BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
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Did Elections Alberta call you? Water Not Coal wants to know
Water Not Coal is asking people contacted by Elections Alberta during petition signature verification to share their experiences, as the campaign weighs a legal challenge with a filing deadline of Aug. 2. “We’re still gathering our information. We’ve put out a public call,” campaign proponent Corb Lund says. “We want to understand their experience and…
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Separation petition clears signature threshold, but court fight continues
A citizen initiative petition proposing a referendum on Alberta becoming an independent country has been declared successful after Elections Alberta verified enough signatures to satisfy the requirements of the Citizen Initiative Act. The agency announced Friday that statistical verification estimated 222,597 valid signatures from an initial submission of 286,593 signatures, surpassing the required minimum of…
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New York school pauses plan to deploy humanlike AI robot teacher after backlash
NEW YORK (AP) — A school district in a rural corner of upstate New York is hitting pause on plans to deploy an AI-powered, humanoid robot in the classroom after state education officials, teachers and local residents raised concerns, including the maker’s ties to a company that produces hyper realistic sex bots. The Salamanca City…
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The Citizenship Backlog IRCC Isn’t Counting
Razan Abu-Ghoush filed her Canadian citizenship application on July 2, 2024. Two years later, she’s still waiting. That shouldn’t be happening. IRCC’s own published processing-time data shows citizenship grants — the standard path for permanent residents applying to naturalize — have been improving this year, even as the separate citizenship-by-descent queue has ballooned. Application decisions…
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ICC chief prosecutor removed from post over sexual misconduct allegations
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was removed from office on Friday, nearly two years after sexual misconduct allegations against him first emerged. The ouster of Karim Khan comes at a time when the court is already facing daunting challenges, including a campaign by the United States to “dismantle”…
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New Westminster City Hall strikes AI working group
The City of New Westminster has established an AI working group to tackle the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence. City council recently received a report outlining the work staff have done to date on the development of appropriate AI usage guidelines and upcoming work. The July 13 report said publicly available Generative AI (GenAI)…
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Nenshi presses Smith for full disclosure on referendum costs
Naheed Nenshi, leader of the Opposition of Alberta, is asking the premier to come clean about the total cost of holding the referendum will be. Though Access to Information requests by Alberta NDP found an additional $2 million in costs towards the referendum to the already staggering $132-180 million. Some of these costs include a…
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Navy revises what information about sailors can be released, citing internal misinterpretation
WASHINGTON (AP) — Citing an internal misinterpretation of a change in policy, the U.S. Navy is backing away from statements that it would begin to restrict press and public access to sailors’ service histories — information that has been freely offered for decades. “The Navy continues to fulfill service record requests under our longstanding, standard…
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Indigenous veterans fought for country, but were mistreated after service new book recounts
Lynn Gehl was in her thirties when she finally started to learn the story of her great-grandfather Joseph Gagnon from Golden Lake Reserve (now known as Pikwakanagan First Nation) in Ontario. In Joseph Gagnon: An Algonquin World War 1 Veteran, Gehl outlines the way her great-grandfather suffered from discrimination when it came to Canada’s implementation…
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Family with history of legal troubles asks Superior Court to overturn order requiring cleanup of crumbling GM property
For residents who have spent years demanding action on the abandoned former General Motors property in St. Catharines, the latest chapter will sound all too familiar. Just weeks after the City’s Property Standards Appeal Committee upheld sweeping compliance orders requiring the owners to repair or demolish dozens of deteriorating structures, the controversial numbered company that…
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Alberta referendum costs climbing with another $365K in promotion, says Nenshi
Alberta’s Opposition says the cost of just getting the word out on the province’s looming separation referendum is setting taxpayers back at least $365,000 dollars. The new numbers come from a freedom of information request, NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said Thursday. He said contracts show about $365,000 in fees for a televised address and promotional…