Access and Privacy Online

Access and Privacy Online


New survey shows alarming rise in antisemitism, Nazi rhetoric in Ontario schools

A major new survey on antisemitism in Ontario schools offers empirical data on the alarming rise of antisemitic incidents, many of which have no direct link to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The findings highlight incidents such as a six-year-old Ottawa student, with one Jewish parent, being told she was “half human.” Support of […]

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How an email error sparked a secret scramble to bring Afghans to Britain

LONDON (AP) — British governments past and present face allegations of avoiding scrutiny and undermining democracy after the revelation that thousands of Afghans have been resettled in the U.K under a program that was hidden from the media, the public and lawmakers in Parliament. Key information was also kept from the Afghans themselves, who had […]

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Charlotte County communities apply for wildfire resiliency plans

Some Charlotte County municipalities are working toward wildfire resiliency plans as part of the expansion of the FireSmart Program in New Brunswick.  In April, the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development launched the program, after an announcement from the federal and provincial governments for about $40 million to increase New Brunswick’s wildfire preparedness.  The […]

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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to testify in $8 billion Facebook privacy lawsuit

A $8 billion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company leaders — current and former — begins Wednesday, with claims stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. Investors allege in their lawsuit that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users’ personal information would […]

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Federal departments fall short of Ottawa’s 5% Indigenous procurement target

Several of Canada’s federal departments didn’t meet the mandated target for Indigenous procurement in 2023-2024, according to government documents obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an Access to Information request. The policy, introduced in 2021, requires that at least five per cent of all federal spending must go to Indigenous businesses to address economic gaps […]

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Senate confirms Trump’s first judicial nominee of his second term

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s first judicial pick of his second term, voting to approve Whitney Hermandorfer as a judge for the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The confirmation of Hermandorfer, who worked for Tennessee’s attorney general, comes after the Democratic-led Senate under former President Joe Biden confirmed 235 […]

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Immigration minister won’t say if Canada considering barring British, Irish rappers

A prominent Jewish organization is pushing for Canada to deny entry to two bands being investigated in the U.K. after their appearance at a popular British music festival last month. In late June the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs asked the ministers of public safety and immigration to bar Irish rap group Kneecap and […]

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Norfolk council OKs new ‘waste and fraud hotline’

As far as Norfolk County’s top civil servant is aware, town hall is not a hotbed of corruption. But chief administrative officer Al Meneses still recommended the municipality set up a “waste and fraud hotline”  to allow county employees — and eventually the general public — to  anonymously report “inefficiencies and incidents of wrongdoing involving  […]

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20250712 Access and Privacy Online

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, July 12th.   We’re heading into the full summer season here, and while you’re hopefully enjoying the sun where you are, we’ll start with the access to information and privacy scans across Canada. There are some troubling environmental impacts as one oil company breaks a deal and […]

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Alberta used lists of America’s most banned books and a controversial database to identify ‘inappropriate’ material in schools

Internal emails throw light on the sources used by Government of Alberta staff to search for “inappropriate” materials in school libraries, including an index of America’s most banned books and a website linked to the rise in attempts to ban books in the U.S. Alberta’s Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced in May the […]

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UK arrests four people over cyber attacks on Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods

LONDON (AP) — Four people alleged to be part of an organized crime ring were arrested Thursday for damaging cyber attacks that hit British retailers Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods, the National Crime Agency said. The unnamed suspects were identified as British males aged 17 and 19, a 20-year-old British woman and a 19-year-old […]

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North Carolina governor vetoes another set of bills, including one on guns in private schools

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Josh Stein cleared his desk Wednesday of the deluge of bills passed to him from the North Carolina General Assembly last month, three of which he vetoed. Stein topped off his veto total at 14 for this year’s legislative session. One of the vetoes prolongs the extensive battle between […]

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