National

National


Springwater mayor calls Cabral’s boundary map questions ‘a personal attack’

Springwater Deputy Mayor George Cabral has a handful of questions he’d like answered regarding the City of Barrie’s boundary expansion proposal. In an effort to provide clarity and transparency to Springwater residents, Cabral put forth a notice of motion at Wednesday’s council meeting that would have the township’s information technology (IT) staff perform an exhaustive […]

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Ontario doctor fined for breaking privacy rules to offer circumcision services

Ontario’s information and privacy commissioner has ordered a Windsor doctor and his private clinic to pay thousands of dollars in fines for privacy breaches in a case she calls a “cautionary tale” for other health startups. Commissioner Patricia Kosseim wrote in a recent decision that a doctor with privileges at Windsor Regional Hospital used his […]

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Integrity commissioner’s office struggling to keep up with complaints, disclosures

The office of the public sector integrity commissioner says it’s being overwhelmed by its workload and that eliminating the backlog of files would require more analysts and lawyers. The office investigates whistle-blowing complaints from public servants who believe they have evidence of wrongdoing in the public service as well as complaints from public servants that […]

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Ottawa vows to help Afghans hit by deadly earthquake as groups call out aid rest

Ottawa says it’s ready to help Afghans in the wake of Sunday’s deadly earthquake — even as one organization warns that the federal Liberals have made it harder to reach those living under Taliban rule. “Canada stands ready to support the Afghan people, with our humanitarian partners,” Canada’s Secretary of State for International Development Randeep […]

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B.C. ministry unaware of coroners attending death scenes remotely after 2019

British Columbia’s Ministry of Public Safety says it was unaware of the BC Coroners Service continuing a practice of attending certain death scenes remotely instead of in person after 2019. Ministry spokeswoman Tasha Schollen said in a statement that the ministry’s understanding was that in-person scene attendance had been “restored” six years ago, and it […]

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Government says it accidentally deleted privacy provision in online streaming bill

The federal government says it’s “looking into” what appears to be the accidental removal of a privacy provision in its Online Streaming Act. Earlier this week, University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist outlined in a blog post that a privacy provision in the legislation was removed only two months after the bill became law, […]

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Google refusing to comply with “right to be forgotten” delisting decision

The federal privacy commissioner says individuals have the right to have some information delisted from search engine results, but Google is refusing to comply. In his decision in a long-running case that has been central to establishing the application of a “right to be forgotten” in Canada, privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne recommended Google de-list articles […]

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CBC going to court to fight disclosure order for Gem subscriber numbers

CBC/Radio-Canada is going to court to defend its refusal to disclose subscriber numbers for its Gem streaming service. The move comes after the information commissioner ordered CBC to make available the number of paid subscribers to Gem. A spokesperson said the public broadcaster believes the information commissioner’s interpretation of the law is wrong.  “We will […]

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Ontario to ban research testing on dogs and cats, premier says

Ontario will ban research testing on dogs and cats, Premier Doug Ford said Monday as he called the practice “cruel.” “You aren’t going to use pets — dogs or cats — to experiment on any longer,” Ford said at an unrelated news conference in London, Ont.  “Simple as that. We just don’t do that, it’s […]

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Alberta seeking public input in establishing nuclear power industry

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she expects the private sector to lead the way on potentially bringing nuclear power to the province, but her government would set up a Crown corporation if needed. “Because we have a power market where generation is privatized, we would anticipate that the private sector would pay for it,” Smith […]

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Man who tried to stab pastor had earlier said he wanted to kill a priest, court told

A man who tried to stab a Catholic pastor in the middle of a Sunday religious service last winter had previously gone to hospital and said he planned to kill a priest, a court has been told. Pawel Olownia has been found not criminally responsible for the Feb. 9 incident at Holy Ghost Parish, which […]

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B.C. Ombudsperson says whistleblower protection law ‘falling short’ in some areas

New reports by British Columbia’s ombudsperson on a whistleblower protection law show that it is “falling short” in some areas in its first five years. The four reports released by BC Ombudsperson Jay Chalke say that while the law has “worked well in many aspects,” some public sectors and their employees are still not covered […]

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