Access to Information

Topic: Access to Information


VP nominee JD Vance to dissolve last vestige of mothballed charity, give its $11K to Appalachia

___ Associated Press writer Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, contributed to this report. — COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. JD Vance is preparing to dissolve the vestiges of a charitable effort he launched in Ohio after publication of his best-selling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” the Trump-Vance campaign said. Vance formed two […]

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Workplace report blames BC Wildfire Service again in another firefighter’s 2023 death

British Columbia’s Forests Ministry says it is doing everything possible to keep those who fight wildfires in the province safe, while the government workers’ union wants more protections following two condemning reports into deaths of firefighters. Two separate reports from B.C.’s workers safety agency were released this week into the deaths of firefighters Devyn Gale […]

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Emails show Delaware lieutenant governor’s staff engaged in campaign matters during business hours

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long’s office staff was in regular communication last year with her husband and other people involved in her campaign for Delaware governor and worked during office hours to help facilitate the use of campaign funds, according to emails obtained by The Associated Press. The emails, obtained through a […]

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B.C. workers’ agency says tree was identified as a danger before firefighter’s death

A report from British Columbia’s worker safety agency says the potential dangers of a burning cedar tree were identified but not acted upon before it fell, killing a young wildland firefighter and injuring two others last summer. WorkSafeBC’s 21-page incident investigation report highlighted ineffective hazard management, inadequate supervision, training and orientation of young workers, unsafe […]

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CBC paid more than $18 million in bonuses in 2024 after eliminating hundreds of jobs

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. paid $18.4 million in bonuses this year after hundreds of jobs at the public broadcaster were eliminated.  Documents obtained through access-to-information laws show CBC/Radio-Canada paid out bonuses to 1,194 employees for the 2023-24 fiscal year. More than $3.3 million of that was paid to 45 executives.  That means those executives got […]

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Sister of dead firefighter calls for safety overhaul of N.S. firefighting school

The sister of a firefighter who died during a training exam at the Nova Scotia Firefighters School says the program needs an overhaul to improve its safety standards. Twenty-eight-year-old Skyler Blackie died in hospital on March 9, 2019, after a fire extinguisher he was using exploded at the school on the outskirts of Halifax. His […]

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Body camera footage shows local police anger at Secret Service after Trump assassination attempt

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the chaotic aftermath of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally last month, a local police officer told a fellow officer he had warned the Secret Service days earlier that the building where the 20-year-old gunman opened fire needed to be secured. “I (expletive) told them they needed […]

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Russia blocks Signal messaging app as authorities tighten control over information

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s state communications watchdog said Friday it has blocked access to the Signal messaging app, the latest move in the authorities’ efforts to tighten controls over information amid the fighting in Ukraine. The agency, Roskomnadzor, said it made the decision because of Signal’s “violation of the requirements of Russian legislation which must […]

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New database tracks more than 2,100 deaths in custody across Canada since 2000

The average age of people who died in a Canadian correctional facility in the past two decades was 44, according to a database launched Friday by a team helmed by an Ottawa criminologist. The Tracking (In)Justice data set lists more than 2,100 deaths from all causes of people in custody across Canada over the past […]

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One year after news ban, Facebook important source for weather updates in disasters

Residents of small communities across Canada are finding creative ways of getting around Facebook’s news blackout to share updates about dangerous weather events, but they say it’s still tough to get information to people quickly on the platform. One year after Meta, Facebook’s parent company, banned all links to Canadian news on its platforms — […]

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2024 Foreign Interference Commission

BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) was pleased to participate in the Foreign Interference Commission’s public consultation process. Given broad direction to explore and investigate with extended advisors Ryan Rutley complied the following submission. The Commission is investigating threats to Canadian democracy from foreign interference and assessing the Canadian government’s capacity to defend […]

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Judge rejects bid by Judicial Watch, Daily Caller to reopen fight over access to Biden Senate papers

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has refused to vacate a ruling denying a conservative media outlet and an activist group access to records related to President Joe Biden’s gift of his Senate papers to the University of Delaware. Judicial Watch and the Daily Caller News Foundation sought to set aside a 2022 court […]

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