BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
-
New survey shows alarming rise in antisemitism, Nazi rhetoric in Ontario schools
A major new survey on antisemitism in Ontario schools offers empirical data on the alarming rise of antisemitic incidents, many of which have no direct link to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The findings highlight incidents such as a six-year-old Ottawa student, with one Jewish parent, being told she was “half human.” Support of…
-
How an email error sparked a secret scramble to bring Afghans to Britain
LONDON (AP) — British governments past and present face allegations of avoiding scrutiny and undermining democracy after the revelation that thousands of Afghans have been resettled in the U.K under a program that was hidden from the media, the public and lawmakers in Parliament. Key information was also kept from the Afghans themselves, who had…
-
Charlotte County communities apply for wildfire resiliency plans
Some Charlotte County municipalities are working toward wildfire resiliency plans as part of the expansion of the FireSmart Program in New Brunswick. In April, the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development launched the program, after an announcement from the federal and provincial governments for about $40 million to increase New Brunswick’s wildfire preparedness. The…
-
Ontario hospitals, LTC homes spent nearly $1B on agency staff last year
Hospitals and long-term care homes spent nearly $1 billion last year to fill shifts with nurses and personal support workers from private staffing agencies, a Ministry of Health document estimates. A November 2023 staffing agency update obtained by The Canadian Press through a freedom-of-information request shows that agency use increased from 2021-22 to 2022-23 by…
-
Anti-authority narratives could tear ‘fabric of society,’ intelligence report warns
Threats against politicians have become “increasingly normalized” due to extremist narratives prompted by personal grievances and fuelled by misinformation or deliberate lies, warns a newly released intelligence report. The report, prepared by a federal task force that aims to safeguard elections, says the Canadian violent extremist landscape has seen the proliferation of conspiracy theories, a…
-
Arizona expects to be back at the center of election attacks. Its top officials are going on offense
PHOENIX (AP) — The room sits behind a chain-link fence, then black iron gates. Guards block the entrance, which requires a security badge to access. The glass surrounding it is shatterproof. What merits all these layers of protection is somewhat surprising: tabulating machines that count the votes during elections in Arizona’s Maricopa County. The security…
-
PC plan for central online high school shelved
Manitoba Education has abandoned plans to create an entirely new online high school to increase access to remote learning and expand e-course offerings coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The department’s planned takeover of InformNet — a Grade 9-12 remote learning program operated by Winnipeg’s St. James-Assinbioia School Division — appears to be collateral damage…
-
Former Georgia insurance commissioner John Oxendine pleads guilty to health care fraud
ATLANTA (AP) — A former Georgia insurance commissioner who made a failed Republican run for governor has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud. John W. Oxendine of Johns Creek entered the guilty plea Friday in federal court in Atlanta. The 61-year-old had been indicted in May 2022 on charges of conspiracy to…
-
Federal officials want to know how airlines handle – and share – passengers’ personal information
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials said Thursday they will review how airlines protect personal information about their passengers and whether they are making money by sharing that information with other parties. The U.S. Department of Transportation said its review will focus on the 10 biggest U.S. airlines and cover their collection, handling and use of…
-
Aurora Council explores “feasibility” of Digital Data Charter
Aurora will soon explore the feasibility of developing a Digital Data charter that would protect residents’ privacy in an increasingly digital world. Sitting at Council’s inaugural Committee of the Whole meeting, Council approved a motion from Ward 2 Councillor Rachel Gilliland tasking staff to come back with a report on just such a framework “centred…
-
Halt defence counter-intelligence searches of workplace computers, spy watchdog urges
The national spy watchdog is calling on the military’s counter-intelligence unit to suspend investigative searches of a workplace computer system over concerns about employee privacy. A National Security and Intelligence Review Agency report released Thursday says Defence employees and Armed Forces members have a reasonable expectation of privacy when making personal use of work computers.…