Advocates are welcoming a rare decision to permanently ban an Okanagan winemaker from the Temporary Foreign Worker Program because of abuses. But they warn much more needs to be done to protect vulnerable workers from exploitation. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s website shows Toor Vineyards was fined $118,000 and was permanently banned from hiring through […]

School boards in multiple provinces have been affected by a data breach involving software used by schools across North America to store student information.   Ontario’s Toronto, Peel and Durham district school boards issued similarly worded notices about a “cyber incident” targeting PowerSchool, a third-party application that’s also used to store some school-based staff information.  The […]

An airport executive in Labrador hopes a new energy deal with Quebec could help attract a competing airline company to the northern region, where flights costs have climbed at more than three times the national rate. But even if another airline company is enticed to operate in Labrador, Rex Goudie, the Goose Bay Airport Corporation’s […]

Build, and build responsibly. That’s the overall message the province is giving the community of just under 15K that’s projected to have 28K residents by 2045. A hard sell from Fortis, pressure to adopt the Zero Carbon Step Code and a deadline to respond to the province’s housing density mandate are all coming to a […]

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the province has heard back from Canada’s chief actuary on its bid to leave the Canada Pension Plan but says there’s no estimate on how much the province should get. The province has been waiting for months for the review and a figure. Smith said Thursday her government will follow […]

Alberta’s information and privacy commissioner says she is worried — but not surprised — the province voted this week to pass legislation she says will reduce public access to government information. “I am concerned,” commissioner Diane McLeod said in an interview. “All of those things I think are going to impact the right of access […]

An Alberta government bill proposing changes to freedom of information rules has passed third and final reading in the legislature despite the province’s information and privacy watchdog warning they will “significantly degrade” transparency. The bill, now awaiting royal assent, creates a number of new exemptions for what documents can be provided to members of the […]

A report from Saskatchewan’s privacy commissioner says hackers obtained health records of more than 7,200 residents earlier this year.  The report says the breach affected Innomar clinics, which offer lab testing in four locations across the province.  It says hackers gained access to a server in January at one of the organization’s affiliate companies, allowing […]

Service fees charged by the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service are set to increase for the first time since 2011, following the approval of a proposal initially introduced last month. The fee hikes aim to offset rising labor costs. In alignment with an annual inflation rate of approximately 2 per cent, the police board approved […]

Crime Stoppers of Halton has launched a new community watch program to collaborate with Oakville residents, volunteers, and law enforcement to foster a safer neighbourhood. Supported by the Halton Police Board and Halton Police Service, the initiative is being implemented in Oakville’s Ward 3. While Crime Stoppers emphasizes anonymous tip lines, the community watch program […]

The RCMP have begun rolling out body-worn cameras to be used by frontline officers when responding to a call. Staff Sergeant Ryan Hoetmer says there was a pilot project for the cameras in the Parkland detachment, and those officers have had their cameras for six months. Now that the RCMP are beginning the deployment, the […]

The RDCK will send a letter to the Ministry of Forests in support of the Forestry Works for BC Campaign, and of value-added and community-focused forestry.   Ken Kalesnikoff, president and CEO of Kalesnikoff Lumber, made a presentation to the board in August regarding the Forestry Works for BC initiative, which seeks to raise awareness about […]