National

National


Fight For Farmland condemns region for freedom of information denials

The group behind the fight to deny the Region of Waterloo access to 770 acres of land in Wilmot Township for a future mega-site development has been dealt another blow in their fight get more details. Fight for Farmland has expressed deep disappointment and growing concern as the region has again denied a freedom of […]

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Nova Scotia RCMP to apologize to Black community for historic use of street checks

The commander of the RCMP in Nova Scotia will apologize to the province’s Black community on Saturday for the Mounties’ historic use of street checks. Now banned in Nova Scotia, street checks involve police randomly stopping citizens to record their personal information and store it electronically — a practice sometimes referred to as “carding” elsewhere […]

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Resource crunch at federal emergency centre caused ‘significant staff exhaustion’

Budget and staff challenges have left overworked employees exhausted and sapped morale at the federal nerve centre for managing forest fires and other national emergencies, an internal memo reveals. The Public Safety Canada document also says the Government Operations Centre lacks both the capacity to fully modernize and the money for new digital tools.  The […]

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Roadblock training against dumping planned in Oka for Kanesatake

After demands for a meeting with government officials went unheeded, a group of Oka residents pledging solidarity with Kanesatake whistleblowers are taking a step closer to enacting checkpoints to stop dump trucks carrying potentially contaminated soil from entering the territory. Other types of traffic would be allowed to pass, the group has said. “I think […]

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1,000 wildfire evacuees now in Brandon

The number of wildfire evacuees in Brandon has reached about 1,000 people, according to Mayor Jeff Fawcett. That’s about five times the last figure provided by the Red Cross, which told the Sun on Aug. 7 that around 200 evacuees were staying in Brandon. At that time, there were evacuees in Brandon from Manto Sipi […]

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National security agencies should detail how they’re using AI: federal advisory body

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 […]

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Strained RCMP resources mean a ‘delicate balance’ on protecting MPs: internal memo

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 […]

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B.C. police drop surnames in missing person alerts to avoid ‘negative lasting impact’

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 […]

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Fires of 2023 burn holes in tourism operator pockets

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 […]

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Municipalities ask Ontario to appoint minister for housing needs, addiction

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 […]

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Workplace report blames BC Wildfire Service again in another firefighter’s 2023 death

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 […]

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Memorial University chair resigns after sharing pro-Palestinian email with alum’s dad

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 […]

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