BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
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More details emerge on pay of Manitoba trade representative in Washington D.C.
The Manitoba government defended its trade representative in Washington, D.C., on Monday as more details emerged about how much taxpayers are providing the consultant. Former television reporter Richard Madan was hired in June to help promote Manitoba’s interests in the U.S. and fight tariffs and other trade measures imposed by the U.S. administration. The Manitoba…
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Town claims provincial pressure on wharf project
Staff from the Town of Saint Andrews claim they were pressured by the Regional Development Corporation (RDC) to progress with the Market Wharf and Market Square refurbishment project despite the department approving a deadline extension application from the town well into 2027. New documents obtained by The Courier through a Right to Information and Protection…
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As Trump pushes deportations, immigration data becomes harder to find
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration likes to promote its immigration enforcement agenda through numbers, with ambitious goals to deport 1 million people, report zero releases at the U.S.-Mexico border and arrest thousands of alleged gang members. For all the boasting, the administration has been releasing less reliable, carefully vetted data than its predecessors on…
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After judge’s ruling, HHS authorized to resume sharing some Medicaid data with deportation officers
NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s health department starting Monday can resume sharing the personal data of certain Medicaid enrollees with deportation officials, according to a federal judge’s ruling, in a blow to states that had sued the administration over privacy concerns. But the judge’s decision, issued last Monday, strictly limits the scope of data…
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Amid merger, Grand Erie Public Health managed one of Ontario’s biggest measles outbreaks. Here’s how.
Grand Erie Public Health was born on the first day of 2025, the result of months of merger talks between the health units that had overseen Haldimand-Norfolk and Brantford-Brant. A week later, as staff were still setting up their new email accounts, the measles virus appeared in the largely rural community southwest of Hamilton. That …
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Big Tech’s fast-expanding plans for data centers are running into stiff community opposition
SPRING CITY, Pa. (AP) — Tech companies and developers looking to plunge billions of dollars into ever-bigger data centers to power artificial intelligence and cloud computing are increasingly losing fights in communities where people don’t want to live next to them, or even near them. Communities across the United States are reading about — and…
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Province steps in as Gibbons council approves interim budget and borrowing plan amid financial crisis
The Town of Gibbons approved an interim 2026 operating and capital budget during a special meeting on Dec. 18, as the municipality continues to navigate financial pressures under the oversight of a provincially appointed Official Administrator. The interim budget carries forward 2025 spending levels and is intended as short‑term authority while administration completes a thorough…
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Increasing AI use in Canadian courtrooms carries risk of errors, penalties: lawyers
In the past, if a client who usually preferred to communicate via short emails suddenly sent a lengthy message akin to a legal memo, Ron Shulman would suspect they’d received help from a family member or partner. Now, the Toronto family lawyer asks clients if they’ve used artificial intelligence. And most of the time, he…
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Fact File: Claim Rogers collects biometric data from store cameras unfounded
The claim Rogers retail stores used facial recognition on customers through its surveillance cameras appeared on social media in December. Rogers says it does not use the technology at its storefronts and its door screening policy at some locations is meant to ensure staff and customer safety. Stores must follow privacy laws that dictate the…
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Israel says it will halt operations of several humanitarian organizations in Gaza starting in 2026
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Tuesday said it had suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and CARE, from operating in the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules. Israel says the rules are aimed at preventing Hamas and other militant groups from infiltrating the aid organizations. But…
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US removal of panels honoring Black soldiers at WWII cemetery in the Netherlands draws backlash
MARGRATEN, Netherlands (AP) — Ever since a U.S. military cemetery in the southern Netherlands removed two displays recognizing Black troops who helped to liberate Europe from the Nazis, visitors have filled the guestbook with objections. Sometime in the spring, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. government agency responsible for maintaining memorial sites outside of…