Access to Information

Topic: Access to Information


New Brunswick Education Department received no complaints about pronouns kept secret

FREDERICTON — A freedom of information request filed by a University of New Brunswick professor has revealed that no parents complained to the province that they had been left in the dark about their children’s preferred pronouns. Melissa Dockrill Garrett, a researcher specializing in inclusive education, asked the Education Department for all complaints from parents […]

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Federal government struggling to get rid of millions of extra COVID 19 rapid tests

OTTAWA — The federal government is sitting on a stockpile of 39 million extra rapid tests for COVID-19 and is struggling to get rid of them without chucking them in the trash, an internal Health Canada memo shows. As the Omicron variant of the virus began to tear across Canada at the end of 2021, […]

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Manitoba government planned a COVID 19 video and song for project that was abandoned

WINNIPEG — In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Manitoba government laid out plans for a video to reflect on the effects of the novel coronavirus, complete with a song commissioned from noted singer-songwriter Sierra Noble. But the project, revealed in documents obtained by The Canadian Press, was abandoned. And while the song has […]

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Secondary publishing rights can improve public access to academic research

Canada’s federal research granting agencies recently announced a review of the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications, with the goal of requiring immediate open and free access to all academic publications generated through Tri-Agency supported research by 2025. To meet this requirement, the Canadian government should empower academic authors through the adoption of secondary publishing […]

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Most kids with autism won’t get core therapy funding soon: Ontario

TORONTO — Most of the children in Ontario waiting for publicly funded core autism therapy will not receive it any time soon, the government says in an internal assessment obtained by The Canadian Press. Days into his new role this spring as Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, Michael Parsa was given a transition […]

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‘Old boys’ club’: Employees question how Regina rebrand was approved

REGINA — Federal government employees expressed relief that Prairies Economic Development Canada was not involved in a disastrous rebrand that saw Saskatchewan’s capital city criticized for sexualized slogans. Messages in a group chat obtained under freedom of information laws show federal employees were shocked by Tourism Regina’s campaign. All names of employees have been redacted. […]

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Refugee claims followed Montreal AIDS summit marred by visa woes, planning issues

OTTAWA — Almost one-sixth of guests at a major AIDS conference in Montreal last year who received Canadian visas ended up claiming asylum, according to internal data obtained by The Canadian Press. The documents also show Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada struggled to work with the International AIDS Society as both tried to avoid a […]

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CBC head ‘blindsided’ staff with comments on broadcaster’s future, Poilievre: emails

Eds: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the union representing CBC staff was concerned about increased workloads for employers should there be cuts to radio and television operations. The concern was, in fact, for employees. This is a corrected story. A previous version said the union representing CBC staff was concerned about […]

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What ideas were left on the cutting room floor in passport redesign? We’ll never know

OTTAWA — Garry Keller recalls the first images passport staff brought before the then-Conservative government for consideration during the last major passport overhaul. “We laughed,” Keller recalls. “It looked like a C-minus effort.” The original concepts featured a Canada goose, a beaver and a maple leaf — ideas the government found uninspired and “lowest-common denominator.” […]

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Canadian intelligence flagged Chinese meddling 37 years ago: newly released report

OTTAWA — A newly released document shows intelligence officials have been tracking China’s attempts to meddle in Canadian affairs for more than one-third of a century. The February 1986 intelligence report warned that Beijing was using open political tactics and secret operations to influence and exploit the Chinese diaspora in Canada. It said China was […]

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Manitoba school divisions added to index of `high risk industries’

Manitoba public schools were reprimanded for shoddy electrical work, missing first aid kits and allowing asbestos to become airborne, among unsafe conditions provincial investigators uncovered in 2022-23. Last summer, the department of workplace safety and health added school divisions to its index of “high-risk industries” — a group with significantly higher-than-average employee injury rates. The […]

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Who knew what when? A timeline of the Bernardo case and controversial prison transfer

OTTAWA — The Correctional Service of Canada announced Thursday that a review found Paul Bernardo’s transfer to a medium-security prison from a maximum-security penitentiary was sound and followed proper policies and laws. Public backlash had erupted following its decision to move the convicted murderer and serial rapist, engulfing the Liberal government with questions around its […]

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