A civil liberties group has published a new guide for people concerned about Canadian border agents searching their electronic devices like smartphones, laptops and tablets. Although there are unsettled legal questions about how these searches should work, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association says “the bottom line is that the CBSA can and does search electronic devices at the border” without a warrant and sometimes randomly. That means border agents could end up seeing private emails and text messages, photos, web browser histories and sensitive documents, even if you’ve done nothing…
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Prices For Canned Goods About To Go Up In Canada As Tariffs Start To Bite | CBC News
Canadians should brace for higher prices on everything from soda to soup as manufacturers begin to feel the impact of the U.S.-Canada trade war and pass on the cost of aluminum and other tariffs to retailers. PepsiCo Beverages Canada recently advised retailers that it plans to raise its prices by about a penny per can, starting at the end of July. In a letter sent to retailers in late June, the beverage giant cited tariffs the Canadian government recently implemented on a range of products, including the aluminum that makes the cans that holds…
Read MoreThe TSA Has Been Quietly Tracking American Travelers Who Are Not On Government Watch Lists | The Verge
According to a new report from The Boston Globe, federal air marshals are tracking American citizens who are not currently under investigation or on a terrorist watch list by way of a previously unknown Transportation Security Administration (TSA) program. The program is called “Quiet Skies,” which directs federal air marshals to track Americans on domestic flights who may be affiliated with someone on a watch list or whose travel patterns mirror those of suspected terrorist. Individuals being tracked through Quiet Skies are not suspected of any crimes, according to the…
Read MoreWill Canada Become The Next Country To Offer Mobile Passports? Feds Studying Idea Despite Privacy Fears – National | Globalnews.ca
Immigration officials are exploring the idea of allowing Canadians to renew or potentially use their passports via mobile apps on their phones. If you have a Canadian passport, you know the deal. Every five to 10 years, you go through the process of filling out forms, gathering photos and references and mailing it all in to Passport Canada, all in the name of renewing the little blue booklet that lets Canadians travel abroad. Once at the airport, you take it out for check-in, during security screenings, to show the gate…
Read MoreAeroplan, PC Optimum Grapple With Points Theft As Thieves Drain Accounts, Book Flights | CBC News
Loyalty programs Aeroplan and PC Optimum have each recently been hit with multiple cases of points theft. Flights have even been booked using stolen Aeroplan miles. “I was blown away,” said Christina Rayburn, after discovering that someone had swiped most of the miles from her online Aeroplan account and taken a trip. “The fact that they were able to do that kind of concerns me.” Cyber thieves are increasingly targeting Canadians’ stockpiles of lucrative loyalty points — PC Optimum has dealt with points theft since the program launched in February. Some cybersecurity experts say…
Read MoreCottages, Vacation Homes Becoming The New Office For Many Canadians | CTV News
MONTREAL — The telecommuting revolution envisioned by futurists, in which vast numbers of workers eschew their daily commute in favour of working remotely from home, never quite turned out as predicted. However, a growing number of Canadians are taking the term “working remotely” literally, leaving the hustle and bustle of city life behind to work from their cottage or winter home down south, says a real estate expert. “To the extent that that expands further, I think it will further enable the larger trend of working from places that you…
Read MoreAir Canada To Offset Rise In Fuel Prices With Higher Fares, May Trim Capacity | CBC News
Air Canada experienced a 31 per cent increase in the price of jet fuel compared with last year’s second quarter, and plans to offset some of the impact with higher fares and other initiatives, Air Canada chief executive Calin Rovinescu said Friday. The Montreal-based airline did well in terms of revenue, which rose 10.4 per cent compared with last year’s second quarter, but adjusted earnings dropped to $114 million or 41 cents per share. That was only about half as much as Air Canada’s adjusted earnings of $226 million or 82 cents per share…
Read MoreAir Canada, CIBC, TD And Visa Offer To Buy Aeroplan | CBC News
Air Canada is teaming up with three financial services giants to try to buy its former loyalty program, Aeroplan, from its current owner. Air Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, CIBC and Visa made the announcement Wednesday they want to buy Aeroplan from Aimia, in exchange for taking over the liability of $2 billion worth of outstanding Aeroplan points, plus $250 million in cash. The airline announced last year it would soon be ending its 30-year partnership with Aeroplan, a development that sent the parent company’s stock price tumbling and scrambling for new partners. Air Canada started Aeroplan as its…
Read MoreRooftop Solar Could Save Utilities $100 To $120 Per Installed Kilowatt | Ars Technica
When you install rooftop solar panels, the electricity you create cuts into the amount of electricity the utility must provide to meet your needs. Add up the reduced demand of all the homes with solar panels, and you’ve got a pretty sizable amount of electricity that’s no longer needed. Lower wholesale prices “should ultimately reduce consumers’ costs through lower retail rates,” the researchers write (although whether and how those savings get passed on to retail customers is not discussed in the paper). The paper is location-specific and draws on historical…
Read MoreCRTC Investigating ‘Possible Misleading’ Telco Sales Practices After First Rejecting The Idea | CBC News
The CRTC has launched a public inquiry into “possible misleading or aggressive” sales practices used by telecom companies, a move the regulator flatly refused to make just six months ago. “It was definitely discouraging when the CRTC rejected it the first time around,” said Laura Tribe, executive director of consumer advocacy group Open Media. “It is also encouraging to see that they’re taking this opportunity to get it right.” Monday’s announcement included an invitation for Canadians to go online to share their personal experiences involving questionable telco sales tactics. The CRTC also plans to conduct…
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