT spending set to rebound in second half 2017, led by cloud and mobile upgrade cycles: report

Worldwide IT spending is expected to rebound in the second half of the year, led by cloud and mobile upgrade cycles, International Data Corporation (IDC) said in a new report. According to the latest edition of IDC’s Worldwide Black Book,…

Stilling quake risk in eastern Canada demands greater focus, awareness and effort: Swiss Re

Risk awareness is severely lacking and not enough attention is being paid to quake risk in eastern Canada, a region with “huge” loss-inflicting potential that a Swiss Re model projects could produce the country’s largest nat-Cat loss ever if the…

Companies plan to spend more on cloud computing services this year, higher prices among drivers: Clutch

Companies are planning to spend more on cloud computing services in 2017, but must be cognizant that anticipated costs could balloon absent appropriate monitoring and use, suggest survey results released this week by Clutch. Reflecting input from 283 IT professionals…

Lack of oversight regarding security of third-party IoT implementation: survey

A gap in understanding how best to mitigate and communicate risks around the Internet of Things (IoT) persists despite organizations reporting high concern about related security, notes a new report from Ponemon Institute and Shared Assessments Program. Released Wednesday, The…

Government of Alberta invests in debris dam to protect homes, businesses and infrastructure in Canmore

The Government of Alberta announced on Friday that it is investing an additional $10.3 million to protect homes, businesses and infrastructure in Canmore. The money represents the final funding towards a $48.6-million debris dam at Cougar Creek and is part…

Alberta to conduct review of liabilities associated with old oil and gas facilities

Alberta Energy has announced that it is conducting a review of old oil and gas wells and facilities and their associated liabilities. The province is working with industry and experts to find ways to better protect Albertans and the environment…

Government of Alberta boosts Calgary’s flood resilience with $13.4 million investment

The Government of Alberta announced on Wednesday that it is investing about $13.4 million to help the City of Calgary boost its flood readiness. Six provincial grants are part of $63 million earmarked in Budget 2017 to help Alberta communities…

Construction of mitigation infrastructure to protect against flood should be seen as nation-building projects: Australian insurers

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) cited the Canadian government’s budget commitment to create a Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund in a recommendation to its own federal government to treat the construction of mitigation infrastructure to protect flood-prone towns as…