BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
-
Encrypted messaging apps promise privacy. Government transparency is often the price
As a devastating wildfire burned through a Maui town, killing more than 100 people, emergency management employees traded dozens of text messages, creating a record that would later help investigators piece together the government’s response to the 2023 tragedy. One text exchange hinted officials might also be using a second, untraceable messaging service. “That’s what…
-
Pentagon is cutting up to 60,000 civilian jobs. About a third of those took voluntary resignations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the Defense Department, but fewer than 21,000 workers who took a voluntary resignation plan are leaving in the coming months, a senior defense official told reporters Tuesday. To reach the goal of a 5% to 8% cut in a civilian workforce of…
-
Antigua’s leader rejects allegations that his government withheld details of yacht sale and proceeds
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday dismissed allegations that his administration has not been transparent about the sale of a seized megayacht and how the proceeds were used. The statement by Prime Minister Gaston Browne comes a day after a federal judge in New York granted…
-
N.S. government says no legal action over social media post on woman’s hospital death
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s Justice Department said Tuesday it won’t pursue legal action against a politician who posted information about a woman who died in hospital after a seven-hour wait for a doctor. The department sent an email Friday to Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, the Independent member for Cumberland North, advising her to take down a letter…
-
Ottawa pressed RCMP Heritage Centre for more outreach as part of expansion goal
OTTAWA — The head of the RCMP Heritage Centre in Saskatchewan says that after it completed a round of consultations on how it can transform into a national museum, the ball is now in Ottawa’s court. “We really needed to hear from Canadians,” said Tara Robinson, the CEO of the Regina-based museum focused on the…
-
Ex Pentagon intelligence analyst who spied for Cuba freed
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A former U.S. defense intelligence analyst who was convicted of spying for Cuba more than 20 years ago has been released from a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas. Ana Belen Montes, 65, was released Friday, Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Scott Taylor said Saturday. Montes, an analyst for the…
-
Schools tossed COVID cash into wind: expert
More than $3 million set aside to improve air quality in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has been spent on duct cleaning — a measure not backed by research as an effective way to limit infectious-disease transmission. Manitoba earmarked nearly $11.3 million, including provincial and federal pots of about $6.8 million and $4.5 million, respectively,…
-
Twitter leak exposes 235 million email addresses from hack
Personal emails linked to 235 million Twitter accounts hacked some time ago have been exposed according to Israeli security researcher Alon Gal — making millions vulnerable to having their accounts compromised or identities exposed if they have used the site anonymously to criticize oppressive governments, for instance. Gal, who is the co-founder and chief technology…
-
Alberta government won’t release data on snowpack contamination from coal mines
EDMONTON — The Alberta government is refusing to release information on toxic contaminants in snowpacks downwind from mountaintop removal coal mines. The data was collected by two senior provincial government scientists who conducted research into the impact of windblown dust from mines in British Columbia on a pristine Alberta alpine lake. They recently published a…
-
Alex Jones lawyer suspended 6 months over records release
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A lawyer for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been suspended from practicing law in Connecticut for six months for improperly giving Jones’ other attorneys in Texas confidential documents, including the medical records of relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The ruling by Judge Barbara Bellis on Thursday…
-
Ransomware group LockBit apologizes saying ‘partner’ was behind SickKids attack
TORONTO — A global ransomware operator issued an apology and offered to unlock the data targeted in a ransomware attack on Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, a move cybersecurity experts say is rare, if not unprecedented, for the infamous group. LockBit, a ransomware group the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has called one of the…