All but one MP on the federal ethics committee has agreed with a proposal to reduce cooling-off periods for lobbyists doing political work. Feedback from the committee on the proposed change was sent to lobbying commissioner Nancy Belanger on March 20. Belanger is in the process of updating the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct, which governs […]

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland voters will decide next year whether to enshrine the right to abortion in the Maryland Constitution, after the House of Delegates voted Thursday to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The House voted 98-38 for a bill that already has cleared the state Senate by the three-fifths margin needed […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti won confirmation Wednesday from a divided Senate as the nation’s next ambassador to India, more than a year and a half after he was first nominated by President Joe Biden and after weathering doubts about his truthfulness in a sexual harassment scandal involving a City Hall […]

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government plans to launch a National Counter-Foreign Interference Office, amid ongoing scrutiny of allegations that Beijing interfered in recent federal elections. Tuesday’s federal budget earmarked $56 million over five years for measures to combat foreign interference, threats and covert activities. The Mounties are slated to receive most of […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government will restrict its use of commercial spyware tools that have been used to surveil human rights activists, journalists and dissidents around the world, under an executive order issued Monday by President Joe Biden. The order responds to growing U.S. and global concerns about programs that can capture text messages […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans plan to deliver a subpoena to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday for classified cables related to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, marking an unprecedented effort to force the release of sensitive documents to Congress. Rep. Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The […]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Erik Paul didn’t mind answering government questions about where his software development business was located or how many employees it had. But when queries from the U.S. Census Bureau broached the company’s finances, the chief operating officer hesitated. “When you start asking financial questions, I get a little squirrelly,” said Paul, […]

OTTAWA — Global Affairs Canada has no sense of whether development aid meant to help women and girls abroad is actually advancing gender equity, according to an audit tabled in Parliament on Monday morning. “The department was unable to show us how the money invested actually was improving the lives of women and girls,” auditor […]

NEW YORK (AP) — On the one side are dozens of lawmakers on Capitol Hill issuing dire warnings about security breaches and possible Chinese surveillance. On the other are some 150 million TikTok users in the U.S. who just want to be able to keep making and watching short, fun videos offering makeup tutorials and […]

OTTAWA — A newly released memo shows the prime minister’s national security adviser warned him to expect some pushback from planned public consultations about a foreign agent registry, given that countries have used such registries as tools of control. In her memo last August, Jody Thomas told Justin Trudeau the discussions “may elicit a range […]

Susan MacRae wants to talk about what happened to her, but she can’t. As a young girl, MacRae signed a non-disclosure agreement that prohibits her from discussing sexual abuse she suffered, even with family members or therapists. In 2018, a judge upheld that NDA even though the other party — her father — was dead. […]

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Children and teens in Utah would lose access to social media apps such as TikTok if they don’t have parental consent and face other restrictions under a first-in-the-nation law designed to shield young people from the addictive platforms. Two laws signed by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox Thursday prohibit kids under […]