Jan 4 2023 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — The Quebec Court of Appeal has approved a class-action lawsuit launched on behalf of Facebook users who claim they were discriminated against because the social media giant allowed advertisers to target job and housing ads based on factors like age, gender or race. The class action could include thousands of Quebec residents who have used […]
Dec 2 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — The federal government is already preparing to deal with a new convoy protest being planned for February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security advisor told a parliamentary committee Thursday evening. Testifying before a special committee of MPs and senators set up to study the government’s use of the Emergencies Act to shut down the protest […]
Nov 23 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — The RCMP increased security for eight cabinet ministers and Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam in the days leading up to the convoy protest’s arrival in Ottawa, according to documents tabled by the inquiry examining the government’s handling of the protest. It’s not clear from the documents what exactly prompted the heightened security […]
Oct 27 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation provided support to the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) as it struggled to deal with the truck convoy protest that paralyzed the nation’s capital last winter, according to a document tabled before the public inquiry investigating the federal government’s response to the protest. Confidential minutes of the Ottawa Police Services […]
Oct 13 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — Small and medium-sized businesses selected by the Canada Revenue Agency for audits are waiting longer to see those audits completed — something business groups say causes unnecessary stress for owners of small businesses across Canada. Documents tabled in Parliament show it now takes the CRA almost a year on average to conduct an audit of […]
Oct 7 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has identified more than $76 million in taxes owed by Canadians named in the Panama and Paradise Papers leaks of offshore accounts. But the agency can’t — or won’t — say whether it has collected a cent of it. A year after the massive leak of the Pandora Papers — […]
Oct 5 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — Nearly a third of federal access to information requests aren’t being responded to within the timelines provided for in law and the problem is getting worse, Canada’s access to information watchdog told members of Parliament Wednesday. Testifying before the House of Commons committee on access to information, privacy and ethics, Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard said […]
Sep 16 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — Most of the convoy donors’ leadership campaign donations went to Pierre Poilievre. Canadians who donated to the Ottawa convoy protest contributed more than $460,000 to Conservative leadership candidates — and many of them were donating to a federal political party for the first time — an analysis by CBC News shows. A comparison of donations […]
Aug 19 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — Hundreds of drug cases before Canadian courts could be affected by a mistake made by the federal government when it updated Canada’s drug laws and legalized cannabis several years ago, CBC has learned. The government and police are downplaying the potential impact of the error. They maintain it has not affected any drug investigations and […]
Aug 7 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — The federal government is facing pushback from employees reluctant to return to government offices after more than two years working from home. Online forums for public servants have exploded in recent weeks with comments about the prospect of returning to offices, with employees comparing notes on the hybrid work plans each department is planning to […]
Jun 30 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — The federal government has to do more to counter the threat of ideologically motivated violent extremism in Canada, including strengthening terrorist financing laws to counter it, the House of Commons public safety committee has recommended. In a report tabled before the House of Commons rose for the summer, the committee also recommended the federal government […]
Jun 24 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — Nearly 100,000 students asked to repay CERB benefits they claimed during the COVID-19 pandemic could soon get a break. Under an order in council, adopted without fanfare earlier this month, students will be able to deduct the amount they could have collected under the COVID aid program for students, from the amount of CERB benefits […]
Jun 22 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — Disinformation and foreign interference are two of the biggest threats facing Canada’s electoral system and it will take everyone working together to counter them, says Canada’s chief election watchdog. Speaking in an interview with CBC News to mark the end of his 10-year term as Commissioner of Canada Elections, Yves Côté said online disinformation is […]
Jun 15 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — A group of mayors and businesses in communities along the Canada-U.S. border is calling on the federal government to end the ArriveCAN app, saying it is discouraging Americans from visiting and shopping in Canada. Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said the app has been a disaster and is no longer needed. “When you’re riding a dead […]
Jun 2 2022 — Elizabeth Thompson — CBC — Opposition MPs are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be more transparent about secret orders-in-council his government has adopted. New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh said a lack of transparency erodes trust in government institutions. He said the national security exemption for keeping such orders-in-council secret should be used judiciously. “What we’re seeing now […]