CEO's ‘negligence' contributed to Titan sub deaths: report
Adventurer and Astronaut Per Wimmer reacts to the report about how Stockton Rush's lack of oversight led to the Titan submersible deaths.
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National Post
6 days ago
- National Post
No evidence of election law breaches in former Liberal MP Han Dong's nomination race, watchdog says
Verriere said the office looked into multiple potential CEA breaches but found that the evidence to support them was either non-existent or insufficient. 'To take formal compliance or enforcement action, the Commissioner must have tangible evidence to substantiate allegations of wrongdoing,' commissioner spokesperson Pierre Verriere said in a statement. 'Following our assessment of the allegations against potential CEA contraventions, we found either no evidence to support formal enforcement action or insufficient evidence, depending on the provision in question,' he added. But as it was highlighted repeatedly throughout the Foreign Interference Inquiry last year, the commissioner's oversight power during party nomination races is very limited. She told inquiry staff that her mandate during internal party elections is limited to political financing and that it would be a major resource challenge for her to have to oversee every nomination race for all 343 federal ridings. She also noted that she does not have the mandate nor the ability to verify intelligence, which was the basis for most of the allegations in Don Valley North. Dong, who stepped away from Liberal caucus after a string of media stories regarding these allegations in 2023 and did not run in the 2025 election, has always denied any wrongdoing. In June, he settled a two-year defamation lawsuit with Global News. He told National Post on Tuesday that he was not aware that the commissioner's investigation was closed until National Post reached out to him for comment. 'I have always said that I have always followed the election rules. Unfortunately, my family, my team and I have suffered irreversible harm,' Dong said in a text message. 'I remain hopeful that this conclusion of Commissioner Simard's investigation will bring DVN electors, especially Liberals, full closure and restore public confidence in our democratic process and institutions.' The other review into foreign interference Simard discussed during the public inquiry was into allegations of Chinese interference against Conservative candidate Kenny Chiu during the 2021 federal election in the B.C. riding of Steveston–Richmond East. During her testimony in front of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference (PIFI) last year, Simard said her office had already concluded there was insufficient evidence to support charges of 'undue foreign influence' or any other breaches of the CRA. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.
08-08-2025
Federal Fisheries Department was part of previous OceanGate mission
The federal Fisheries Department is shedding new light on its relationship with OceanGate, the American company behind the deepsea Titan submersible that imploded south of Newfoundland in 2023, killing all five people aboard. The department confirmed Thursday that in the summer of 2021, a staff member boarded a vessel associated with OceanGate to participate as an observer during a mission off Newfoundland. The purpose was to learn more about OceanGate, the department said in an email. Upon conclusion of the mission, it was determined that [OceanGate's] priorities did not align with the department's scientific objectives, and a further relationship was not pursued. No other details were provided about the trip. When asked if any federal employees raised safety concerns about OceanGate, a department spokesman said safety for submersibles does not fall within the department's mandate. The department was not involved in risk assessment or operational oversight of any subsequent missions, the spokesman said in an email. Earlier this week, the U.S. Coast Guard released a report (new window) that concluded the tragedy on June 18, 2023, could have been prevented had OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush heeded safety warnings and calls for independent inspections and certification of the submersible. Rush was among those killed when Titan split apart as it descended near the Titanic, about four kilometres below the surface of the North Atlantic. Safety procedures at OceanGate, a private company based in Washington state, were critically flawed and there were glaring disparities between safety protocols and actual practices, the coast guard's report said. The 300-page report also revealed that in May 2021, Canada's Fisheries Department had written a letter of support to Rush, saying the department wanted to collaborate with his company to assess its submersibles for scientific research. Only portions of the letter were included in the coast guard report. The Fisheries Department sent a copy of the letter on Wednesday, along with a statement that suggested its initial discussions with OceanGate were routine. Fisheries and Oceans Canada [DFO] routinely expresses interest in scientific collaboration with a wide variety of potential partners, a spokesman said Wednesday in an email. In early 2021, DFO had a series of exploratory discussions with OceanGate. The [May 2021] letter was sent to summarize the discussions that took place and the potential for the department to work with the company, beginning in 2021, to determine the applicability of its marine research systems. The letter, dated May 19, 2021, makes it clear that department officials were keen to work with Rush and his team. DFO Maritimes Region is pleased with the discussions with OceanGate, the offer to participate in 2021, and the unique opportunity being offered to Canadian scientists and conservation efforts. The letter also mentions possible funding from Ottawa. The department spokesman also confirmed in the Wednesday email there were discussions about having a staff member board the submersible on an expedition to the Titanic, almost 700 kilometres south of Newfoundland. But he said that never happened. The department did not explain why the relationship with OceanGate was eventually terminated or mention its collaboration on another vessel until pressed for details the next day. Besides DFO's letter of support in 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard's investigation found no evidence of any actual collaboration or funding. The submersible's implosion also killed French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British adventurer Hamish Harding and two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood. In June, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said the independent agency had completed its investigation report, which at the time was being reviewed.
Toronto Star
08-08-2025
- Toronto Star
Titan disaster: federal Fisheries Department was part of previous OceanGate mission
HALIFAX - The federal Fisheries Department is shedding new light on its relationship with OceanGate, the American company behind the deepsea Titan submersible that imploded south of Newfoundland in 2023, killing all five people aboard. The department confirmed Thursday that in the summer of 2021, a staff member boarded a vessel 'associated with OceanGate' to participate as an observer during a mission off Newfoundland.
