Access to Information

Topic: Access to Information


The Online News Act could give Google and Meta too much influence over Canadian news orgs

This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site. Author: Sara Bannerman, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Communication Policy and Governance, McMaster University Bill C-18, the Online News Act, could give Google and […]

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Newfoundland and Labrador telehealth line advises most callers to go see a doctor

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Reports from the company running Newfoundland and Labrador’s public health line show more than three-quarters of callers looking for advice about symptoms are told to seek emergency services or see a family doctor. The reports filed last year by Fonemed, which operates the province’s 811 HealthLine, show the service grappling with […]

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Supporting National Claims Research Directors

The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) has been made aware of troubling requirements being imposed by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affair Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) on First Nations researchers applying for access to those departments’ records for the purposes of validating historical claims against the federal government.   FIPA supports […]

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Regulators cut pressure on pipeline after Kansas oil spill

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — U.S. government regulators have stopped allowing a large part of the Keystone oil pipeline to operate at higher-than-normal pressures following a massive oil spill in northeastern Kansas in December. The order this week from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s pipeline safety arm covers 1,220 miles (1,963 kilometers) of the Keystone pipeline […]

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Aspiring Montreal cop believes career blocked because of uncle she never knew

MONTREAL — Miriam Ikhlef felt like she had everything she needed to become a police officer. A graduate of the Universite de Montreal’s security and police studies program, she’d been working as a 911 dispatcher for the Montreal police service for 13 months, even earning a commendation for how she handled a call involving a […]

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Lawyers and professors rally against proposed changes to lobbying rules

On Monday, more than 30 lawyers and professors joined forces in an open letter to speak out against proposed changes to lobbying rules in Canada. Opponents say lobbying stands to become more unethical if suggested changes from the commissioner of lobbying Nancy Belanger go through. Faisal Bhabha, associate professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, said […]

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CSIS warns ‘smart city’ technology can open door to attacks, foreign interference

OTTAWA — Canada’s intelligence service warns that technological innovations adopted by municipalities could be exploited by adversaries such as the Chinese government to harvest sensitive data, target diaspora communities and interfere in elections. A newly released report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service urges policy-makers and the technology industry to consider steps that can be […]

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RCMP told feds it could offer advice to Winnipeg police on landfill search: document

OTTAWA — A newly released document shows the head of the RCMP told Ottawa the national police force could offer guidance to the Winnipeg police on searching a landfill for the remains of two First Nations women. As anger grew over the initial refusal by the Winnipeg police to search the site, RCMP Commissioner Brenda […]

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Chinese Canadians walk tightrope in political arena amid foreign interference debate

Mark Lee, a professional translator and former council candidate in Richmond, B.C., says he knows what it’s like to walk the fine line faced by fellow Chinese Canadians entering the political arena amid scrutiny of alleged foreign interference. He says he’s not ignorant of the risks and considers potential political interference a serious issue that […]

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MP Kurek talks environment, ethics, flood mitigation at town hall

Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek held a town hall meeting with residents of Drumheller on Tuesday evening, February 28, drawing a full audience to the Town of Drumheller council chambers. This was the third town hall meeting MP Kurek held on Tuesday, having held town hall meetings in Three Hills and Morrin in the morning […]

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Alberta Energy Regulator may have ignored law by not disclosing oilsands leak: lawyer

CALGARY — Alberta’s energy regulator may have ignored provincial law by not publicly disclosing that waste from a large oilsands tailings pond was escaping containment and seeping into groundwater, says a lawyer. Drew Yewchuk of the University of Calgary’s Public Interest Law Clinic is asking the province’s Information Commissioner to investigate how and why the […]

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Ontario study finds ‘circular hockey hub’ vaccine clinic most efficient model

TORONTO — Mass immunization clinics in which vaccinators and volunteers move around a circular set-up of chairs – with clients staying seated – was by far the most efficient model in an Ontario government study comparing different sites. The Ministry of Health study, obtained by The Canadian Press through a freedom-of-information request, looked at nine […]

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