Key Considerations for the National Strategy Renewal
Canada’s CI faces a range of evolving threats and pressures as it delivers goods and services each day, contributes to Canada’s economic prosperity, and maintains essential services. Increasingly, CI must cope with cybersecurity risks, environmental risks, and security threats. A renewed National Strategy must support CI to address these challenges.
Digitalization of Systems and Processes
The use of digital systems to operate physical infrastructure, from water treatment plants to agricultural equipment, has enabled better service delivery to Canadians. However, the use of electronic and internet-enabled systems has also created vulnerabilities. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) found that cyber threat actors are targeting CI to undermine public safety and national security, and that more than half of reported cyber-attack victims in 2021 were CI owners and operators.
Cyber-attacks on CI can have damaging consequences. An attack on a Newfoundland and Labrador health care system in 2021 resulted in cancelled appointments, surgeries, and other medical procedures. Cyber-attacks in allied countries have resulted in poisoned drinking water, power outages, and internet service disruptions. Malicious actors, both international and domestic, are developing new strategies to disrupt infrastructure services, steal personal data, spy on governments, and exploit Canadians.
Environmental Risks
Canada’s climate is changing, which is affecting CI in multiple and complex ways. Increasingly frequent, intense, and unpredictable floods, fires, earthquakes, and other disasters are wearing down physical infrastructure across the country. As a result, buildings, roads, railways, and other infrastructure are aging prematurely and are increasingly at risk of catastrophic failure. For Canadians, communities, and organizations that deliver critical services, emergency management efforts have become more important and complex. The 2021 floods in southern British Columbia are an example of how extreme weather can result in cascading failures across multiple CI systems. The floods, which were likely compounded by the summer 2021 wildfires, destroyed multiple highway segments and rail lines, and rendered the Port of Vancouver nearly inaccessible. As a result, the flow of goods and people in the region was effectively halted. In addition, many farms were flooded, destroying machinery and other infrastructure, and resulting in the death of many livestock. Utilities were also affected for several weeks. The wastewater treatment plant in the City of Merritt experienced a complete failure, causing the evacuation of its entire population. The insured damages of the 2021 BC floods have been preliminarily estimated at $450 million, and lost economic output has been estimated to be between $250 and $400 million.
Security Threats
Terrorism, violent extremism, organized crime, and intellectual property theft are all security threats to Canada’s CI. For example, melting sea ice is generating renewed interest in Canada’s Arctic resources on the part of states hostile to Canada. This poses a threat to northern CI. Canada’s Arctic and Northern Policy Framework highlights the threat to the region, noting that there is “…growing international interest and competition in the Canadian Arctic from state and non-state actors who seek to share in the region's rich natural resources and strategic position. This comes at a time where climate change, combined with advancements in technology, has made access to the region easier.”
Security threats to Canada’s CI can also be domestic in nature. A recent example are the blockades at multiple border crossings and the occupation of the City of Ottawa, which led to the federal government’s declaration of a public order emergency under the Emergencies Act. At the time of writing, it was estimated that between $3 and $6 billion in goods did not cross the border due to the Ambassador Bridge blockade. The total financial impact is likely larger, since supply chain disruptions can halt manufacturing. For instance, Ford Canada was forced to scale back production in its Oakville and Windsor, Ont. facilities. Furthermore, the occupation of the City of Ottawa endangered public safety, since parked trucks impeded the ability of emergency vehicles to freely travel through the downtown core. In addition, emergency service lines (911) were overwhelmed by false calls from protestors and their supporters.
Economic Prosperity
CI resilience is essential to Canada’s long-term economic prosperity. Resilient and dependable CI drives growth by creating jobs, improving productivity, and enabling business confidence, which in turn leads to increased investments and the creation of new economic opportunities. Infrastructure Canada’s recent report, Building Pathways to 2050 – Moving Forward on the National Infrastructure Assessment, noted that the overall value of publicly and privately owned infrastructure to the Canadian economy “has grown to over $900 billion over the last decade, equivalent to about 46 percent of [Gross Domestic Production] GDP. It plays a massive role in the country’s success”.
Much of Canada’s CI is aging. The 2019 Canadian Infrastructure Report Card states that 30 to 40% of public infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, and water infrastructure, are in poor to very poor condition. Governments have consistently struggled with planning, prioritizing investments, financing new, and maintaining existing infrastructure. Support is required to close the infrastructure gap between its current state and Canada’s future needs. Dependable and effective CI—able to withstand threats—is necessary to foster investment and innovation to develop new technologies and applications. Ensuring that physical and cyber systems are secure and resilient is an important competitive advantage which signals that Canada is a reliable, credible, and attractive place to do business.