TORONTO — At least 99 hospital patients in Ontario have been placed in long-term care homes without their consent, the province’s auditor general has found. Opposition politicians and seniors’ advocates have roundly criticized a law the Progressive Conservative government enacted last year to enable those moves, which can see those patients placed in homes up to 70 […]
Read MoreTORONTO — Ontario employers could soon be required to include salary ranges in job postings under new legislation announced Monday, while the province is also considering curtailing the use of workplace non-disclosure agreements. Mandating salary ranges in job postings as well as requiring businesses to disclose if artificial intelligence is part of their hiring process […]
Read MoreThe investigation into the cyber attack that continues to cripple communications at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance has expanded to an international search. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol have joined local police and the Ontario Provincial Police to find the culprits and the depth of the ransomware attack on the CKHA and four other regional hospitals. […]
Read MoreOn October 4th Peel Police put shovels in the ground for a new operations facility to support public safety needs in the rapidly growing region. The investment in a space that will house more than 700 staff comes as the future of Peel Police remains unclear, with the dissolution of regional government in 2025, and […]
Read MoreTORONTO — Ontario auto insurers have been involved in intentional, industry-wide violations of rules around fair access to coverage, the sector’s regulator said Thursday. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) says in a report that it uncovered practices that made it harder for certain types of consumers — those who had prior claims, […]
Read MoreTORONTO — Most of the children in Ontario waiting for publicly funded core autism therapy will not receive it any time soon, the government says in an internal assessment obtained by The Canadian Press. Days into his new role this spring as Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, Michael Parsa was given a transition […]
Read MoreRegional councillors wasted no time in quashing a motion by Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown which sought to push the Region of Peel $11 billion into debt. The move came as council members labelled the idea “foolish” and “reckless”, while staff suggested it might be illegal. A staff report presented at the July 6 Peel Region […]
Read MoreTORONTO — Kids Help Phone says it’s turning to artificial intelligence to help respond to the “enormous need” as more and more young people reach out for mental health help and support. “Young people are changing fast and technology is changing faster,” said Michael Cole, senior vice-president and chief information officer for Kids Help Phone. […]
Read MoreTORONTO — Ontario is set to increase the wages of early childhood educators in a bid to boost recruitment and retention amid a staff shortage that advocates warn could hamper the growth of the national $10-a-day child-care program. The government has drafted — but not yet released — a child-care workforce strategy based on consultations […]
Read MoreTORONTO — Ontario should put in place “effective guardrails” on the public sector’s use of artificial intelligence technologies, the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Ontario Human Rights Commission said Thursday in a joint statement. The government must urgently develop “robust and granular” rules so it can reap the benefits of AI technologies in an […]
Read MoreTORONTO — Neither Bell Canada nor the Ontario government will say how much money they made from a jail phone system that charged what lawyers describe as “exorbitant” rates for inmate calls over eight years. Bell operated the Offender Telephone Management System from 2013 to 2021 — which allowed inmates to only place collect calls […]
Read MoreTORONTO — Deforestation, contaminated air, polluted water and the loss of wetlands are a growing concern, Ontario’s auditor general concluded in a “state of the environment report” released Tuesday. Bonnie Lysyk also said Ontario’s environment has improved in many areas over the last several decades. Yet she found the Doug Ford government is not providing […]
Read More