BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
-
Hacked N.S. power firm agrees to beef up security after customer data breached
Canada’s privacy commissioner says Nova Scotia’s largest power utility will strengthen its security following a cyberattack last year. Nova Scotia Power sent a compliance letter to commissioner Philippe Dufresne saying it will delete customer social security numbers that it has on file. The utility says in the letter it will also provide Dufresne’s office with…
-
Citizens raise issues about chemicals at refinery site
COLEMAN TOWNSHIP — Thousands of documents obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request have revealed details of hazardous material located at the abandoned Cobalt Refinery Site, located in Coleman Township. Trina Breault, township resident and chairperson for the group Citizens for a Clean Coleman Township, made a presentation to Coleman council on March 19.…
-
Hydro-Québec seeking input on linking its grid with proposed Nova Scotia wind farms
Hydro-Québec says it wants to assess the feasibility of connecting the province’s electricity grid with Nova Scotia’s proposed offshore wind farms. The provincially owned utility has issued a formal request for information from energy developers to help it determine timelines and costs for building transmission lines and other technologies. But the utility’s request does not…
-
Nearly All Federal Executives Took Bonuses Last Year: CTF
Nearly all federal government executives received bonus pay last year even as departments fell short of many of their own performance goals, according to internal records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation through access-to-information requests. The documents show about 98 per cent of federal executives qualified for bonus payments in the 2024-25 fiscal year, the…
-
RCMP approve 32 awards for officers, staff involved in Nova Scotia mass shooting case
Four years after a mass shooting in Nova Scotia claimed 22 lives, the RCMP have presented 32 awards to officers and staff for their roles in the manhunt and the public inquiry that followed. The awards, approved by RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme in May, are described in documents obtained under the federal access to information law by author and…
-
Behind the Tips: How Crime Stoppers of Halton Helps Keep the Region Safe
Crime Stoppers of Halton continues to play a quiet but significant role in helping police solve crimes across the region, relying on anonymous tips from residents who see or know something and choose to speak up. Crime Stoppers of Halton has been operating in the region for 38 years. According to Colin Jessome, executive director…
-
Kaslo council, January 14: Revised council procedures bylaw discussed
Most of the airtime during the January 14 Kaslo council meeting was taken up by the recently revised Council Procedures Bylaw, which received first and second reading during the December 9 meeting. Council discussed feedback received from the public. The bylaw sets rules for how meetings are organized and how participants are involved. The changes…
-
Will the online harms bill ban kids from social media? Maybe.
As other countries move toward banning social media use for some teens, the Liberal government has confirmed it’s working on new legislation to address online harms. So could Canada follow Australia and implement a social media ban? Here’s what we know: What are the rules in place now for kids under 13? Canada has no…
-
Families of 2 men killed in boat strike sue Trump administration over attack they call ‘unlawful’
WASHINGTON (AP) — Families of two Trinidadian nationals killed in a Trump administration boat strike last October sued the federal government on Tuesday, calling the attack a war crime and part of an “unprecedented and manifestly unlawful U.S. military campaign.” The lawsuit is thought to be the first wrongful death case arising from the three…
-
Openness advocates unimpressed by early proposals for Access to Information reform
Advocates of more federal transparency are concerned a federal review of the Access to Information regime will not fix long-standing problems, and that it could even make things worse. The Treasury Board Secretariat announced the government review, which takes place every five years, in a news release last June. For a $5 fee, people can…
-
Canada is claiming credit for tackling ghost gear, despite scuttling funding
Canada continues to tout itself as a “world leader” in tackling ghost gear’s threats to marine life and coastal communities even though funding for the program dried up in 2024. Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) former investments to address abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, were axed without explanation by the federal Liberals more than…