Access to Information

Topic: Access to Information


Canadian News Organizations Seek Competition Bureau Probe into Meta’s News Content Blockade

In a joint effort, News Media Canada, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, and CBC/Radio-Canada have formally applied with Canada’s Competition Bureau, urging an investigation into Meta’s alleged misuse of its dominant position by blocking news content on its digital platforms within the country. The consortium contends that Meta’s actions are an apparent attempt to exert […]

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Quebecor stops paying rent at legislature, says 100K fee a threat to democracy

Montreal-based media and telecom conglomerate Quebecor has announced it will stop paying rent for the office its political journalists use in one of Quebec’s legislature buildings in the provincial capital. The company, which owns television station TVA and newspapers Journal de Montreal and Journal de Quebec, says its rent amounts to $8,448 per month — […]

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BC Moves Closer to Gig Worker Protection Laws

British Columbia’s labour minister plans to soon pass new laws guaranteeing basic pay, rights and protections for tens of thousands of gig workers. Harry Bains’s office has launched a call for proposals that could see new requirements placed on companies like Uber, DoorDash and Lyft, whose drivers and delivery workers work without minimum pay, sick […]

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Northern Ireland’s top police officer apologizes for ‘industrial scale’ data breach

LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s top police officer apologized Thursday for what he described as an “industrial scale” data breach in which the personal information of more than 10,000 officers and staff was released to the public. The incident is particularly sensitive given the delicate security situation in Northern Ireland, which is still trying to […]

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Census workers logged hundreds of cases of violence, harassment by public: documents

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada documents show workers who went door-to-door to collect data for the 2021 census logged hundreds of workplace injuries and at least 15 assaults by members of the public. The data tables obtained by The Canadian Press through access-to-information law list 680 injury reports, including more than 280 cases of harassment or […]

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Officials said Tories’ Paul Bernardo bill unlikely to come before Parliament: emails

OTTAWA — Government officials in the Privy Council Office discussed a Conservative private member’s bill launched in response to convicted killer Paul Bernardo’s transfer to a medium-security prison, noting it would likely never hit Parliament, internal emails show. Documents obtained by The Canadian Press through access-to-information law show staff speculated about the chances the bill […]

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Deputy minister had no reason to think Mendicino unaware of Bernardo move: department

OTTAWA — The federal Public Safety Department is defending a decision by its top officials not to contact the minister directly about the transfer of notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has for weeks been dealing with the fallout from the Correctional Service of Canada’s decision to […]

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Liberals lag on invitation to join global group that crafts vaccines for world’s poor

OTTAWA — The federal Liberal government has spent three years deliberating on an invitation to join a global body that designs vaccinations to protect the world’s poorest from preventable diseases. Documents reviewed by The Canadian Press show South Korea has been encouraging Canada to join the International Vaccine Institute, an agency based in Seoul that […]

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How you walk could shape the future of biometrics: experts

Canadians have been unlocking iPhones with their fingerprint since 2013 and are sometimes exposed to facial recognition software before boarding planes, but when it comes to biometric technology, Erik Scheme and Mayssa Rekik are one step ahead. The associate director of the University of New Brunswick’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering and the advanced technologies undergraduate […]

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Executive at Manitoba Crown corporation was reimbursed for flights, hotels and more

WINNIPEG — A senior executive at a Manitoba Crown corporation was sometimes being reimbursed for travel to Winnipeg from his home in the Toronto area twice a month, figures obtained by The Canadian Press show. The newly released detailed breakdown of expenses, which also includes hotel stays and meals, was obtained under the province’s freedom […]

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Provincial EMR use was non compliant with privacy laws

PEI’s $7.8 million electronic medical record was operational for 10 months before the Department of Health and Wellness moved to ensure patient information shared over the system complied with provincial privacy legislation, records show. Despite this, government contends patient confidentiality was never jeopardized. “It’s my understanding that (the ways practitioners were sharing information over the […]

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Minnesota Supreme Court rules against disputed mine, says state pollution officials hid EPA warnings

UNDATED (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the state’s Pollution Control Agency improperly granted permits to a fiercely contested copper-nickel mine and concealed environmental concerns about the project, which critics say threatens to pollute Lake Superior and hurt tribal lands. The proposed mining project, a 50-50 joint venture with PolyMet Mining […]

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