Access to Information

Topic: Access to Information


Senate committee recommends Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation as Trump’s labor secretary

A Senate committee voted Thursday to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump’s choice to head the Department of Labor, one of the agencies named in lawsuits over moves by Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team to access federal data systems. Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions voted 14-9 to recommend Lori […]

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No new bombshells in Justice Department’s release of Jeffrey Epstein files

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday released government documents related to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, but the first wave of files posted on the Justice Department website have largely been circulating in the public domain for years and didn’t include any new bombshells about the sex trafficking case that has been a […]

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Newcomers group seeks home

The Newcomers Support Team met with town council at the February 19 Governance and Priorities meeting to give some information about their group. Laurie Andrews, the executive director for Drayton Valley Community Learning, along with Verna Wicks with DVCL, and Sheen Tamayo, a recent newcomer to the community, gave an update on what they’ve been […]

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N.S. premier restores legislature scrums amid accusations of assault on press freedom

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has agreed to resume taking part in media scrums in the legislature after facing accusations he was curtailing press freedom. Two weeks ago, Houston ended the long-standing tradition of government ministers having informal exchanges with media — known as scrums — outside the legislative chamber. His government decided journalists should […]

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Nova Scotia premier says changes likely to controversial freedom of information bill

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says there will likely be changes to legislation that the province’s freedom of information commissioner says weakens the public’s right to access government records and documents. Houston made the comments during question period on Wednesday, but did not provide specifics. Days earlier, the government withdrew amendments from the same omnibus […]

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N.S. information commissioner says government bill threatens right to access records

Nova Scotia’s freedom of information commissioner is calling on the governing party to withdraw legislation that she says weakens the public’s right to access government records and documents. Tricia Ralph, who ends her term of office this week, says measures in an omnibus bill tabled by the Progressive Conservatives threaten the rights of citizens to […]

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OIPC NS Commissioner Statement Bill 1

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston introduced Bill 1 An Act Respecting Government Organization and Administration on February 18. Strong opposition followed from the Auditor General given amendments infringed on auditor independence. Swift public backlash saw Houston withdraw some proposed changes by February 24 while leaving many others. Some of the changes that remain impact Nova Scotia’s […]

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Land For Homes discusses importance of knowledge and community context

Nunavut is taking another small step in addressing the housing crisis.  Land for Homes (L4H) brought together representatives from several  groups including Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), Nunavut Housing  Corporation (NHC), Nunavut Association of Municipalities (NAM), regional  Inuit associations, development corporations, and all levels of  government to talk about challenges and collaborations to remove  barriers to […]

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Fisheries and Oceans Canada expects to flounder under mounting climate costs

Hurricane Fiona left a trail of destruction across the Atlantic Coast in September 2022 wreaking havoc on wharves, fisheries, vessels, and gear and the federal government’s pocketbook. In response to the climate disaster, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has had to earmark more than $563 million to deal with Fiona’s aftermath, including damage to 142 […]

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Highway 413 & Doug Ford’s developer-driven transportation planning

Ahead of the 2022 Ontario election, opposition party leaders keyed in on one of Doug Ford’s main re-election planks.  “Doug Ford’s developer buddies are the ones that are going to gain the most from the 413,” Andrea Horwath, the NDP leader at the time, said.  “Doug Ford is not interested in building this highway, the […]

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‘Control-mania’: Nova Scotia premier accused of executive overreach with new bill

The Nova Scotia government has taken a giant step backward in accountability and transparency with the introduction this week of a contentious omnibus bill, political observers and access to information experts say. Among other things, the bill will make it possible for Premier Tim Houston’s Progressive Conservatives to fire the province’s auditor general without cause, […]

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Care home company got $8.8M in subsidies, paid shareholders millions

One of the largest for-profit continuing care home operators in Alberta received more than $8.85 million in wage subsidies from the provincial government while the company also paid out tens of millions to shareholders. Between 2020 and 2023, Alberta Health transferred over $8.85 million in subsidies to Extendicare as part of a $2 per hour […]

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