Latest news with #Boivin
Edmonton Journal
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Canada's boutique military: 'Should we not be able to defend ourselves?'
Maintenance problems plague military equipment that includes submarines, aircraft and the army's rolling stock. 'I have never seen it as bad as it is now,' said Maisonneuve. Lots of Canadian military equipment 'is parked by the fence right now because there are not enough spare parts to fix them.' Boivin worries about the declining rate of military equipment that is supposed to be ready for training and operations. Key naval fleets that are serviceable to meet training and readiness requirements in support of concurrent operations dropped below 50 per cent in 2022-2023, as did key army fleets. Serviceability rates for air force fleets increased slightly but were also way off target. 'The reality is I'm privileged as a commander that the serviceability rate of the equipment that the services give me to employ on operations is high,' said Boivin. His concern is about the equipment left back in Canada for training the brigades at home. 'I believe we're always going to be in a position where there are some challenges,' said the commander. 'We've got quality people. We simply need to give them quality equipment, train them properly, and I'm very confident that we'll do well in the operating environment. 'Every day we've got dedicated Canadian Armed Forces members that are delivering crazy good effects for the country on all of the operations that we have,' Boivin said, pointing to the successful helicopter rescue recently of 20 sailors from a ship grounded off Newfoundland as an example. 'I don't think we're a broken military,' the commander said.
Calgary Herald
14-05-2025
- Science
- Calgary Herald
Canada's boutique military: 'Should we not be able to defend ourselves?'
'On top of the turret of this thing is a rotating radar dish (that can detect incoming drones),' he said. 'It's a lot like a naval gun on a land vehicle, and they're very effective at shooting down drones.' The Ukrainians have modified their Neptune anti-ship missile — its original version sank the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva in April 2022 — and fired it recently against Russian oil refineries. 'It has a range of 1,000 kilometres,' Hansen said. 'It is flying to co-ordinates that cannot be jammed. It has to be shot down. And good luck with that, because it flies at about 900 miles an hour.' Drone technology and weapons to counter them are something 'we can't afford not to learn,' Boivin said. The brigade now in Latvia has some weapons aimed at countering the threat from incoming drones by jamming their sensors or shooting them down, said the commander. 'We've got some that are still to be delivered in order to give us the capabilities to address threats from unmanned aerial systems.' Last summer, Canada awarded three 'Diamond in the rough' cash prizes to companies making equipment to detect and defeat such threats. Vancouver's AIM Defence took home the million-dollar first prize. Sherbrooke, Que.'s DARIT Technologies, and Toronto's Prandtl Dynamics tied for second place in the contest — dubbed a Sandbox event at Alberta's CFB Suffield — that featured 15 outfits from five countries demonstrating and testing their counter-drone technologies.
CBC
25-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Canada studies how to join Ukraine peacekeeping force — including end to training mission in country
Social Sharing Detailed planning for a potential "coalition of the willing" peacekeeping mission to Ukraine is expected to kick off this week among Western military commanders, says the Canadian general in charge of overseas and domestic operations. The notion of a peacekeeping force is being met internationally with skepticism as Ukraine and Russia meet indirectly to hammer out a limited ceasefire. Lt.-Gen. Steve Boivin suggested Canada would be stretched to contribute, but it's possible if the troops that are training Ukrainian forces are re-purposed for peacekeeping. He told CBC News that a preliminary gathering of senior military commanders from 28 nations that have expressed a willingness to contribute to the force — to be deployed in the event of a ceasefire — was held last week in the United Kingdom. Boivin took part in the discussions. Indirect ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine began on Monday in Saudi Arabia, an effort mediated by the United States. The two countries have agreed in principle to a one-month halt on strikes on energy infrastructure after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, but there's uncertainty over how it will take effect. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer several weeks ago proposed a peacekeeping force made up of several NATO countries, including Canada. In early March, prior to Sunday's federal election call, Defence Minister Bill Blair said Canada was 'ready and able' to contribute troops should there be a ceasefire. "I'll emphasize that we don't know what the conditions of such a ceasefire could be. So we are working off a number of assumptions and developing contingency plans," Boivin said. "The overall aim is to offer options to decision-makers." Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, last weekend dismissed Starmer's peacekeeping plan as "posture and pose." WATCH | What does each side want from the war?: Ukraine, Russia, U.S.: What does each side want? | About That 1 month ago Duration 13:54 U.S. President Donald Trump said he intends to end the war in Ukraine, but exactly how that could unfold is up for debate. Andrew Chang breaks down what Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. all want from a resolution, and how conflicting interests make their goals incompatible. Images provided by Getty Images, Reuters and The Canadian Press. At the same time, several U.K. media reported Monday that top British military commanders — quoted anonymously — say the prime minister has gotten out ahead of himself. They said detailed planning won't be completed by April 20 — the White House deadline for a ceasefire. It is evident it will be a struggle for Canada to contribute. Canada is in the midst of an election and should the new government agree to deploy peacekeepers, it is faced with the reality there aren't a lot of Canadian troops to go around. The military has been struggling to refill the ranks following the COVID-19 pandemic and a sexual misconduct crisis that affected a number senior commanders. There are up to 400 Canadian troops involved in training Ukrainian forces and Boivin said one of the options under consideration for his headquarters is "re-rolling" some, or all, of them for a peacekeeping mission. "The guidance I gave my team is: let's start with what we already have on the ground," said Boivin, referring to troops deployed overseas. The training of Ukrainian soldiers — basic recruits, medics and tank crews, among others — was a marquee talking point for the Liberal government as it underlined its support for the embattled country. More than 32,000 Ukrainian troops have been trained under Operation Unifier and its continuation has often been a major ask by Zelenskyy's government. Boivin said one of the reasons training troops may need to be re-purposed is because the army is fully engaged with its commitment to build and lead a NATO brigade in Latvia. "We are not going to affect our contribution in Latvia," Boivin said. "We've made a commitment to NATO." He said allied military planners have started to look at the size and composition of the potential peacekeeping force, and how heavily armed it would have to be. That is a legitimate worry given allied intelligence estimates that show there are about 700,000 Russian troops in and around Ukraine, and the Ukrainian military has over one million soldiers under arms. Size of needed force could be massive In a recent analysis for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, Benjamin Jensen wrote that given the approximately 2,100 kilometre-long front line — the size of the peacekeeping force would potentially be massive. "The security force required to truly safeguard the peace in Ukraine could be as large as the entire military of either Greece or Spain," wrote Jensen, a senior fellow with the think tank, in a Feb. 25 online commentary. "In other words, peacekeeping in Ukraine has the potential to eclipse previous NATO missions in the Balkans in both its size and complexity." It could range — he estimated — from anywhere between a few thousand soldiers all of the way to 100,000, a force that would also have to be heavily armed and backed up. "To ensure security, this force must not only act as a deterrent but also have the war-fighting capability to counter potential Russian fait accompli attacks along the frontier," Jensen wrote. "And this force will require additional air, naval and space assets to cover air and maritime corridors Russia could use to launch a future pre-emptive attack." Anthony King, a professor from the University of Exeter's Strategy and Security Institute, suggested the underlying assumption has always been that any peacekeeping force in Ukraine would need U.S. backing. "It looks likely that European nations would, as a coalition, be able to put together a credible force, and that might generate enough goodwill in the White House for the president to provide some additional support," King said in a statement on the talks in Saudi Arabia. "American infrastructure support at the very least would be essential, so the peacekeeping force could make use of the U.S.A.'s impressive air defence systems. This would be essential to securing the security of Ukraine in the future."
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused by Khazar Momeni tries to clear his name after Bob Lee trial
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Jeremy Boivin's name came up nearly every day of Nima Momeni's murder trial. Testimony about Boivin cast him as a sinister key figure connecting Cash App founder Bob Lee with his killer and Khazar, Momeni's sister. Prosecutors said revenge was the motive behind the April 4, 2023 slaying under the Bay Bridge. Momeni was an over-protective big brother who believed Boivin sexually assaulted his married sister, and Lee had 'inappropriate' relationship with her, prosecutors said. Momeni testified that Boivin was a 'predator.' But Boivin never testified for the jury trial. He spoke out for the first time in an interview with Dateline that aired over the weekend. 'Bottom line is, I didn't do it. There was no sexual assault at any point,' Boivin told Dateline. He admitted to slapping Khazar on her buttocks, but denied doing anything sexual against her will. Lee, 43, died from a stab wound through his heart. Momeni was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder. Khazar was the motive behind the killing, police and prosecutors said. Lee founded the company Cash App, worked for Google as a software engineer, and served as an executive for MobileCoin. Khazar was among dozens of witnesses who took the stand for Momeni's 2024 trial in San Francisco Superior Court. Khazar Momeni defends her brother on the stand Khazar testified that Boivin gave her LSD and a 'date rape drug' GHB, because she passed out on his bed. 'I was becoming more and more vulnerable,' she said. Khazar told jurors the Boivin pulled her pants down and sexually assaulted her on April 3, 2023. After she woke up face-down on his bed, Khazar cried as she called her brother for help and asked him to drive her home to Millennium Tower. Khazar admitted that she invited Boivin over to her luxury apartment in Millennium Tower — around the same time that Lee was stabbed to death — because she wanted more drugs from Boivin. Boivin told Dateline that he developed an intimate 'physical relationship' with Khazar for 'many months' after Lee's death. He also claims Khazar called him to apologize for accusing him in front of jurors and news reporters. Boivin was previously convicted of drug charges unrelated to the Momeni case. For the murder trial, he was most frequently referred to in the courtroom as 'the drug dealer' by witnesses and attorneys. Lee's friends testified that the tech titan used drugs including cocaine and whippets at parties with his large circle of friends. The victim's tech friend, Carlos Whitt, told Dateline, 'Bob was just built different. He could do the parties, but would also be one of the number one engineers on the planet.' Defense frames Bob Lee murder trial as 'average Joe' vs. tech star Lee spent his last three nights alive partying with friends around San Francisco, including: Khazar, Boivin, and a nightclub DJ, Bo Mohazzabi. Khazar exchanged flirtatious text messages with the tech mogul and attended parties with him, trial evidence revealed. Momeni's defense attorneys said Boivin was Lee's drug dealer. Court documents obtained by KRON4 show the two men were also close friends. Khazar testified that she had never met Boivin until two days before the homicide, when Lee introduced her to him. Khazar admitted that she heavily uses party drugs, including whippets. Prosecutors said Momeni was enraged with Lee because he introduced Khazar to Boivin and left her alone with him. Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai told Dateline that the motive does not depend on whether Boivin actually sexually assaulted Momeni's sister. Instead, the motive depends on Momeni's belief that the assault happened, Talai said. 'Khazar is the engine that made this whole thing happen,' San Francisco Police Department Sgt. Brent Dittmer told Dateline. In September of 2024, just weeks before the trial began, Boivin told Sgt. Dittmer that if he were forced to testify, he would not be willing to say much, court documents show. Boivin said he met Lee in 2019 at a nightclub and they became 'good friends.' Boivin did not know that their phone call was recorded when he talked to Dittmer on the phone. 'Did you ever provide drugs to Bob?' the sergeant asked. 'I can't talk about that,' Boivin answered. Boivin said Lee was 'always in a good mood, and trying to help people out. I'd trust him with anyone, anything in my life. I'd leave my cats with him. He's a 100% a solid dude. He'd take care of whatever you needed.' Boivin said Khazar's sexual assault allegations took a toll on his life. He said, 'I feel really upset about it. It's taken a toll on my life for sure. It's outrageously not true,' court documents state. Lee's family described Khazar's testimony as 'fabricated' to paint a rosy picture of Momeni before jurors reached a verdict. Momeni's five attorneys were paid by Khazar and her wealthy husband to build his defense case. Defense attorney Saam Zangeneh said his client's sister had zero credibility because she's a drug addict. Lee's ex-wife told Dateline that she will never forgive Momeni, as well as Momeni's family members who she believes helped him after the murder. Krista Lee said the hardest part of losing Bob Lee is seeing the pain in their two children's eyes. Her children deserved to have their father in their lives, and Bob Lee should have died 'an old man,' Krista Lee told Dateline. Khazar Momeni 'can go f**k herself,' Bob Lee's ex-wife says 'The murderer robbed this world of a great mind,' Krista Lee said. Momeni is facing up to 16 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 16. He remains locked in a San Francisco jail cell. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
