A man who set fire to a pastor’s family home attached to a Ukrainian church in Victoria has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. Victoria police say Walter Machinski was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of arson with disregard for human life after setting the fire in the early morning of […]

The BC government spent a decade killing wolves to protect caribou. Now, critics warn that despite questions about its effectiveness, ethics and impact on the rest of the environment, the government is moving to make the wolf cull a permanent part of its strategy.  Launched as a short-term emergency measure in 2015, the decade-long wolf […]

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Thursday she is investigating whether pharmaceutical giant CVS improperly used customers’ personal information to send out text messages lobbying against a proposed state law. Murrill also said she plans to issue a cease-and-desist letter to the company to stop the messages. As lawmakers debated […]

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government broke its legal, record-keeping obligations amid its now-reversed decision to open up parts of the protected Greenbelt lands for housing, the province’s information and privacy commissioner has found.  Political staff were using code words to thwart document requests and left a surprisingly small paper trail for such a consequential policy, […]

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to review a ruling that concluded Facebook broke federal privacy law by failing to adequately inform users of risks to their data when using the popular social media platform. Last September, the Federal Court of Appeal found Facebook, now known as Meta Platforms, did not obtain the meaningful […]

Updated 2025.06.12 Dear Minister Champagne,  We call on you to withdraw the portions of the Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act, Bill C-4, that amend the Canada Elections Act. The provisions of the Bill are a serious threat to Canadians’ privacy rights.   Provisions in Bill C-4 Part 4 grant federal political parties sweeping […]

Rallies for endangered species. Protests led by First Nations. A filibuster from the NDP. More than 4,000 amendments tabled by the Liberals. Two committee hearings with Indigenous leaders, legal experts, labour representatives, and more. Despite all of it, Bill 5 passed. On June 5, as Ontarians across the province struggled to breathe through smoke-filled air […]

An after-action report released by the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organizations said communication during the Stein Lake wildfire near Saint Andrews in 2023 was challenging.  The wildfire burned more than 500 hectares, surpassing the province’s 10-year average and was started by an ATV that caught fire, according to Saint Andrews fire chief Kevin Theriault.  An […]

Phillip BlancherLocal Journalism Initiative Reporter CORNWALL – Rural schools in SDG Counties are receiving specific provincial funding, and the Rural Education Committee wants to know what that funding is and how it is used.  Members of the Rural Education Committee, an SDG Counties council committee formed in 2022, discussed the provincial Rural and Northern Education […]

Renfrew – The investigation into financial impropriety at Renfrew Victoria Hospital (RVH) has brought on positive changes to avoid future issues, including reunifying Renfrew Health (RH) with all hospital funds returned to RVH and assets to be transferred there, installing a new senior management team and new CEO, bringing in a “whistleblower” system and establishing […]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A former worker who leaked information about plans by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to build golf courses and hotels in Florida state parks has filed a whistleblower lawsuit. James Gaddis alleges that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection retaliated against him for sharing details of the proposals, which caused bipartisan […]

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that struck down as unconstitutional several laws restricting abortion access, including a ban beyond 20 weeks of gestation. The measures approved by Republican lawmakers in 2021 had been blocked since a judge issued a preliminary injunction against them that year. While the case […]