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Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse

Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse.

Hundreds of doctors in Canada are protesting. They say they make too much

(CNN) What would you do if you and your coworkers were getting raises totaling $700 million? If you’re like a group of doctors in Canada, you’d fight it.

Some general practitioners and medical specialists in Quebec have signed a petition saying they don’t want the hundreds of millions in raises they got after negotiations with the provincial government last month.

Instead, they say the money should be redistributed — to fund more nurses and other health care professions, and to make care more affordable for their patients.

Read more at CNN

No longer fit for purpose: Why Canadian privacy law needs an update

Canada’s private-sector privacy law was first introduced 20 years ago, coinciding with the founding of Google and predating Facebook, the iPhone and the myriad of smart devices that millions of Canadians now have in their homes. Two decades is a long time in the world of technology and privacy, and it shows. There has been modest tinkering with the Canadian rules over the years, but law is struggling to remain relevant in a digital age when our personal information becomes increasingly valuable and our consent models are little more than a legal fiction.

Read more at The Globe and Mail

Opioids no better than acetaminophen, ibuprofen for chronic back and arthritis pain: study

Acetaminophen, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are better than opioids at easing the intensity of chronic pain in the back, knees or hips, a U.S. experiment suggests.

And opioids are no better than these other drugs at reducing how much pain interferes with daily activities like walking, working, sleeping or enjoying life, researchers report in JAMA.

Read more at The Globe and Mail

‘Nobody is above the law:’ Court rules Edmonton cop broke law, breached rights but didn’t card Indigenous man

An Edmonton police officer broke the law and breached an Indigenous man’s rights during a 2015 arrest, an Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench justice has ruled.

But the Indigenous man wasn’t carded or racially profiled, the justice concluded.

In the ruling, Justice Ritu Khullar quashed the minor drug conviction of William Kenowesequape that led to 26 days in jail and the confiscation of his bicycle for more than a year.

Read more at CBC News

Investigation finds Calgary MP Darshan Kang violated harassment rules

An investigation into a staff member’s harassment complaint against Calgary MP Darshan Kang concluded he violated House of Commons rules.

The investigation into Rhea Bassi’s complaint was called last summer by Pierre Parent, chief human resources officer of the House of Commons.

Bassi started working for Kang in his Calgary Skyview riding office in 2015, previously worked for him from 2011 to 2015 while he was an Alberta Liberal member of the legislature.

Read more at CBC News

Surrey dentist admits to providing unnecessary treatment, faces fines and six-month ban from practice

A dentist with six practices across Vancouver, Surrey and New Westminster has been barred from practicing for six months and must pay a $30,000 fine following his admission of providing substandard treatment.

Dr. Karim Lalani is a general dentist registered with the College of Dental Surgeons of B.C. (CDSBC). His practices include Clayton Heights Family Dental (6758 188 Street), Panorama Family Dental (15240 56 Avenue) and Surrey Family Dental (19188 72 Avenue).

Read more at Peace Arch News

Ottawa promises crackdown on loopholes that let big banks avoid billions in taxes

The federal government has singled out Canadian banks for gaming the tax system to artificially reduce their tax bills.

In the budget released Tuesday, Ottawa announced it will tighten tax rules “meant to prevent a small group of taxpayers, typically Canadian banks and other financial institutions, from gaining a tax advantage.”

The measure was one of a slew of reforms to prevent tax evasion and avoidance that Ottawa estimates will bring in almost $1 billion per year.

Read more at Toronto Star

Alberta officials’ role in 60s Scoop sessions was to ‘shut up and listen’ to survivors, says minister

Alberta held its final engagement session with survivors of the Sixties Scoop Thursday in Edmonton, and the Indigenous Relations Minister said it had been an opportunity for officials to take a back seat and listen.

“We have agreed from the beginning that the conversation has to be about the lived experience of the people and what happened to them, their right to talk about that, to put their truth out there and for us as government to kind of shut up and listen, to hear that,” said Richard Feehan.

Read more at CBC News

Chilliwack parent raises flags over school district privacy breach

About 1,000 past and present students in the Chilliwack School District may have been affected by a privacy breach that took place between 2005 and 2015.

A letter explaining the breach was published by the district on their website on Dec. 22, 2017, but the information has not come up in any recent public meetings. It happened through the district’s participation in research with a not-for-profit group called Educational and Community Supports, a program of the University of Oregon.

Read more at The Chilliwack Progress