Access to Information

Topic: Access to Information


Maya, 17, got mental health records by FOI, then killed herself. Her mom wants reform

Maya Cassady was just two months away from graduating high school with honours when she obtained her mental health records through a freedom of information request. Just hours after reading the contents, which included doctors’ ponderings about a diagnosis, the 17-year-old took her own life.  It was March 30, 2023. Since Maya’s death, her mother, […]

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Government push to unseal court records offers clues about what could be in the Epstein files

NEW YORK (AP) — As the Justice Department gets ready to release its files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, a court battle over sealed documents in Maxwell’s criminal case is offering clues about what could be in those files. Government lawyers asked a judge on Wednesday to allow the […]

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One year since Bill 212 paved the way for environmentally destructive Highway 413

“I can’t see why we have to destroy the Greenbelt when there are thousands of acres within [the] metropolitan area of Toronto, which are empty or brownfields,” Assunta Marcolongo, a long-time member of the grassroots group STOP the 413 NOW, says. On a freezing, rainy morning last week, November 21, 79-year-old Marcolongo travelled an hour-and-a-half […]

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3D-printed guns FBI boss Kash Patel gifted to New Zealand officials were toy-inspired

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Inoperable pistols gifted by FBI Director Kash Patel to senior New Zealand security officials, who had to relinquish them for destruction because they were illegal to possess, were revolvers inspired by toy Nerf guns and popular among 3D-printed weapons hobbyists, documents obtained by The Associated Press show. The AP first […]

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NHPL CEO presents draft budget to Faraday

Faraday Township council heard from Kate Harris, the head librarian and CEO of the North Hastings Public Library at their meeting on Nov. 5, who presented the library’s draft budget for 2026. Harris and CAO Bernice Crocker comment to The Bancroft Times about Harris’ library budget presentation. Harris presented her draft budget for the NHPL […]

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Manitoba government promises ‘proactive approach’ to truancy fight

The Kinew government is drafting legislative changes to better track schoolchildren and ensure more of them attend classes regularly. Premier Wab Kinew revealed the “Reach Out, Reach Up” initiative is a priority for this session, but few details were included in the Nov. 18 throne speech. The program will address chronic absenteeism in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 […]

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Officer broke pursuit policy in Hay River crash, review finds

A review into a police chase through Hay River that resulted in a bystander’s vehicle being hit has found an officer broke RCMP policy on pursuits. Nicolinea Minakis was driving her daughter to school at around 8 a.m. on January 21 when another vehicle crashed into the side of her pickup truck in the Northwest […]

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Union leaders in Quebec denounce proposed labour law they say will unleash chaos

Union leaders from sectors across the province gathered in Quebec City on Sunday to decry a new bill they say could severely limit how unions are allowed to use dues collected from their members.  Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet tabled the bill, which proposes dividing union dues into mandatory and optional ones. Under the proposed […]

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Republicans hyped the Epstein files for years. Now Trump is under pressure to deliver

WASHINGTON (AP) — What began as a campaign-trail promise to release the Jeffrey Epstein files has become one of the most fraught tests of President Donald Trump’s second term — opening a rift in his political coalition and raising the stakes for an administration now under intense pressure to produce documents that may fall far […]

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Solutions are slow to come for water crisis plaguing Quebec’s Nunavik region

Most Quebecers have only to twist a tap to get a seemingly endless source of clean water. The reality is completely different in the northern region of Nunavik, where the water supply system faces a host of problems, from bad weather to outdated equipment and labour shortages.  Some would be inclined to blame a lack […]

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Major N.L. healthcare report contains errors likely generated by A.I.

In the wake of a scandal involving fabricated sources found in the province’s Education Accord, The Independent has confirmed another major government-commissioned policy report contains false citations like generated by artificial intelligence, calling into question the credibility of policy papers involving the use of AI. Authored by global consulting firm Deloitte and published by the […]

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Probe says Iowa district ‘reasonably relied’ on consultant to vet superintendent arrested by ICE

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s largest school district released a report Friday claiming that it received an abbreviated background check and what was likely a forged transcript when it was hiring its former superintendent, who was charged in a federal indictment with falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen on a federal form. Des […]

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