Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, April 18th. This week, we’re tracking a growing surveillance push in Canada — from federal bills that civil liberties advocates warn could expand state access to personal data, to local governments in British Columbia embracing deeper camera-based policing partnerships.  In Alberta, concerns are mounting over political interference in libraries and […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is set to take up the reauthorization of a divisive program that lets U.S. spy agencies pore over foreigners’ calls, texts and emails, with supporters like President Donald Trump saying it has saved lives while critics point to long-standing concerns about warrantless surveillance of Americans. A key provision of the Foreign […]

Hope Lompe Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder Fire District content from Derek Kilbourn, Editor, Gabriola Sounder AI is rapidly changing how governments work, with several risks to be considered like personal and private information entered into data servers in countries outside of Canada.  After the Sounder reported in the April 1 edition that the Islands Trust […]

The Nova Scotia government is considering to build a new transit network to link Halifax with three rural communities, and looking for a partner for the proposed new service. The province issued a request for information Wednesday from potential service providers for a new system connecting the capital city with Truro, Wolfville and Bridgewater. It […]

An organization representing large public libraries across Canada warns Alberta’s proposed bill affecting libraries threatens “unprecedented” government overreach into organizations meant to be shielded from political control. The Canadian Urban Libraries Council is urging United Conservative Premier Danielle Smith’s government to ditch its proposed changes to Alberta’s law governing libraries in a bill currently before […]

Ontario Premier Doug Ford defended his government’s plan to build many more jails, saying the billions in cost will be worth it. Ontario’s jails are well over capacity and the overcrowding has been worsening for years under Ford’s tenure as premier. The province plans to add upward of 6,000 new jail beds by 2050, government […]

Last summer, an IJF investigation revealed that the amount of overtime worked by paramedics in Edmonton had increased by 81 per cent since 2021. The story was republished by several media outlets across Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. A day later, staff from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office and the Ministry of Hospital and […]

Ontario’s premier and solicitor general have vowed to figure out how the province’s jails improperly released more than 100 inmates over several years. Premier Doug Ford says the situation is unacceptable and he will get to the bottom of what happened. Global News unearthed government documents through freedom of information laws that show the province […]

Ontario is planning a massive expansion of jails over the next few decades, The Canadian Press has learned. The province’s jails are bursting and have been significantly over capacity for years, with the situation worsening. Ontario plans to add nearly 6,000 jail beds by 2050, documents obtained by University of Ottawa researchers through freedom-of-information laws […]

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts’ highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state’s lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds […]

As Tennessee State Senators came to the floor on Monday afternoon, about two dozen activists formed a wall in the hallway, singing to the lawmakers. “Whether you’re cisgender “Whether you’re trans “Equal protection is the law of this land” The group, led by the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), was there to protest Senate Bill 676, […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly 100 protesters were arrested during a demonstration Monday calling on Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to block the sale of thousands of U.S. bombs to Israel. Led by the antiwar group Jewish Voice for Peace, the crowd of hundreds initially attempted to stage a sit-in inside […]