Access to Information

Topic: Access to Information


More than 70,000 kids in Ontario seeking publicly funded autism supports

More than 70,000 children are seeking support through the Ontario Autism Program, but fewer than 15,000 of them are getting funding for core therapies, the province’s Financial Accountability Office said in a report Wednesday. The Progressive Conservative government has more than doubled the budget for the Ontario Autism Program, now at $720 million, but that […]

Read More


Cybersecurity standards emerging in Canada as ransomware business booms

The ransomware business is booming in Canada. Recent victims have included large corporations such as retailer London Drugs, as well as the City of Hamilton, Ont., and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador. But the criminals who sometimes brag of their attacks on the so-called dark web don’t seem fussy about their victims, based on […]

Read More


Justice Department’s ‘deepfake’ concerns over Biden interview audio highlights AI misuse worries

Releasing an audio recording of a special counsel’s interview with President Joe Biden could spur deepfakes and disinformation that trick Americans, the Justice Department said, conceding the U.S. government could not stop the misuse of artificial intelligence ahead of this year’s election. A senior Justice Department official raised the concerns in a court filing on […]

Read More


Library hosts extra Twinkle Babies program with dietitian

On June 3, the Strathmore Municipal Library will be hosting a special session of their “Twinkle Babies” program to provide information about infant nutrition to parents.  Dietician Dabin Choi will be in attendance to present at the session, as well as to answer any questions parents may have. The regular Twinkle Babies programs through the […]

Read More


Leadership Shake-Up at Burlington Performing Arts Centre and Sound of Music Just Two Weeks Before the Event

Last week, Tammy Fox, the executive director of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, resigned from her position; no reasons have been given for her resignation. Just over three weeks ago, Steve Cussons stepped down as the chair of the board of directors for the Sound of Music Festival (SOM). This shake-up comes less than two […]

Read More


8 bills get assent as legislature wraps up early

An Iqaluit electoral boundary change, a council’s ability to appoint new members and some additional spending measures were signed Friday as the Nunavut legislative assembly closed its spring sitting. Nunavut Commissioner Eva Aariak presided over the assent ceremony, signing eight new bills into law including one implementing some of the recommendations from the 2023 Nunavut […]

Read More


Alberta government reducing independence of province’s energy regulator: Opposition

Alberta’s energy minister is undermining the independence of its energy regulator, one of several examples of the United Conservative Party government extending its grasp into supposedly arm’s-length public agencies, observers say. “We’ve been seeing this consistent pattern of political interference in public agencies,” said Nagwan Al-Guneid, energy and climate critic for the New Democrat Opposition. […]

Read More


As Hong Kong cracks down, Canadian Tiananmen Square vigils keep flame burning

Cherie Wong says she can hardly recognize today’s Hong Kong, the city where she grew up and the former worldwide centre of annual commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. “It’s heartbreaking, definitely, thinking back to my family members who started attending June 4 memorials in Hong Kong from 1989 until pretty recently,” […]

Read More


Privacy commissioners investigate B.C. firm that does background checks for landlords

The privacy commissioners of Canada and British Columbia have launched an investigation into a Victoria-based company that performs background checks on tenants and others. They say in a joint statement that Certn is being assessed to make sure it complies with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and B.C.’s Personal Information Protection […]

Read More


Access to Info plan includes guidance on historical records, no legislative changes

The Liberal government has outlined a variety of steps intended to make the much-criticized Access to Information system work better, including new guidance on disclosure of historical records. But the new plan makes it clear any changes to the federal access law will have to wait until after the next formal review, set to begin […]

Read More


Could a Senate bill cause age verification laws to apply to Netflix? Experts say yes

Canada’s privacy czar and a government official are warning that a Senate bill proposing to block minors from “sexually explicit material” online could apply to streaming services such as Netflix.Philippe Dufresne, the country’s privacy commissioner, says legislators should dramatically narrow the bill’s scope to address concerns about “what will be captured.”Dufresne, along with Owen Ripley, […]

Read More


Alberta hears mixing patients at long-term care facilities leading to violence

The Alberta government is facing calls to stop admitting complex mental health patients into long-term care facilities until the risks are fully reviewed. Seniors’ advocates joined Opposition New Democrats at a news conference Monday in asking for the halt. They said mixing residents at Calgary’s Carewest Colonel Belcher facility with those who have vastly different […]

Read More