Politics

Politics


Saskatchewan immigration ministry fires more employees over privacy breach

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s immigration ministry has fired more employees for inappropriately accessing client records. The ministry says an audit found three additional instances of former employees obtaining records they were not authorized to view. The discovery follows an initial investigation that found one former employee had accessed 40 files as part of an alleged illegal […]

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As the Bank of Canada prepares for a digital Canadian dollar, democratic concerns loom large

This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site. The Bank of Canada is preparing for the possibility of the Canadian government requiring it to issue a digital version of the Canadian dollar. Although the […]

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AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio to focus on safer uses of AI, argues regulation necessary

TORONTO — Artificial intelligence pioneer Yoshua Bengio says he will be redirecting his research to ensure he is working on applications of the technology that are safe for society. “I have been thinking a lot about this and I am going to do what I think is best to go in the right direction,” the […]

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Tech, human rights groups call on Ottawa to take action on facial recognition, AI

OTTAWA — A group of technology and human rights organizations are calling on the federal government to take immediate action to address concerns around artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology. In an open letter to the ministers of privacy and industry, the group asks for a moratorium on facial recognition technology by police services and […]

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Cape Breton based employment organization mismanaged $1 million: auditor general

HALIFAX — A Cape Breton-based employment services organization mismanaged more than $1 million in government funds in what Nova Scotia’s auditor general says was a “perfect storm” of deliberate, systemic actions that benefited select managers and staff. Kim Adair’s audit of the Island Employment Association found numerous instances of “gross mismanagement of public funds,” including […]

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No investigation of political interference allegations in SNC Lavalin affair: RCMP

OTTAWA — The RCMP says it is not investigating allegations of political interference in the federal handling of criminal charges against engineering firm SNC-Lavalin. In a statement today, the Mounties set the record straight after a recent response to a public interest group’s Access to Information request suggested the Mounties were conducting such a probe. […]

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Manitoba government set to run more advertising in lead up to October election

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is taking out more advertising in the lead-up to the Oct. 3 provincial election and has more leeway to do so under recent changes to provincial law. The Progressive Conservative government has budgeted $375,500 for the latest phase of advertising promoting its recent agreement with the federal government to offer […]

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N.S. identifies thousands more victims of global data hack, including school workers

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia Cybersecurity Minister Colton LeBlanc says his department has identified thousands more people affected by a recent global data breach, and this week it is beginning the process of notifying the “most vulnerable” victims of the hack. But LeBlanc told a news conference Wednesday it’s hard to give a precise estimate of […]

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Improving transparency ‘not a priority’ for the Trudeau government: info watchdog

OTTAWA — The federal government’s key transparency provision has steadily eroded to the point where it no longer serves its intended purpose, says information commissioner Caroline Maynard. In her annual report to Parliament tabled Tuesday, Maynard said chronic issues continue to plague the access-to-information system, with no solutions in sight. For a $5 fee, Canadians […]

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Hong Kong launches bid to attract Canadian companies, but rights group warns of risks

Hong Kong’s government is betting that Canadian companies and other overseas businesses will put profits over politics as it tries to lure talent and industry back to the city that has been cracking down on dissent after quashing a pro-democracy protest movement. A Toronto-based official involved in the pitch that was advertised in Canadian newspapers […]

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Lawyer for Bernardo victims says families told of transfer the day it happened

OTTAWA — The families of convicted killer and rapist Paul Bernardo’s victims didn’t learn that he was being transferred to a different prison until the day it happened, the correctional service confirmed Friday. Tim Danson, who represents the families of two of Bernardo’s victims, said in an open letter Friday that the family of Kristen […]

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Nova Scotia identifies thousands of stolen records in global security breach

HALIFAX — Officials in Nova Scotia have identified thousands of files stolen in a global data breach affecting the personal information of at least 100,000 people in the province. Cybersecurity and Digital Solutions Minister Colton LeBlanc said Friday that a number of current and former teachers were victims of the hack, as were students, inmates […]

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