Weekly News Roundup (June 15)
By: Brittany Green
Top Stories this Week
Canada envoy to U.S. embarrassed by delays in Parliament over preclearance bill (Privacy Canada)
Canada’s envoy to the United States says he is embarrassed it is taking so long for Parliament to pass a new law that would pave the way for greater pre-clearance at the border. Ambassador David MacNaughton says he leaned on U.S. lawmakers to pass a law that would allow passengers to be pre-cleared at a greater number of airports to allow the speedy flow of people across the 49th parallel.
If the first step toward solving an issue comes from admitting there is a problem, Canada took a big leap forward last week in addressing the weak competitive landscape of wireless services that form the backbone of modern communications and commerce. Navdeep Bains, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development, used a keynote speech to the telecom industry to kick-start government action and remove any doubt about its frustration with the competitive state of the sector.
BoC urges banks to co-operate on cybersecurity (Access to Information Canada) Canada’s interconnected banks are vulnerable to a cascading series of cyberattacks that could undermine broad confidence in the financial system, the Bank of Canada warns.The structural vulnerability could allow for the easy spread of an initial attack that ripples into other sectors such as energy or water systems, says the bank’s June financial review.
Days before the end of his term, the chairman of Canada’s telecom regulator is warning that his successor may need to intervene directly in the wireless market to deliver more competition and lower prices for consumers.
U.S. could stand in way of armed drones for Canada; Preferred model comes with tight restrictions (Access to Information Canada)
The Liberal government’s plan to buy armed drones could face major delays because obtaining such technology needs approval from the U.S., according to documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.
Top International News
University eases guidelines on chalk sidewalk messages (Censorship International) Pennsylvania university has eased rules about messages written in chalk on sidewalks following protests from an anti-abortion group.