FOI

FOI


One oil and gas site was ‘stinky,’ another was ‘gurgling.’ B.C. officials gave them a pass anyway

This investigation is a collaboration between The Narwhal and Investigative Journalism Foundation. “Serious deficiency.” “Very stinky.” “Leakage.” “A hazard.” Those are some of the ways BC Energy Regulator officials described oil and gas sites when they documented apparent environmental infractions during routine inspections, according to internal documents.  The regulator, a provincial government agency, is largely […]

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Documents reveal over 1,000 potential infractions left unchecked by B.C.’s energy regulator

This investigation is a collaboration between The Narwhal and Investigative Journalism Foundation. On a warm mid-August afternoon in 2022, a BC Energy Regulator inspector drove to an oil and gas site in the northeast part of the province. The inspection was one of more than two dozen stops for the compliance and enforcement officer that […]

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Over 1,000 potential infractions: inside B.C.’s oversight of oil and gas companies

This investigation is a collaboration between The Narwhal and Investigative Journalism Foundation. Between 2017 and 2023, BC Energy Regulator officials documented thousands of apparent environmental infractions at oil and gas facilities only to conclude the sites were compliant, according to internal government documents. In more than 1,000 instances, inspectors documented a series of apparent environmental […]

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Mohawk Council of Kahnawake unveils new website

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) has a shiny new website as of this Wednesday. Aerial drone shots of the territory now take up nearly the entirety of its landing page. Revamping the entire website was a massive undertaking, said Justus Polson-Lahache, among those at Public Relations that led the redesign.  “There were maybe 200 […]

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Province spent more promoting cost-savings than advertising vaccines, documents show

The Manitoba government has spent or budgeted more than $340,000 for advertising campaigns promoting its fuel tax and electricity savings — more than it spent last year on ads to persuade people to get vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19, suggest government documents. And with flu numbers continuing to rise this winter, and vaccination rates […]

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Border czar makes the city of Boston his latest immigration target

BOSTON (AP) — As Mayor Michelle Wu prepares to go to Congress to defend Boston’s protections of immigrant communities, the city is in a war of words with the Trump administration and Republican representatives over how much police should support deportations. President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan teed off against Boston’s police commissioner in […]

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N.S. premier restores legislature scrums amid accusations of assault on press freedom

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has agreed to resume taking part in media scrums in the legislature after facing accusations he was curtailing press freedom. Two weeks ago, Houston ended the long-standing tradition of government ministers having informal exchanges with media — known as scrums — outside the legislative chamber. His government decided journalists should […]

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Nova Scotia premier says changes likely to controversial freedom of information bill

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says there will likely be changes to legislation that the province’s freedom of information commissioner says weakens the public’s right to access government records and documents. Houston made the comments during question period on Wednesday, but did not provide specifics. Days earlier, the government withdrew amendments from the same omnibus […]

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N.S. information commissioner says government bill threatens right to access records

Nova Scotia’s freedom of information commissioner is calling on the governing party to withdraw legislation that she says weakens the public’s right to access government records and documents. Tricia Ralph, who ends her term of office this week, says measures in an omnibus bill tabled by the Progressive Conservatives threaten the rights of citizens to […]

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‘Control-mania’: Nova Scotia premier accused of executive overreach with new bill

The Nova Scotia government has taken a giant step backward in accountability and transparency with the introduction this week of a contentious omnibus bill, political observers and access to information experts say. Among other things, the bill will make it possible for Premier Tim Houston’s Progressive Conservatives to fire the province’s auditor general without cause, […]

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Senators ask Trump’s Labor Department nominee where her allegiance would lie

NEW YORK (AP) — Members of a Senate committee grilled Labor Secretary-designate Lori Chavez-DeRemer on Wednesday about her past support of pro-union legislation, her position on raising the federal minimum wage and her willingness to disagree with President Donald Trump. Democrats sought assurances during the nominee’s confirmation hearing that Chavez-DeRemer would protect private data held […]

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Internal report urged Canada to counter rhetoric about a ‘crisis’ at border

An internal government report warned a year ago that allowing “the trend of negative rhetoric” about the security of the Canada-U.S. border could lead to a thickening of the 49th parallel, adversely affecting trade and travel. The report, written by a diplomat at Canada’s embassy in Washington, said that failing to refute U.S. claims about […]

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