Access to Information

Access to Information


What’s at stake for the Assembly of First Nations in the upcoming election?

OTTAWA — The next leader of the Assembly of First Nations will be tasked with unifying hundreds of chiefs at a time when reconciliation appears to be less of a priority in Canada, said an Indigenous policy expert. Hayden King, executive director of Indigenous-led think tank Yellowhead Institute, said the assembly has grown in influence […]

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RCMP boosts contract scrutiny following review of dealings with China linked firm

OTTAWA — The RCMP says it is updating procurement practices after an internal review of dealings with a company that has ties to China found no serious security concerns, but some areas for improvement. A standing offer with Sinclair Technologies to provide the RCMP with radio-frequency filtration equipment was suspended in December after media coverage […]

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Alberta’s ‘war room’ is back with massive ad spend revealed in annual report

EDMONTON — New documents outline a massive increase in public funding for the Canadian Energy Centre’s campaign to change attitudes toward Alberta’s oil and gas. An agency founded by Alberta’s United Conservative government to fight what it calls misinformation about the province’s industry and otherwise known as the “war room,” the centre’s most recent annual […]

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Owner of collapsed Iowa building that killed 3 people files lawsuit blaming engineering company

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The owner of an Iowa apartment building that collapsed in May, killing three people, has filed a lawsuit that blames an engineering company for not warning the building was structurally unsound and that residents should be evacuated. Real estate owner Andrew Wold filed the lawsuit last week against Select Structural Engineering, […]

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Mounties eyeing change to recreational cannabis use policy for members

OTTAWA — The RCMP is looking at easing a policy that requires front-line officers and many other employees to refrain from recreational cannabis use for four weeks before duty. A change to the five-year-old policy could bolster recruitment of new officers by bringing the Mounties in line with police forces that have much less restrictive […]

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CSIS disinformation campaign leans on Soviet imagery, as Ottawa tracks ‘grey media’

OTTAWA — Canada’s spy agency is leaning on Soviet imagery to help prime the public against disinformation but experts say Moscow is more likely to use images that make readers think the messaging is coming from North American sources. Last month, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service started posting on social media about its efforts to […]

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With raging fires and extreme heat, more must be done to address the unequal impact of climate change, experts say

It’s an unprecedented wildfire season in Canada, with millions of hectares burned and hundreds of structures destroyed while extreme heat has had devastating effects on people’s health, especially for those from racialized and newcomer communities. At least 619 people died in B.C. during the 2021 heat dome when the province broke records and oppressive 40C […]

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Pierre Trudeau spy unit reflects secrecy of Ottawa toward Quebec sovereignty

MONTREAL — New revelations about a secret anti-sovereigntist spy unit in the office of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau are a sign of how much remains unknown about the federal government’s response to the Quebec independence movement. According to a recently published paper, the Prime Minister’s Office in the 1970s created the spy group to […]

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Ontario housing minister violated integrity act in Greenbelt land swap: commissioner

TORONTO — Ontario’s housing minister violated ethics rules when the government removed land from the protected Greenbelt for development, the province’s integrity commissioner found, saying the process was marked by “unnecessary hastiness and deception.” In a report released Wednesday, the commissioner found Housing Minister Steve Clark violated two sections of the Members’ Integrity Act that […]

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Canada ‘trailing partners’ on securing vital utilities and services: internal memo

OTTAWA — A newly released federal memo concedes Canada is “trailing key international partners” who have updated their approaches to securing vital utilities and services from a growing array of risks. The Public Safety Canada memo says “new and rapidly evolving threats pose a greater risk of harm to Canadians and their cyber, economic and […]

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Ottawa eyes relaxing rules for imported baby formula, as costs soar after shortage

OTTAWA — The federal government is looking for ways to bring more infant formula products to Canada while it overhauls regulations to prevent future shortages, an internal memo shows. Many parents still struggle to find the right formula for their babies at a reasonable price, after last year’s temporary shutdown of a U.S.-based manufacturing plant […]

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Police say Montreal fire last March that killed seven now a criminal investigation

MONTREAL — A fire last March that killed seven people in a heritage building in Old Montreal has turned into a criminal investigation that could lead to a wide range of charges, from arson to murder, city police said Monday. Traces of fire accelerant were found at the site, which help explain why the flames […]

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