Access and Privacy Online

Access and Privacy Online


Will the Alberta Energy Regulator impose real fines against Imperial over Kearl spill?

Nine charges against Imperial Oil were laid Friday over a toxic spill in northern Alberta. The charges by the province’s energy regulator mean the company could face fines ranging from a slap on the wrist to serious deterrence. The charges date back to 2023 when 5.3 million litres of toxic waste from Imperial’s Kearl Oil […]

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Ahead of U.S. TikTok ban, Canadians flock to Chinese ‘RedNote’ app

With TikTok facing an imminent ban in the United States, many Canadian users are moving to rival Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu — also known as RedNote — pushing it to the top of download charts in Canada. The ban is being driven by security concerns about TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. Chinese national […]

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Sales at New Brunswick’s liquor and cannabis stores disrupted by cybersecurity threat

New Brunswick’s liquor and cannabis stores had to shut down their debit and credit card machines last week after detecting a cybersecurity threat, and the problem has yet to be fixed. Florence Gouton, a spokesperson for NB Liquor, said “some anomalies” were found Jan. 7 and external experts were called in to investigate, but much […]

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Judge dismisses Vanderhoof woman’s lawsuit against two health authorities

A B.C. Supreme Court judge threw out a lawsuit filed against the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and Northern Health Authority (NHA) because it was deemed too long, unclear and unlikely to succeed. In a Tuesday, Jan. 14 written ruling, Justice Kenneth Ball agreed with an application by the two health authorities to strike out […]

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Silent blaze: Investigation reveals failure to issue emergency alert during forest fire

Silent Blaze is a two-part investigation by The Courier and CHCO-TV. This is Part I.  New documents reveal the Department of Justice and Public Safety believed door-to-door notification and a Sentinel system alert were enough during a raging forest fire that forced several hundred people from their homes in May 2023, which is why it […]

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DSFM develops policy on AI in schools

Administrators at the division scolaire Franco-Manitobaine (DSFM) have been busy over the past few years developing policy to keep up with technologically changing times. Their 2023–24 school year brought in student cell phone use restrictions, a full year before the province initiated the same. In 2024, the DSFM chose to implement a restriction on the […]

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Even federal staff believe Canada’s ocean noise strategy lacks substance

Environmental groups aren’t the only ones characterizing Canada’s recent draft Ocean Noise Strategy as weak and watered down. The same criticism came from inside the department. Key Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) staff were unimpressed with the proposed framework to address the surging problem of noise pollution, internal communications obtained by Canada’s National Observer suggest.  […]

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Prairie Spirit School Division affected by PowerSchool data breach

The Prairie Spirit School Division is among the numerous school districts across Canada that have been affected by a “cybersecurity incident” involving a third-party application that is used to store student and staff information. The U.S.-based student information software provider known as PowerSchool reportedly informed school boards in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Maritimes […]

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Panellists named for teacher disciplinary matters

A POLICE officer, a First Nations lawyer and a community-health program manager are among a dozen people who’ve been chosen to serve as panellists in disciplinary cases involving teachers under a new Manitoba Education Department professional registry and complaint process. Bobbi Taillefer, the province’s first independent education commissioner, has the discretion to dismiss or investigate […]

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Province scraps $50-million student database

The Manitoba government has scrapped plans to create a centralized database for student registration, report cards and other information at a cost in excess of $50 million. The Free Press has learned the initiative is not moving forward — unrelated to a series of recent cybersecurity incidents, although the Opposition Tories argue the shelved proposal, […]

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After disasters, people are especially vulnerable to scams. Here’s how to protect yourself

NEW YORK (AP) — During natural disasters like wildfires and floods, scammers often emerge to prey on victims. People in heightened emotional states in the wake of a catastrophic event should be extra careful of impersonators asking for identifying details, according to Karina Layugan, an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission based in Los Angeles, […]

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Public school students’ medical records may have been involved in PowerSchool data breach, spokesperson says

A data breach affecting multiple schools across Canada and the United States — including the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB) — involved medical records and other personal information in some cases.  The cybersecurity incident involves PowerSchool, a third-party platform that manages a range of student and staff details, like personal contact information, […]

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