This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, November 8th.   It’s a big week in Ottawa — Information and Privacy Commissioners from across Canada have issued a joint resolution calling on governments to protect democracy through stronger access and information management.   We’ll also look at how access-to-information laws continue to shed light on federal decision-making, from foreign aid to digital sovereignty.  […]

The Liberal government says it will restore a privacy provision to the Online Streaming Act, more than two years after it was accidentally deleted. The federal budget released this week says the government will make a legislative amendment to “restore the right to privacy of individuals to the interpretation provisions and remove a duplicative provision […]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — State workers were put on paid administrative leave. Nevada residents couldn’t receive their driver’s licenses. Employers were unable to conduct background checks on new hires. These were all effects of a massive cyberattack in Nevada that took nearly a month to fully restore its services. The ransomware attack – though discovered […]

More than 5,000 researchers have signed an open letter pushing back against a parliamentary committee order that they say draws parallels with the U.S. government’s crackdown on equity, diversity and inclusion funding in health and science research. The Standing Committee on Science and Research adopted a motion on Oct. 1 requiring health and science grant […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — IRS Direct File, the electronic system for filing tax returns for free, will not be offered next year, the Trump administration has confirmed. An email sent Monday from IRS official Cynthia Noe to state comptrollers that participate in the Direct File program said that “IRS Direct File will not be available in […]

LONDON (AP) — British retailer Marks and Spencer saw its half-year profits more than halve as a result of a cyberattack that brought its online business to a grinding halt. In a statement Wednesday, M&S said its underlying pretax profits tumbled 55.4% to 184.1 million pounds ($240 million) in the six months to Sept. 27, […]

BERLIN (AP) — A man suspected of promising to get weapons for an attack on Jewish targets in Germany was arrested Wednesday in Denmark, Germany’s top prosecutor said. The suspect, an Afghan national who was identified as Tawab M. in line with German privacy rules, had allegedly been in contact with a Danish national who […]

A new report from Dalhousie University shows flaws in the environmental review process for mining operations in Canada, with researchers finding that data for 20 per cent of the projects they reviewed was incomplete or missing entirely from public records. The report collected all available environmental impact assessments on mining projects dating back to 1974 […]

Severe overcrowding in hospital emergency rooms has led to a startling allegation in New Brunswick’s legislature. Bill Hogan, the Progressive Conservative opposition’s health critic, asked during question period last week whether the fire marshal had fined any hospitals for overcrowding. Health Minister John Dornan said he knew nothing about it. “It was brought to my […]

About 75 residents filled the Grantham Optimist Club on Wednesday evening for a two-hour open-mic town hall hosted by St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe and Port Dalhousie councillors Bruce Williamson and Marty Mako.  The meeting, open to residents from across the city, was intended as an informal chance to raise questions and share concerns directly […]

A Global Affairs Canada briefing note suggests the department expects fewer questions going forward in the House of Commons about possible cuts to foreign aid from the much-reduced NDP caucus. A June briefing note released under access-to-information law shows the department sought to stop accepting applications for foreign aid programs prioritized by the Trudeau government, […]

A new government white paper on digital sovereignty says Ottawa can’t maintain full control over its data if its data storage supplier is subject to the laws of another country. It warns the federal government can only maintain full legal control if it delivers the service itself, or uses service providers that operate completely under […]