Category: Canada

‘U.S. Policy Is Not To Defend Canada’ From ICBMs, NORAD Deputy Commander Says | CTV News

mdbincbi

OTTAWA – Current U.S. policy directs the American military not to defend Canada if it is targeted in a ballistic missile attack, says the top Canadian officer at the North American Aerospace Defence Command. “We’re being told in Colorado Springs that the extant U.S. policy is not to defend Canada,” said Lt.-Gen. Pierre St-Amand, deputy commander of Colorado-based Norad. “That is the policy that’s stated to us. So that’s the fact that I can bring to the table.” St-Amand delivered that revelation Thursday during an appearance before the House of…

Read More

Many Canadians With Homes In Florida Likely Excluded From Insurance Requirements, Disaster Relief – National | Globalnews.ca

mdbincbi

As Hurricane Irma barrels toward southern Florida, what do Canadians who own property in the state need to know? Florida is the U.S.’s most popular destination for Canadian homebuyers, according to a 2017 report by the National Association of Realtors. More than half a million Canadians own property there, according to a 2013 tally by the Bank of Montreal. Many of those homes might be on Irma’s path, but Canadians who don’t have U.S. citizenship, permanent residence or a U.S. work visa don’t qualify for federally-backed mortgages, which require flood insurance.…

Read More

Big Banks Hike Prime Rates After Bank Of Canada Tightens Monetary Policy – Business – CBC News

mdbincbi

In the wake of the Bank of Canada’s move Wednesday to boost a key interest rate, Canada’s big banks have boosted their prime rates. RBC was first off the mark, followed quickly by the others, raising their prime rates to 3.2 per cent from 2.95 per cent, where they had been since the central bank’s last rate increase in July. Canadian consumers can expect to feel some financial effects following the Bank of Canada’s decision. “It’s going to raise borrowing costs a little bit for everyone,” Eric Lascelles, chief economist at RBC Global Asset Management, told…

Read More

Taxpayer Deal Saves Cape Breton Rail Line For At Least One More Year | CTV Atlantic News

mdbincbi

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government has bought a further one-year reprieve for a money-losing section of railway in Cape Breton, paying $720,000 in a deal that will help keep the tracks from being ripped up by the line’s U.S.-based owner. Business Nova Scotia Minister Geoff MacLellan said Friday the one-year “preservation agreement” would cover expenses on the line formerly operated by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway. MacLellan said parent company Genesee and Wyoming has agreed not to apply to abandon a portion of the rail line…

Read More

Nova Scotia Gas Prices Jump As Weather Rages In Texas – Nova Scotia – CBC News

mdbincbi

Storm weather in Texas may be miles away from Nova Scotia but it’s having an effect on the price of gas here. On Friday, regular gasoline in Nova Scotia jumped seven cents to $1.13 per litre; diesel is up two cents per litre at $0.99. Dan McTeague, a petroleum analyst with the website GasBuddy.com, said those spikes are just the start and there is “definitely more to come.” “The increases that we are paying today is about half of what we’ve seen in, say, other parts of eastern Canada,” McTeague…

Read More

‘Data Is The New Oil’: Your Personal Information Is Now The World’s Most Valuable Commodity – Technology & Science – CBC News

mdbincbi

There was a time that oil companies ruled the globe, but “black gold” is no longer the world’s most valuable resource — it’s been surpassed by data. The five most valuable companies in the world today — Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Google’s parent company Alphabet — have commodified data and taken over their respective sectors. “Data is clearly the new oil,” says Jonathan Taplin, director emeritus of the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab and the author of Move Fast and Break Things: How Google, Facbook and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy. But with…

Read More

Updating ‘Briefcase Law’: Defence Lawyers Try To End Warrantless Smartphone Searches At Border – Technology & Science – CBC News

mdbincbi

Imagine losing your smartphone or leaving your laptop behind on a train or bus. How much could someone learn about you — your interests, your lifestyle, your habits — based on what they could access on the device? What conclusions could someone make when the photos you’ve taken, the apps you’ve installed and the websites you’ve visited are laid bare? According to the Supreme Court of Canada: quite a few. Unlike a briefcase or a filing cabinet, judges have found, a smartphone can contain “immense amounts of information” that touch a person’s “biographical core.” Read…

Read More

Canadian Co-Author Of U.S. Climate Report Says Findings ‘Flatly Contradict’ Trump Administration – Politics – CBC News

mdbincbi

A Canadian scientist who helped author an exhaustive U.S. draft report on climate change says the study makes it clear dramatic action is needed to stop global temperatures from rising, but that her team has no idea how the Trump administration will react to it. The report, written by scientists from 13 federal agencies, concludes that the United States is already feeling the effects of climate change, with a stark increase in the frequency of heat waves, heavy rains and other extreme weather over the last four decades. The report is now…

Read More

Free Wi-Fi Has Driven 88% Of Canadians To Put Their Personal Info At Risk: Report – National | Globalnews.ca

mdbincbi

A strong Wi-Fi signal is one major factor that helps Canadians decide where they want to stay when they go away for long weekends, said a risk report released by Norton last month. And while a hefty majority of Canadians believe their information is safe while using public Wi-Fi networks at hotels, restaurants and elsewhere, the report reveals that these services aren’t as secure as users might like to believe they are. “The most common misconception about public Wi-Fi is that it’s secure,” Kevin Haley, Norton’s director of security response, said…

Read More

More Fast-Charging Stations Coming For Electric Vehicles In The Maritimes | The Chronicle Herald

mdbincbi

HALIFAX — Driving an electric car along Canada’s rugged East Coast is about to get a lot easier. Electric utilities in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are moving ahead with plans to install more charging stations along major highways. “It’s a good step forward,” says Wayne Groszko, renewable energy co-ordinator with the Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre. “When they’re in place, people will be able to drive their electric cars farther. I see that as a good thing.” In Nova Scotia, the province’s electric utility announced Wednesday it will set up 12 more stations along the province’s 100-series highways,…

Read More