UFO topic buzzes around Ottawa

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This article was published 24/05/2022 (1225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The federal Liberals seem to be taking seriously a call from Manitoba MPs to probe UFOs as a possible national security risk.

“I’m confident that our national security apparatus looks at all manner of threats to our national security,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino testified to a House committee last week.

Brandon—Souris MP Larry Maguire has been asking U.S. and Canadian officials about unidentified flying objects in recent weeks, as American officials open up about hundreds of objects that move at irregular speeds and angles, and sometimes evade radar signals.

Americans refer to the issue as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), to avoid the mental image of flying saucers and big-eyed aliens. They have been particularly concerned about sightings near nuclear facilities.

This week, Maguire will tour Canadian nuclear plants, as part of his work with the natural resources committee.

His Conservative colleague, Kildonan—St. Paul MP Raquel Dancho, raised the issue last week in questioning Mendicino, whose broad portfolio includes Canada’s spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

“It seems like a bit of a fringe area that is dominated by conspiracy theories. But given the United States recently has taken this very seriously — their director of national intelligence is talking about this — do you feel that your government should be taking this as seriously as the American government?” Dancho asked.

Mendicino responded he has not had briefings on the topic, and it likely falls under the defence minister, whom military officials had briefed about the issue in 2021.

“Our national security partners look for potential threats to our national security in every dimension and as they arise we get briefed,” said Mendicino.

Dancho asked the minister to reach out to his American counterparts.

The national defence committee has not studied the issue; its agenda has been dominated by examining the Armed Forces’ recruitment issues, harassment problems and strain from domestic deployments responding to natural disasters and COVID-19 outbreaks.

In Canada, pilots have a legal duty to report unidentified flying objects, but Maguire has argued officials need to look for patterns in that data. Experts say Canada dialed back its in-depth analysis on the issue in the mid-1990s.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca