This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, December 13th.   As we head into the holiday season, it’s another big week for access and privacy. Local Journalism Initiative reporting uncovers serious questions about water safety, council transparency, and digital surveillance at home. Nationally, we’re seeing renewed pressure around the Ring of Fire, critical minerals, and Indigenous consent. Around the world, governments are […]

A new report says Nova Scotia is failing to adequately protect female migrant workers employed on farms and seafood plants in the province.  The report, published by the Centre for Migrant Worker Rights Nova Scotia, reviewed over 40 pieces of existing research and surveyed dozens of workers in the Colchester, Cumberland, and Pictou counties of […]

A University of Winnipeg professor who researches poverty and urban renewal at the downtown campus now has a new leadership role at the province’s second-largest university. Jino Distasio, one of the most high-profile researchers at U of W, was named Tuesday as its new interim president and vice-chancellor. Distasio, a veteran faculty member in the […]

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed a world-first social media ban for children younger than 16 that took effect Wednesday as families taking back power from tech giants but warned the implementation would be difficult. Many children posted farewell messages, while parents reported distraught children discovering they’d been shut out of […]

The fumes coming through the walls of Neskantaga First Nation’s nursing station warned of a crisis with a familiar smell. Diesel wafted from the flooded basement, a stench so strong it made people sick with headaches and nausea, residents said.  After they detected the scent, the building was shut down and with it the community’s […]

I. THE WARNING The ancestors knew. First Nation elders understood the south would march north eventually. They knew it would come in waves, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. Those ancestors told their kids, who told theirs, and so on until today. The south has already carved many changes. Decades ago, Webequie First Nation and Neskantaga First […]

Crowsnest Pass municipal council has opened the door to major procedural changes, voting to draft amendments to its meeting bylaw that could affect how the public speaks to council, how meetings are scheduled and how councillors receive correspondence. The discussion took place during the Nov. 25 regular council meeting, where Coun. Doreen Johnson asked council […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The clock is ticking for the U.S. government to open up its files on Jeffrey Epstein. After months of rancor and recriminations, Congress has passed and President Donald Trump has signed legislation compelling the Justice Department to give the public everything it has on Epstein — and it has to be […]

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday granted the Justice Department’s request to publicly release grand jury transcripts and other material from Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking case, citing a new law that requires the government to open its files on Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime confidant, but he cautioned that people shouldn’t expect […]

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s parliament approved on Tuesday a government plan to dismantle an independent office that protects those who report corruption and other criminal activities. A total of 78 lawmakers representing the coalition government led by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico voted in favor of the move in the 150-seat parliament, despite critical […]

An arbitrator has partially upheld a grievance filed by the Queen’s University Faculty Association (QUFA) over the university’s requirement that faculty install third-party security software on any device used for work.  After reviewing submissions from both sides and holding a hearing in Kingston on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, arbitrator William Kaplan ruled on Friday, Nov. […]

BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official on Monday warned the United States against interfering in Europe’s affairs and said only European citizens can decide which parties should govern them. European Council President António Costa’s remarks came in reaction to the Trump administration’s new national security strategy, which was published on Friday and paints […]