Access to Information

Access to Information


Newfoundland university threw open its doors to Titanic dive operator, emails show

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A research institute at Newfoundland and Labrador’s Memorial University threw open its “proverbial doors” last year to the company that owned the doomed Titan submersible, less than a year before the vessel suffered a catastrophic implosion while diving to the Titanic shipwreck. Emails obtained by The Canadian Press show officials with […]

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Long secret Canadian intelligence sealed Avro Arrow’s cancellation, new paper says

OTTAWA — The Diefenbaker government’s 1959 decision to scrap the fabled Avro Arrow was significantly influenced by Canadian intelligence that pointed to a diminishing need for the costly aircraft in the evolving Cold War, says a new research paper based on previously secret information. The intelligence highlighted the Soviet Union’s shift away from manned bombers […]

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Officers warned about harassment before former Saskatchewan police chief’s exit: memo

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Officers with a beleaguered Saskatchewan police force were warned about harassing behaviour in the weeks before their police chief accused members of personal attacks and character assassination, internal documents show. Jonathan Bergen announced he was retiring as chief of the Prince Albert Police Service last May saying he was the subject […]

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Policy gaps contributed to deadly gondola crash at Quebec’s Tremblant ski resort

MONTREAL — A deadly collision between a gondola and a drill rig at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant Ski Resort in July occurred, in part, because of incomplete procedures governing how construction equipment was to be moved on the property, a labour inspector has concluded. A Canadian soldier, Sgt. Sheldon Johnson, 50, of Kingston, Ont., died in […]

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RCMP technology ‘between contracts,’ unavailable at first for Saskatchewan killings

SASKATOON — A technology used by a specialized RCMP team to search for people in high-risk situations was not immediately available as Mounties responded to a stabbing rampage and the hunt for a mass killer in Saskatchewan because it was held up under the federal procurement process. Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show […]

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A second major British police force suffers a cyberattack in less than a month

LONDON (AP) — Personal details of thousands of police officers and staff from Greater Manchester Police have been hacked from a company that makes identity cards, the second such cyberattack to affect a major British police force in less than a month. Details on identity badges and warrant cards, including names, photos and identity numbers […]

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B.C. aware of dike problems before destructive flooding in 2021, documents show

Officials with the British Columbia government and the City of Merritt were aware of significant problems with dikes for several years before a series of atmospheric rivers flooded the community, documents released through a freedom of information request show. The documents obtained by the B.C. office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives show a […]

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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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