Ottawa

Ottawa


Ottawa planning ‘refreshed’ AI strategy, data protection bill

The federal government is putting together a task force to guide its next steps on artificial intelligence, and Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon is promising an update to the government’s AI strategy. Solomon told the All In artificial intelligence conference in Montreal on Wednesday that the “refreshed” strategy will be tabled later this year, “almost […]

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Ottawa pitched extending refugee sponsor pause to late 2028 to fix backlog: records

The federal department of immigration last year, suggested freezing most private refugee sponsorship applications until 2028 to clear backlogs in the system, documents obtained by The Canadian Press show. Refugee advocates were caught off-guard last November when the federal government paused approvals of refugee resettlement applications filed by community organizations or groups of five individuals […]

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Former general says Ottawa must help former translator’s family escape Taliban

A former top general says it would be “unconscionable” for Ottawa to allow the family of an Afghan translator who risked his life to help Canadian soldiers to be deported back to Afghanistan. Retired general Rick Hillier, a former chief of the defence staff, said it would be appalling if Canada failed to help the […]

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Eco-friendly transportation a condition of planned Ottawa Senators arena: agreement

Public transit, cycling and walking will be the “primary and preferred modes” of getting fans to and from the Ottawa Senators’ planned downtown arena, says a newly disclosed agreement on the project. Under the agreement, a group led by the NHL team would be responsible for designing, building and paying for a publicly accessible cycling […]

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Ottawa looks to off-load costly, seldom-used mobile hospitals bought for the pandemic

The federal government expects to spend about $7 million this fiscal year to store and maintain four custom-made, portable hospitals that cost taxpayers more than $200 million to buy — facilities meant to bolster overwhelmed hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic that were barely used. Early on in the pandemic, as the federal government moved at […]

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Ottawa looking for ways to mend tears in Canada’s social fabric, document shows

Senior federal officials have been looking quietly for ways to bring together Canadians who don’t see eye to eye on the economy, immigration and social issues. With a general election looming, officials prepared to meet last November to brainstorm solutions to the problem of social fragmentation, according to an internal presentation drafted by the Department […]

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Alberta seeks court ruling on constitutionality of Ottawa’s clean electricity plan

Alberta’s government is seeking a court ruling on the constitutionality of Ottawa’s clean electricity grid regulations. The regulations, finalized late last year, lay out a plan to decarbonize electricity grids across Canada by 2050. Premier Danielle Smith, who invoked her controversial sovereignty act for the first time in 2023 against draft versions of the regulations […]

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Military whistleblower sues Ottawa after reporting alleged Afghan civilian killings

A former sergeant with the Canadian Armed Forces is suing the federal government for nearly $3 million, alleging unfair treatment after he reported the killing and targeting of civilians during the war in Afghanistan. Claude Lepage spent 22 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, including as a member of a special unit known as Joint […]

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Cybersecurity plan for federal government takes aim at ‘inefficiencies, blind spots’

The federal government has unfurled a new cybersecurity strategy aimed at protecting its vast array of computer systems and information banks against a growing variety of threats.  The strategy released Wednesday says while the government has made progress on improving cybersecurity in recent years, the online dangers have advanced even faster.  A renewed commitment is […]

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Senate bill would require age verification for Canadians accessing porn sites

A Senate bill that would require Canadians to verify their age to access internet porn is proceeding without the support of the Liberal government, which warns the bill does too little to protect children from online harm.  Sen. Julie Miville-Dechêne, an Independent Senators Group member and sponsor of the bill, said she can’t understand why […]

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Watchdog finds mismanagement, ‘disturbing’ lack of disclosure at Defence Department

The Department of National Defence broke the federal whistleblower law by not being transparent about the results of investigations into wrongdoing, the federal integrity watchdog said in a report released Tuesday. Joe Friday, the public sector integrity commissioner, shared what he called “disturbing” findings that both the Defence Department and the Canadian Armed Forces have […]

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