Ottawa considering a new ombudsperson to field Canadian concerns about online harms
CTV
The federal government's evolving plan to help protect Canadians from harm online could include a new ombudsperson to field public concerns and a regulator that would oversee the conduct of internet platforms.
The federal government's evolving plan to help protect Canadians from harm online could include a new ombudsperson to field public concerns and a regulator that would oversee the conduct of internet platforms.
The new positions would be established as a part of the forthcoming online-harms legislation, which the government is currently hoping to announce by April, said one senior official with knowledge of the plan.
“It's very nearly ready to go,” said the source, who has seen a draft of the legislation. The source spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss details that have yet to be made public.
Online safety and technology experts have for months been pressuring the governing Liberals to present their long-promised legislation aimed at protecting Canadians, and in particular minors, from online harms.
Canadian children are currently less protected than kids living in the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia, where such laws currently exist, they warn.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first promised the measure during the 2019 election campaign, but a bill targeting online hate speech died on the order paper when he triggered an early election in 2021.
Justice Minister Arif Virani would be the one to introduce the new bill, which he has vowed would strike the right balance between offering protections to Canadians while upholding the right of freedom of expression.
With the number of homeless people in Saskatoon at an unprecedented high, it’s no surprise people are looking for places to warm up.
The next chapter of the Lemay Forest saga has unfolded as the sounds of trees coming down could be heard Monday.
The stormy weather in the forecast for B.C.'s South Coast is already disrupting many Christmas Day travel plans.
A break in, theft, and continued property damage has led to the boarding up of the Palace Theatre over the Christmas holidays.
Police in Nova Scotia are investigating after two deaths in Truro, N.S., over the weekend have been ruled homicides.
Calgary police shut down Glenmore Trail overnight following a crash between a car and a crane truck.
Ontario's Human Rights Tribunal has awarded members of an Indigenous family in North Bay $15,000 each after it ruled they were victims of discrimination.
A heavy snowfall has guaranteed much of Quebec a white Christmas, but it has also sent cars skidding off the province's roads during the busy holiday travel period.
For many of the women attending My Sister’s Place (MSP) in London, Ont. the holidays are a difficult time.
RCMP in New Brunswick are investigating after a business in Janeville was broken into and a number of items were stolen.
Canada appears to be barrelling toward a spring election now that the NDP is vowing to vote down the government early next year -- whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stays on or not.