Government

Government


Privy Council to continue anti-racism efforts, clerk says after report release

The head of the federal public service says he is personally committed to “continuous action” to address racism and discrimination in the workplace, following the public release of an internal report that details employees’ troubling experiences on the job.  Privy Council clerk John Hannaford says the department has put a number of initiatives in place, […]

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Government chatbots? It’s one possibility under Ottawa’s new AI strategy

Delayed air passengers, disgruntled phone customers and even hungry people craving a slice of pizza increasingly find their pleas to private companies being answered by artificial intelligence. Soon Canadians who need to reach out to the federal government could also find themselves talking to an employee who’s been helped by non-human assistants.  Ottawa is working […]

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Elections Canada floats suggestions to shield nomination contests from meddling

Elections Canada is suggesting possible changes to protect the political nomination process from foreign meddling, including barring non-citizens from helping choose candidates, requiring parties to publish contest rules and explicitly outlawing practices such as voting more than once. The federal elections agency outlines the proposed moves in a discussion guide intended to help chief electoral […]

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CBC/Radio-Canada board approves bonuses for 2023-24, but will review performance pay

The board of directors for CBC and Radio-Canada has approved bonuses for some staff for work they did in the most recent fiscal year, despite members of Parliament saying it would be inappropriate to do so after hundreds of jobs were eliminated.  The decision was posted on the public broadcaster’s website last month following a […]

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Japan punishes hundreds of defense officials for mishandling classified data and other misconduct

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense ministry announced disciplinary action on Friday against more than 200 senior officials and service members over mishandling of classified materials and other misconduct, an embarrassment that could undermine Tokyo’s efforts to work more closely with United States and other partners in the face of China’s growing threat. The Ministry and […]

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Poll suggests Manitobans worried about costs, less confident in institutions

Manitobans are increasingly worried about the cost of living and crime, and are becoming less confident in the justice system and public service, a poll commissioned by the provincial government suggests. The Benchmark Survey, conducted by polling firm Leger, is normally conducted every few months and provides the government insight into the top concerns and […]

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Ontario alone in locking down inmates due to staff shortages: lawsuits

Ontario is the only province where inmates are regularly locked down due to staff shortages, according to expert evidence in a pair of class-action lawsuits. Former inmates of provincial correctional facilities and immigration detainees who were held there are suing the Ontario and federal governments, alleging that inmates are commonly held in their cells for […]

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As police increasingly use facial recognition technology, calls grow for regulations

Some police services in Canada are using facial recognition technology to help solve crimes, while other police forces say human rights and privacy concerns are holding them back from employing the powerful digital tools. It’s this uneven application of the technology — and the loose rules governing its use — that has legal and AI […]

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European Union’s competition boss signals fresh AI scrutiny for Microsoft-OpenAI deal and Google

LONDON (AP) — The European Union is escalating its scrutiny of the artificial intelligence industry, including taking a fresh look into Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI, a top EU official said Friday.  The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, started reviewing the deal last year to see whether it broke EU merger rules but dropped […]

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Inside a former TC Energy exec’s claim he got pro-pipeline messaging ‘stuck on government letterhead’

The call starts as a run-of-the-mill internal corporate presentation.  With a cheerful preamble, Liam Iliffe, a  B.C.-based political staffer turned industry executive, introduces  himself to his colleagues at TC Energy,  a major North American energy company that builds and operates crude  oil and natural gas pipelines and other energy infrastructure. He  summarizes his background working […]

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A timeline of events in the Ontario Science Centre closure, announced Friday

The Ontario Science Centre at its current east Toronto location will permanently close at the end of the day Friday, due to structural concerns with the roof, the provincial government announced. Here is a timeline of events that came before the closure announcement, based in part on information in a report from the Ontario auditor […]

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National security adviser defends cabinet confidence in foreign meddling probe

No amount of cajoling, wild hand gestures or outright hostility from opposition MPs could make Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc budge from his insistence Thursday that the government is not hiding any relevant documents or information from the foreign interference inquiry.And National Security Adviser Nathalie Drouin said to break the long-standing convention of cabinet confidence […]

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