Access to Information

Topic: Access to Information


How you walk could shape the future of biometrics: experts

Canadians have been unlocking iPhones with their fingerprint since 2013 and are sometimes exposed to facial recognition software before boarding planes, but when it comes to biometric technology, Erik Scheme and Mayssa Rekik are one step ahead. The associate director of the University of New Brunswick’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering and the advanced technologies undergraduate […]

Read More


Executive at Manitoba Crown corporation was reimbursed for flights, hotels and more

WINNIPEG — A senior executive at a Manitoba Crown corporation was sometimes being reimbursed for travel to Winnipeg from his home in the Toronto area twice a month, figures obtained by The Canadian Press show. The newly released detailed breakdown of expenses, which also includes hotel stays and meals, was obtained under the province’s freedom […]

Read More


Provincial EMR use was non compliant with privacy laws

PEI’s $7.8 million electronic medical record was operational for 10 months before the Department of Health and Wellness moved to ensure patient information shared over the system complied with provincial privacy legislation, records show. Despite this, government contends patient confidentiality was never jeopardized. “It’s my understanding that (the ways practitioners were sharing information over the […]

Read More


Minnesota Supreme Court rules against disputed mine, says state pollution officials hid EPA warnings

UNDATED (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the state’s Pollution Control Agency improperly granted permits to a fiercely contested copper-nickel mine and concealed environmental concerns about the project, which critics say threatens to pollute Lake Superior and hurt tribal lands. The proposed mining project, a 50-50 joint venture with PolyMet Mining […]

Read More


New Brunswick Education Department received no complaints about pronouns kept secret

FREDERICTON — A freedom of information request filed by a University of New Brunswick professor has revealed that no parents complained to the province that they had been left in the dark about their children’s preferred pronouns. Melissa Dockrill Garrett, a researcher specializing in inclusive education, asked the Education Department for all complaints from parents […]

Read More


Federal government struggling to get rid of millions of extra COVID 19 rapid tests

OTTAWA — The federal government is sitting on a stockpile of 39 million extra rapid tests for COVID-19 and is struggling to get rid of them without chucking them in the trash, an internal Health Canada memo shows. As the Omicron variant of the virus began to tear across Canada at the end of 2021, […]

Read More


Manitoba government planned a COVID 19 video and song for project that was abandoned

WINNIPEG — In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Manitoba government laid out plans for a video to reflect on the effects of the novel coronavirus, complete with a song commissioned from noted singer-songwriter Sierra Noble. But the project, revealed in documents obtained by The Canadian Press, was abandoned. And while the song has […]

Read More


Secondary publishing rights can improve public access to academic research

Canada’s federal research granting agencies recently announced a review of the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications, with the goal of requiring immediate open and free access to all academic publications generated through Tri-Agency supported research by 2025. To meet this requirement, the Canadian government should empower academic authors through the adoption of secondary publishing […]

Read More


Most kids with autism won’t get core therapy funding soon: Ontario

TORONTO — Most of the children in Ontario waiting for publicly funded core autism therapy will not receive it any time soon, the government says in an internal assessment obtained by The Canadian Press. Days into his new role this spring as Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, Michael Parsa was given a transition […]

Read More


‘Old boys’ club’: Employees question how Regina rebrand was approved

REGINA — Federal government employees expressed relief that Prairies Economic Development Canada was not involved in a disastrous rebrand that saw Saskatchewan’s capital city criticized for sexualized slogans. Messages in a group chat obtained under freedom of information laws show federal employees were shocked by Tourism Regina’s campaign. All names of employees have been redacted. […]

Read More


Refugee claims followed Montreal AIDS summit marred by visa woes, planning issues

OTTAWA — Almost one-sixth of guests at a major AIDS conference in Montreal last year who received Canadian visas ended up claiming asylum, according to internal data obtained by The Canadian Press. The documents also show Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada struggled to work with the International AIDS Society as both tried to avoid a […]

Read More


CBC head ‘blindsided’ staff with comments on broadcaster’s future, Poilievre: emails

Eds: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the union representing CBC staff was concerned about increased workloads for employers should there be cuts to radio and television operations. The concern was, in fact, for employees. This is a corrected story. A previous version said the union representing CBC staff was concerned about […]

Read More