North American oil prices are marching toward $65 US a barrel this month, giving the industry a boost after the market collapsed three years ago. The oil sector hasn’t seen these prices since late 2014, but most companies in Alberta are receiving significantly less, just above $40 US a barrel. The Alberta oilpatch continues to increase oil production, but as pipelines fill up, companies are receiving less money for their oil compared to the rest of the continent. While there is always a gap between the North American benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI),…
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U.S. Border Guards Can Search Your Phone: Here Are Some Details On How – Technology & Science – CBC News
In one of several testy exchanges during a U.S. Senate hearing this week, the country’s secretary of homeland security was pressed to explain a new policy that allows customs agents to examine the cellphones of travellers at the border. “I want to make sure I understand this. I live an hour’s drive from the Canadian border,” said Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy. “If I go to Canada and visit some of my wife’s relatives, and I come back … they [can] say, ‘We want your laptop and your phone and your pass…
Read MoreCanada Should Fight For Open Internet, Says Former Head Of FCC – Politics – CBC News
The former head of the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. has a strong warning for Canada: do what you can to protect the internet. Tom Wheeler, head of the FCC under former U.S. president Barack Obama, said the Trump administration’s decision to repeal his net neutrality policy could become a cross-border issue. In 2015, Wheeler approved an order that barred internet service providers from blocking or slowing down consumer access to web content. This week, his replacement, Republican Ajit Pai, unveiled plans to repeal that decision and said the U.S. regulator will prevent states…
Read MoreSenators Push To Ditch Social Security Numbers In Light Of Equifax Hack | TechCrunch
Eyeing more secure alternatives to Social Security numbers, lawmakers in the U.S. are looking abroad. Today, the Senate Commerce Committee questioned former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, Verizon chief privacy officer Karen Zacharia and both the current and former CEOs of Equifax on how to protect consumers against major data breaches. The consensus was that Social Security numbers have got to go. Rounding out the panel, Entrust Datacard president and CEO Todd Wilkinson offered some context and insight about why the U.S. should indeed move away from Social Security numbers — a step that the witnesses…
Read MoreWhite House Wants To End Social Security Numbers As A National ID | Ars Technica
Rob Joyce, the White House cybersecurity czar, said on Tuesday that the government should end using the Social Security number as a national identification method. “I believe the Social Security number has outlived its usefulness,” said Joyce, while speaking at The Washington Post’s Cybersecurity Summit. “Every time we use the Social Security number, you put it at risk.” One problem with the Social Security number, he said, is that a victim of identity theft cannot get it changed after it has been stolen. Joyce’s comments come a month after the Equifax hack,…
Read MoreCanada’s NAFTA Negotiators Must Do More To Protect Canadians’ Data From U.S.: Privacy Experts – National | Globalnews.ca
OTTAWA – Concern is growing that federal negotiators aren’t doing enough to protect the personal information of Canadians from prying U.S. interests at the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Information technology companies and other digital economy insiders say federal negotiators appeared unprepared during this week’s third round of talks to counter an American proposal that would forbid the storage of sensitive data in computing facilities on Canadian soil. Some warned that Canada appeared soft on the issue and might concede to the American demands in the interest of horse-trading…
Read MoreGasoline Analyst Questions N.S.’s Regulated System After Price Swings – Nova Scotia – CBC News
Nova Scotians have had gas prices spike three times in the last two weeks, with the Utility and Review Board invoking the interrupter clause on Sept. 2 to raise the price. (The Associated Press) A petroleum analyst is questioning Nova Scotia’s practice of setting weekly gas prices after large recent swings in the cost of filling up. Dan McTeague with gasbuddy.com said the price of gasoline on global markets has been steadily going down since Hurricane Harvey caused it to spike, and dropped “dramatically so as early as late last week.” He’s criticizing the Nova…
Read MoreEquifax Faces Mounting Pressure After Data Breach As CAA Reveals 10,000 Clients Hit – Business – CBC News
Equifax Canada is facing intensifying calls for transparency on its massive cyberhack as the Canadian Automobile Association informs thousands of its members that their data may have been compromised and frustrated consumers ask questions about why they’re being treated worse than their U.S. counterparts. CAA said Thursday it partnered with Equifax on its identity protection program and is notifying the roughly 10,000 members who participated that they may have had sensitive data divulged in the security breach made public last week. The auto organization’s program required members to register their…
Read MoreAs Risky As It Sounds, A Hands-Off Approach To Driverless Vehicle Safety May Save Lives – Business – CBC News
The latest U.S. government guidelines hand a lot of the responsibility for the safety of autonomous vehicles over to the companies that make them, but a Canadian expert says that may be the best option, and ultimately the decision will save thousands of lives. “We’re [in between] a rock and a hard place.” says Paul Godsmark of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence (CAVCOE), which provides consulting services, analysis and recommendations to government, public sector agencies and private industry on automated vehicle deployment. “It’s really a fascinating problem.” The Trump…
Read More‘U.S. Policy Is Not To Defend Canada’ From ICBMs, NORAD Deputy Commander Says | CTV News
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…
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