A federal advisory body is calling on Canada’s security agencies to publish detailed descriptions of their current and intended uses of artificial intelligence systems and software applications. In a new report, the National Security Transparency Advisory Group also urges the government to look at amending legislation being considered by Parliament to ensure oversight of how […]

The demands of protecting parliamentarians and other public figures are placing “significant strain” on RCMP personnel and taking resources from other federal policing priorities, warns an internal briefing note.  The national police force is “forced to walk a delicate balance” in providing protective services in response to threats flagged by parliamentarians, says the newly released […]

It could be a weekend teenage runaway. An elderly loved one, lost and disoriented. Or it could be the first indication of murder. The first call to a police department to report a missing person sets in motion a series of investigative and public actions to find them, then, once found, protect their identity from […]

The federal government says Canada’s appeal as an international tourist destination has been damaged by the 2023 forest fire season, which was the country’s most destructive on record. Foreign spending in Canada dropped in 2023 over pre-pandemic levels, according to documents obtained by Canada’s National Observer through the Access to Information and Privacy Act. In […]

Ontario municipalities are asking the province to appoint a minister to tackle homelessness as leaders sound the alarm on the growing housing, mental health and addictions needs of their communities. Leaders from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario kicked off the organization’s annual conference in Ottawa on Sunday with a news conference to lay out […]

British Columbia’s Forests Ministry says it is doing everything possible to keep those who fight wildfires in the province safe, while the government workers’ union wants more protections following two condemning reports into deaths of firefighters. Two separate reports from B.C.’s workers safety agency were released this week into the deaths of firefighters Devyn Gale […]

The chair of the board of regents at Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador has resigned after he was criticized for forwarding a pro-Palestinian campaign email he received from an alumna to her father. Glenn Barnes’ resignation took effect on Thursday. In a statement on the university’s website, the board said members held a special […]

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he plans to look into whether the man accused of plotting a terror attack in Toronto should have his Canadian citizenship revoked. Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and his son Mostafa Eldidi, 26, were arrested in Richmond Hill, Ont., and face nine terrorism charges including conspiracy to commit murder on […]

The Liberal government is refusing to say if it approved a bonus for the head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. It is up to the federal government to determine if Catherine Tait is eligible for a bonus following a review of her performance and recommendation by the board of directors at CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC deferred questions […]

The sister of a firefighter who died during a training exam at the Nova Scotia Firefighters School says the program needs an overhaul to improve its safety standards. Twenty-eight-year-old Skyler Blackie died in hospital on March 9, 2019, after a fire extinguisher he was using exploded at the school on the outskirts of Halifax. His […]

Residents of small communities across Canada are finding creative ways of getting around Facebook’s news blackout to share updates about dangerous weather events, but they say it’s still tough to get information to people quickly on the platform. One year after Meta, Facebook’s parent company, banned all links to Canadian news on its platforms — […]

The phone call to the B.C. premier’s office came on a Saturday in May 2023, one day after a scathing  inspection report detailed multiple environmental infractions along the  route of a major gas pipeline under construction in the province. The report,  issued by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, outlined damage to  sensitive wetlands and other […]