New defence chief takes command, protective zones for MPs proposed

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed...

Carignan set to officially become defence chief

Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan is set to officially take over command of the Armed Forces this morning in a ceremony at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Carignan will also be promoted to the rank of general during the change-of-command ceremony.

She was chosen by the federal government to become Canada's first female defence chief, and she's no stranger to firsts.

Carignan was also the first woman to command a combat unit in the Canadian military, and her career has included deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Syria.

Ex-safety minister wants buffers for MPs' offices

Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino is calling for the creation of "protective zones" around political constituency offices to shield members of Parliament and their staff from a rising tide of threatening behaviour.

Mendicino, a Toronto Liberal MP, said under the plan anyone who intimidated or otherwise harassed people within the buffer zone of perhaps 50 to 100 metres would be subject to harsher criminal penalties including jail time.

In an interview, Mendicino suggested spelling out such zones in regulations that will flow from the recently passed foreign interference bill, which contains new measures to protect essential infrastructure.