Briefing by Elizondo
An 18 May 2022 article by CTV News, the news division of the CTV television network in Canada, reported that according to the office of Conservative MP Larry Maguire, both Maguire and another Conservative MP, had a 16 February 2021 briefing by Luis Elizondo.
Elizondo is quoted in that article as saying:
"Mr. Maguire is absolutely correct in his concern, because he knows that these reports do occur...I think the time has come for us to have an open and honest dialogue about this topic without fear of retribution, without stigma and associated taboo."
Briefing requested for the Canadian Minister of Defence
In a 10 May 2022 article by journalist Tristin Hopper, it was reported that relevant UAP documents had been obtained for CTV News, via the Access to Information Act, the Canadian equivalent of the US Freedom of Information Act. One of these documents was an email, dated 19 May 2021, from George Young, Chief of Staff for the then Minister of Defence, Harjit Sajjan, asking for the Minister to receive a briefing on UAP. In full, it read:
"Good afternoon,
I expect I am not alone in noting the recent increase in comment regarding Unidentified Flying Objects in the media internationally, particularly in the US. UFOs have been the focus of comment both in the Congress and in open media from former President Obama who has noted that he received briefings on UFOs. I also note in this article, for instance, that:
"A stipulation in the "committee comment" portion of the Intelligence Authorization Act for the 2021 fiscal year directed U.S. Intelligence agencies to hand over unclassified reports about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena to Congress by June of this year."
It should/could be expected that the imminent US release of information will prompt questions domestically and with Defence-related implications, more than likely given the nexus with DoD in the US for the upcoming report.
U.S. Intelligence agencies are expected to deliver a report on "unidentified aerial phenomena" to Congress next month, sparking renewed interest and speculation into how the government has handled sightings of mysterious flying objects - and if there's any worldly explanation for them. The unclassified report, compiled by the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense, aims to make public what the Pentagon knows about unidentified flying objects, and data analyzed from, such encounters.
Anticipating this, I believe is is prudent to request a full briefing for Minister Sajjan from the Canadian perspective on this issue. That is to say, a report on any and all research that has been done by CAF/DND; any sightings that have been reported in recent years; any historical information that may be on file; interfaces with other governments on the issue, and any other related information that might be pertinent. In other words, use the broadest possible lens to inform us of any Canadian angle to the issue. We will need this done in a very timely fashion please, given the timeframe noted for the US release of the report."
A second email, dated 20 May 2021, from Lt. Col Kris M Reeves, Senior Military Advisor to the Deputy Minister of National Defence tasked out the preparation of briefing material.
The briefing material was prepared, and a briefing was undertaken in June 2021, exact date unknown. The FOI material obtained, included five briefing slides, as follows:
The 18 May 2022 article cited above, also noted that there had been two other briefings, this time by a U.S. based organization.
1. A 20 October 2021 briefing for a Liberal member of Parliament, by members of the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies. These members included Robert Powell, as well as Chris Mellon.
2. 28 January 2022. Presenters not stated.
Conservative MP Larry Maguire
A recent, 13 May 2022, Op-ed piece was written by MP Larry Maguire, titled "UAPs are real, and Canada should take them seriously." The piece included the following:
"...it is time to demand action from our government departments. Moreover, it's time for them to engage with the scientific community in an open and transparent manner...Last year I met with Elizondo to learn more about UAP and to better understand the issue. While I did not get access to classified information, it was a good opportunity to ask some in-depth questions...Knowing all this, the two most logical questions we should be asking in Canada are: What information does the government of Canada posess, and what are they doing with it?" and:
"There is documented evidence outlining where DND reports their own internal UAP information, including to NORAD through the 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg, Manitoba, or the 21 Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron in North Bay, Ontario. This has never been brought to the attention of either Parliament or the Standing Committee on National Defence"
The 18 May 2022 article added:
"Ontario NDP MP Matthew Green agrees, saying Canada has nothing to lose by investigating UAP. Green is quoted as saying:
"If the testimony coming out of the States provides the public with a glimpse into the seriousness in which they're taking it, then I think it would be well-advised for us to follow in the same pursuit...If they're having public hearings of this nature, I can only begin to imagine what they already privately know."
Update: 22 May 2022
Twitter user Steve T.E. advised me that there was an earlier, 6 May 2022 version of the CTV report. Canadian science writer and University of Manitoba communications professional Chris Rutkowski, is cited in this earlier article as providing "...material for the Minister's briefing as a 'civilian advisor' and that he last received official UFO data in early 2021."
A communication directly from Chris Rutkowski, to me, stated "One other thing: Maguire doesn't note that he was also briefed by a Canadian UAP researcher. The same one who was noted in the Sajjan briefing." This was, in fact, Rutkowski himself. Rutkowski also provided a link to a 21 May 2022 article on the Winnepegfreepress.com website titled "Disdain, Confusion around official's handling of UFO reports," reviewed by Rutkowski. It discusses the work of Canadian historian Matthew Hayes, who wrote a thesis on the topic. This work is now available as a book, published 15 May 2022, titled "Search for the Unknown: Canada's UFO Files and the Rise of Conspiracy Theory."
Rutkowski also pointed out that he had been receiving, and publishing, government reports for decades, and that the briefing to the CDN defence minister made reference to him personally, with the unredacted version of the briefing slides even included a photograph of him.
Update: 3 November 2022
In a 3 November 2022 Canadian TV news item, there was information given about Canadian Air Force jets launched to intercept unknowns.
Update 18 November 2022
In a 16 November Canadian TV news item, it was revealed that on 22 February 2022, "Members of the Pentagon's UFO task force briefed Canadian military officials."
The briefing was led by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence's National Intelligence Manager for Aviation; and was attended by ten Canadian defense officials, "...including personnel from the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Forces Intelligence Command."
Update: 15 March 2023
An article in Canadian media reported that the Canadian government was launching an investigation into UAP.
Update: 24 May 2023
Sky Canada now has its own website.
Update: 2 March 2024
The Canadian Chief Scientist provided an update on the Sky Canada Project.
Update: 22 April 2024
The "Ottawa Citizen" carried an article by David Pugliese dated 16 April 2024, titled "Canada joins secret Pentagon meeting on UFOs. DND can't figure out who attended."
It was previously acknowledged by the Canadian government that someone from the Royal Canadian Air Force had attended the May 2023 Five Eyes UAP briefing by the former Director of AARO, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick. However, the "Ottawa Citizen" article said that Canada had no plans to attend additional meetings of UAP, nor were Canadian Forces working with the science advisor to the Canadian government on the Sky Canada project.
Who actually attended on behalf of Canada remains a mystery. "A Canadian Forces intelligence Command officer confirmed his organization had not attended" 'We further confirmed with DRDC that they did not attend either..." DRDC stands for Defense Research and Deveopment Canada.
Thank you, Keith. It is hopeful and important that other governments bring up the UFO issue in a serious manner. The UFO phenomenon is global. And MP Matthew Green is to the point: would the US congress hold hearings on the UFO issue if the Dod and IC already had ruled out the "extraterrestrial hypothesis"? So yes, we can only imagine what some people in the U.S. DoD and IC privately know.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I did not get a sense from the open session on May 17, 2022, that Mr Scott Bray (ONI) has any intention of sharing some or any of that classified knowledge with the public (sharing original data does not necessarily disclose sources and methods). Let us hope other governments will follow the US congress in holding open hearings on the UFO issue, but not frame it as solely a national security threat. Project Blue Book determined that UFOs do not constitute a national threat, and that does not have seemed to change (based on these 3-4 last years of testimony from US Navy pilots, fmr. high-ranking officials, etc.).
That was a long way of saying that the UFO issue is as much a scientific puzzle as an intelligence/military matter. The scientific community could help the USG (and other governments), but for that it needs original (high quality) data.