Canadian defence minister was briefed on UFOs

Source: (https://bit.ly/3sqaoVR)
Ahead of the release of a much-anticipated U.S. intelligence report
on aerial phenomena, former Canadian defence minister Harjit
Sajjan received a briefing on UFOs.
Documents obtained by CTVNews.ca reveal the June 2021 briefing
followed a flurry of mainstream media coverage about a then-upcoming
report on U.S. military sightings of “unidentified aerial phenomena,”
or UAP, the term American officials use for what are more commonly
known as unidentified flying objects and UFOs.
“I expect I am not alone in noting the recent increase in comment
regarding Unidentified Flying Objects in the media internationally,
particularly in the U.S.,” Sajjan’s then-chief of staff wrote in a May
19, 2021 email to senior defence officials. “I believe it is prudent
to request a full briefing for Minister Sajjan from the Canadian
perspective on this issue.”
A lieutenant-colonel co-ordinated the effort. An accompanying
five-page slide presentation included an overview of cases and
procedures, which currently link the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)
with air traffic controllers, federal aviation authorities and
a civilian researcher in Manitoba. CTVNews.ca acquired the slides
and related emails through an access to information request.
It took six weeks of emails before a Department of National Defence
spokesperson confirmed the briefing occurred in early June 2021,
although they would not provide an exact date.
Sajjan, a former CAF lieutenant-colonel himself, was replaced as
defence minister by Anita Anand in an Oct. 2021 cabinet shuffle and
now serves as Minister of International Development.
“No, we have no records of subsequent briefs based on currently
available information,” the National Defence spokesperson said.
“Minister Anand has not received a brief at this juncture.”
The briefing slides say approximately 1,000 UFO sightings are
reported in Canada each year.
Emails and five-page slide deck below show how Sajjan received
a briefing on “unidentified aerial phenomena” in June 2021.
The most recent case referenced was from May 2021, when the pilot
of a Delta Air Lines flight over Saskatchewan asked air traffic
controllers “about traffic well above them and moving right to left.”
According to a publicly-available report from Transport Canada,
the “controller advised that there was no known traffic in the area.
The pilot replied that they couldn't figure out what it was either.”
The government aviation incident database, where this report was
published, is peppered with 25 years of strange sightings from
soldiers, police officers, air traffic controllers as well as pilots
on military, medical, cargo and passenger flights operated by
WestJet, Air Canada Express, Porter Airlines and more.
Transport Canada, the federal department that maintains the
database, warns such “reports contain preliminary, unconfirmed
data which can be subject to change.”
That data is mostly supplied by Nav Canada, a private company
that owns and operates Canadian civil air navigation infrastructure
such as airport control towers. When Nav Canada personnel receive
UFO reports, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are also usually
alerted.
“NAV Canada is the responsible agency for managing UAP-related
reporting,” the slides prepared for the then-defence minister read.
“CAF does not typically investigate sightings of unexplained
phenomena outside the context of investigating potential threats
or distress.”
A Nav Canada spokesperson said the company doesn’t investigate
UFO reports, adding that their role is to forward information to
federal authorities. They point to a Nav Canada guide to Canadian
aviation procedures, which puts “unidentified flying objects” at
the front of a list of “vital intelligence sightings” requiring
reports. Other examples include “surface warships identified
as being non-Canadian or non-American.”
A spokesperson from Transport Canada told CTVNews.ca that
UFO reports “have no potential for regulatory enforcement and
often fall outside the department’s mandate.”
“Reports of unidentified objects can rarely be followed up on
as they are as the title implies, unidentified,” the spokesperson
said in an email.
The U.S. government has funded UFO research programs almost
continuously since 2007. The public got a rare peek at those
efforts on June 25, 2021, when the U.S. intelligence community
released an unclassified report on recent military sightings, which
included UAP that “appeared to remain stationary in winds aloft
move against the wind, maneuver abruptly, or move at considerable
speed, without discernable means of propulsion.”
From drones to weather phenomena to top-secret technology, many
potential explanations are floated for odd observations like these,
and officials say they should not be interpreted as proof
extraterrestrials are visiting earth. But finding answers requires
investigation, and compared to government-funded programs
in the U.S., little appears to be happening in Canada.
Opposition defence critic Kerry-Lynne Findlay believes Ottawa
should be paying more attention to American developments, which
recently included a bipartisan U.S. senate initiative to establish
a new UAP research office.
“As our closest ally and NORAD partner continues to investigate
the national security implications of UAP, it would be prudent for
Canada to take a similar approach,” the former Conservative cabinet
member said in a statement to CTVNews.ca. “Rather than ridicule
and silence, it would be wise to take this issue seriously, with the
objective of identifying the origins and intent of these UAP.”
Declassified records held by Library and Archives Canada reveal
military UFO procedures and sightings dating back to the early 1950s.
By the 1960s, responsibility was transferred to the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police and scientists at the National Research Council
of Canada, which ended their involvement in 1995.
According to the briefing slides obtained by CTVNews.ca, it wasn’t
long before a civilian researcher described as “Canada’s pre-eminent
ufologist”started receiving UFO reports directly from the military
and Transport Canada.
Chris Rutkowski is a Winnipeg-based science writer and University
of Manitoba communications professional who has led efforts to
document more than 23,000 sightings since 1989 through the annual
Canadian UFO Survey. Rutkowski told CTVNews.ca he was asked
to provide material for the minister’s briefing as a “civilian
advisor,” and that he last received official UFO data in early 2021.
“I have been called both a sceptic and a believer, which probably
demonstrates that my position is appropriate,” Rutkowski said in an
email. “We are long past the era of UFOs being a subject of ridicule.
Well-trained observers have reported sightings of UFOs and UAP
and there seems to be a renewed interest by both scientists and the
military establishment in taking a closer look at this persistent
phenomenon.”
Rutkowski, whose 10th UFO book is scheduled to be released this
spring, would like to see a panel or committee formed to gather and
examine Canadian cases. Findlay also thinks it’s time for Canada
to be more active and open about UFOs.
“We believe the government should adopt a streamlined, whole
of government approach to standardize the collection of reports
across numerous departments and contractors, such as NAV Canada,”
Findlay told CTVNews.ca in a rare statement on the subject from
a Canadian politician. “Efforts should be undertaken to investigate
and make those findings public in a responsible manner.”
UFO procedures remain unchanged in Canada, the Department of
National Defence spokesperson told CTVNews.ca. When asked
if information on the subject has been provided to Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau or his office, their response was, “not directly, no.”
CTV News was first made aware of Sajjan’s UFO briefing by an
anonymous source, who shared documents acquired through Canadian
freedom of information laws. CTV News verified those documents by
filing a new access to information request with the Department of
National Defence.