Facebook and Facebook-owned apps Instagram and WhatsApp were up and running again late Monday after being hit by an outage that affected users around the world. The social media giant said the disruption to network traffic "had a cascading effect on the way our data centres communicate, bringing our services to a halt." It said there is no evidence that user data was comprised. It was the largest such outage ever tracked by the web monitoring group Downdetector, which collates complaints about web outages.
Amazon.com Inc. could be facing its first unionization battle in Canada after a Teamsters local filed for a union vote for workers at the e-commerce giant’s fulfilment centre near Edmonton. If the Alberta Labour Relations Board verifies application, all workers at the YEG 1 fulfilment centre in Nisku, Alberta, who were employed as of September 13 will be able to vote on joining the union. In order to have a union vote filing approved in Alberta, the union must demonstrate 40 per cent of workers at a given job site have signed a petition for union representation.
Climate change is a hot-button issue in this federal campaign, and data shows that a party’s environmental strategy could help influence its results in at least 9 ridings where races were neck-and-neck in the last election. Environics Analytics analyzed all 338 Canada’s federal electoral districts and found environmental issues are important to a wide swath of Canadians. The data and analytics firm found that voters in 46 ridings had above average concerns – compared to the national average – for the way their lifestyles have an impact on the world around them.
Misinformation linked to the COVID-19 pandemic is playing a larger-than-expected role in the federal election, fuelling protests and support for the People’s Party of Canada, experts say. Throughout the election, hostile protests have dogged the campaign of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. On Monday, anti-vaccination protests targeted hospitals across the country – the ongoing protests have also garnered significant media coverage, getting more attention than issues like Afghanistan or gun control.
As the federal election campaign heats up, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is calling on all parties to work with cities and communities of all sizes to drive a stronger, more inclusive nationwide recovery—releasing a package of achievable frontline solutions to pressing challenges, from job creation to climate change to the housing crisis. (FCM)
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has emerged as the most likable of the federal party leaders as Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s popularity sinks amid the election campaign, a new poll suggests. The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found Singh was the only party leader who was viewed more positively than negatively, with 45 per cent approval versus 39 per cent disapproval among those surveyed. (Global News)
Canadian voters will be hearing a similar message from each of the major federal parties during the current election campaign: housing has grown too expensive, and we have a plan to fix it. The consensus reflects the increasingly dire state of housing in Canada, experts say, which affects everyone from prospective homeowners feeling squeezed out of the market to lower-income families languishing on waiting lists for affordable housing. (CBC News)
A record number of Indigenous candidates are running in the federal election this year with what they say is a goal of advancing meaningful change in Canada's relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Metis. The Canadian Press analyzed party websites, as well as reached out to each party, to determine how many Indigenous candidates are hoping to get elected in Canada's 338 ridings on Sept. 20. The analysis determined there are at least 77 candidates this year compared with 62 in 2019.
Taliban insurgents entered Kabul after previously taking control of all of Afghanistan's other major cities apart from the capital. Prior talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government on a political understanding that could lead to a peace deal, backed by the United States and its allies, have failed to make significant progress. (CBC News)
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Following a meeting with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau this morning, Governor General Mary Simon approved his request to dissolve Parliament, triggering the issuing of the election writs and formally beginning Canada's 44th federal election. The campaign will last 36 days — the minimum campaign length permitted by law. (CBC News)
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More than 130 forest fires were burning in northwestern Ontario on Sunday, July 25, with Environment Canada issuing air quality statements for much of the region due to smoke. (CBC News)
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Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, PhD candidate, Department of Bioresource Engineering
The federal government quietly tested facial recognition technology on millions of unsuspecting travellers at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport in 2016. The six-month initiative, meant to pick out people the Canada Border Services Agency suspected might try to enter the country using fake identification, is detailed in a document obtained by The Globe and Mail through a freedom of information request. The project is the largest known government deployment of the technology in Canada to date.
The world needs to see that Japan can stage a safe Olympics, the country's prime minister told sports officials on Tuesday, July 20 ahead of the Tokyo Games. Tens of thousands of athletes, officials, games staff and media have arrived in Japan amid a local state of emergency and widespread opposition from the general public. Health experts in Japan have questioned allowing so many international visitors for the games. (CBC News)
Inuk leader Mary Simon has been chosen as the next governor general — the first Indigenous person ever to be appointed as the Queen's representative in Canada. During a news conference at the Canadian Museum of History, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the Queen has accepted his recommendation to appoint Simon — a past president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization — as the 30th governor general. (CBC News)
Some technologists are telling the Bank of Canada (BoC) that its wait-and-see approach when it comes to issuing digital currencies runs the risk of leaving it behind in the race to innovate globally. Although its Governor Tiff Macklem said in April that the pandemic has accelerated the digital economy and “the case for a digital currency becomes more compelling,” the central bank says it has no immediate plans to launch a digital loonie. (Global News)