The East African country's Directorate of Criminal Investigations says the 32-year-old appeared in court Thursday on nine terrorism charges, such as assault causing actual bodily harm.

A post on the department's social media says back in February, a man entered a mosque posing as a worshipper.

It alleges that once inside, he locked the main doors, pulled a machete and attacked congregants.

Officials say the suspect was arrested and the weapon used was recovered, while the five injured congregants were taken to hospital for treatment.

It says the man is being held at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison ahead of his next court date later this month for a pre-bail report.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2026.

The Canadian Press

In Montreal, several hundred people joined Archbishop Christian Lépine in a march of "prayer, reflection and silence" that wound its way through the streets behind a large crucifix, stopping at several historic churches in a commemoration of Jesus's journey to the cross.

But the Easter weekend tradition will likely become harder to organize in future years, now that the province has passed a law to ban public prayer.

The Quebec government adopted legislation on Thursday, extending a ban on wearing religious symbols in public workplaces to daycare workers, prohibiting prayer rooms in public institutions, and banning public prayer without explicit municipal consent.

"No public road … or public park may be used for the purposes of collective religious practice unless a municipality authorizes, exceptionally and on a case-by-case basis, such a use in its public domain by resolution of the municipal council," the text of the law reads.

Martin Laliberté, the head of the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops, believes the new law turns religious people into second-class citizens.

He notes that street closures and public demonstrations happen all the time, including for sporting events, protests and cultural events.

"If we do it for religious reasons, we don't have the right," he said Wednesday in an interview. "So people in society who are believers become second-class citizens who don't have the right, like any other citizen, to demonstrate (when it's) in the name of their faith."

He said organizers of Way of the Cross and other marches have always co-ordinated with local officials and respected municipal rules, but never before had to seek express permission to hold their events.

"It was a right, and now it's not a right anymore," he said. The new law, he said, leaves churches relying on the goodwill of city councils, who can decide whether or not to grant permits for the event.

Laliberté says senior Catholic leaders are concerned the new law goes far beyond the effect on ceremonial processions. He notes that the legislation invokes powers that allow the province to override some sections of the Charter and shield the secularism law from court challenges.

"We have rights, according to the Charter, which say you have a right to express your faith publicly," Laliberté said.

But with the new law, he said people don't have this right anymore.

"That's a big shift for us."

Laliberté said the Quebec Catholic bishops participated in consultations on the new law, where they expressed particular concern with the public prayer ban and the expansion of the religious symbol prohibition. He said politicians appeared to listen, but were unwilling to adopt the changes.

He said he believes the new law has "no utility," because the government already has all the tools it needs to protect secularism.

The Quebec government did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

John Zucchi, national director with Montreal Way of the Cross procession organizer Communion and Liberation Canada, says organizers always communicate with police about the event, but have been told in the past that it's not necessary to inform the city.

He says the event last year drew nearly 1,000 people, who walk in silence behind a person carrying a crucifix to different churches, where there is singing, gospel readings and poems.

Unlike many church events, he says attendance has gone up in recent years, and numbers have roughly doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think people are struck by the soberness of the event, by the simplicity of it and by the quiet dignity that surrounds the event," he said. "It's not meant to be clamour or something loud. It's a meditation from start to finish."

Zucchi says he shares the views of religious leaders who are concerned about the law, but isn't worrying yet about its impact on the march in Montreal. "We've only encountered goodwill with the city, with the police service … and count on that continued goodwill in the future," he said.

He also questioned what events will count as "public prayer."

"With the case of a procession done in silence, what constitutes prayer?" he asks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2026.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press

Speaker after speaker in the 17,000-word transcript of Thursday's meeting, obtained by The Canadian Press, criticize Eby's handling of DRIPA, which he says needs to be suspended for up to three years.

DRIPA is at the centre of a legal and political storm after being cited by First Nations in two landmark court cases last year, including an appeal ruling that says the act should be "properly interpreted" to incorporate the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into B.C. laws "with immediate legal effect."

The transcript provided by a person in attendance, on the condition that no First Nations leaders are identified, shows one speaker telling Eby he has insisted on "fracturing the relationship between First Nations and B.C." by saying this week that changing DRIPA was "non-negotiable."

Another tells Eby the premise of the meeting is "disingenuous."

The transcript shows Eby starting the meeting by telling attendees the so-called Gitxaala ruling by the B.C. Court of Appeal in December found the UN declaration had been implemented by the province "as a whole."

He says the ruling, which had created "huge legal uncertainty," effectively meant the province would "need to eat the whole elephant" of UNDRIP all at once and across all its laws, which the government lacked the staff and political capital to do.

Eby says the government proposed to introduce legislation to implement the suspension "the week after next," and that the pause of up to three years is to give time for the Supreme Court of Canada to rule on the government's appeal in the Gitxaala case, which centred on mining rules.

The transcript shows the meeting lasted almost two hours, until about noon Thursday. Ninety minutes later, Eby held a news conference to announce the suspension proposal.

At the conference, Eby declined to specify which sections of legislation would be suspended.

But the transcript and a document provided by The Canadian Press' source in the meeting suggest they consist of four sections of DRIPA, plus a section of the Interpretation Act, which describes how B.C.'s laws must be interpreted.

The Interpretation Act section facing suspension says "every act and regulation must be construed as being consistent with" DRIPA, while a section of DRIPA to be paused says nothing should be construed as delaying its application to B.C.'s laws.

The section saying the act's purpose is to "affirm the application" of DRIPA to B.C.'s laws is also to be paused, as is a section saying the government must take all measures necessary to ensure laws are consistent with it.

The final section of DRIPA to be suspended relates to how progress on its goals is reported.

In the transcript, Eby acknowledges the government's previous plan to amend DRIPA has been "completely opposed" by the First Nations.

He says the alternative proposal of a pause is to find another solution, which he says "is really, bluntly, unavoidable."

"Now, it's my hope, it's cabinet's hope, it's the government's hope, that this is a better solution to address the legal risk we're facing, as well as the concerns that you've raised with us," he says.

The response in the transcript is far from enthusiastic.

"I don't understand why you insist on fracturing the relationship between First Nations and B.C. by saying these things publicly?" one respondent says, referring to Eby's remarks on changes to DRIPA being non-negotiable.

"It really shook my confidence in you as the premier and your ability to work with us on something so important as DRIPA," they say, adding that Eby is "not there anymore" as a partner.

One leader tells Eby he is making "rash" decisions, another tells of their "extreme feeling of disappointment in the steps taken," and another tells the premier his government's behaviour "smacks of colonialism."

One attendee accuses Eby of "Indian giving," and says that after finally seeing "some light" in the way First Nations are treated by government, Eby's moves "close the door."

Another attendee tells of "an extreme feeling of disappointment in the steps taken."

"And this act that you're doing now … these feelings and this sentiment that you're putting forward is the same sentiment of colonization, of piece by piece taking our rights, our purpose, away from us," they say.

At least one leader expresses doubt about the wisdom of opposing the government, considering the Opposition B.C. Conservatives are "running on repealing DRIPA."

They tell other leaders that they "cannot afford to not give a damn about" who is premier, and suggest that fellow chiefs are "overestimating" their power.

Late in the meeting, one leader tries to inject a light moment, referring back to Eby's elephant analogy.

"Eating an elephant, it can be done with help," they say. "We could fry it, we could boil it … We could barbecue it. That lasagna I ate yesterday said I'm a family of four."

Eby told the subsequent news conference that enacting the suspension would represent a confidence vote for his government.

He said the suspension was "least invasive way that we could think of" to mitigate DRIPA's possible unintended impacts across the province's legal system.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2026.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press

Sgt. Ryan Campbell says thefts occurred on five consecutive days from March 23, with victims saying they were bear-sprayed and robbed after arranging meetings on Facebook Marketplace.

Campbell says officers from the major crime section arranged a sting operation by posting a card for sale online and successfully lured a suspect, before arranging a meeting with the man.

He says the suspect, who is in his 20s and is believed to have acted alone, was taken into custody on March 27 without incident.

Campbell says police recovered two cards, valued at about $2,000 together, while the combined value of the stolen cards is about $6,000.

Officers haven't completed charge assessment yet, but Campbell says there will be at least four counts of robbery.

He says the investigation is ongoing, and the suspect has been released on conditions.

Police say that in each robbery, someone contacted the sellers online and arranged a meeting in a public space, where the sellers were bear-sprayed after being asked to produce their cards for inspection.

In one of the incidents, the victim managed to chase down the suspect and recover their card.

Campbell told a news conference on Thursday that there has been a rise Pokémon card thefts in the Lower Mainland, but the phenomenon wasn't on the police radar until recently.

"You know, I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm really unfamiliar with Pokémon cards up until now."

Some rare Pokémon cards sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some cards for sale on Marketplace in the Vancouver region are priced at more than $10,000.

Stores that specialize in the cards have been ramping up security in B.C. and elsewhere amid a spate of robberies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press

Police say they were called to the Halifax suburb of Eastern Passage Tuesday night after reports of a masked man outside a Cow Bay Road restaurant where he was known to one of the employees. The man was wearing gloves and appeared to have a firearm concealed in his pants, police said, adding he tried to flee the scene but was tracked down with the help of police dogs.

The suspect was allegedly in possession of a rifle, ammunition and a prohibited magazine. RCMP say a search of a house on Romkey Drive revealed two more long guns, a loaded handgun with a prohibited magazine, ammunition, body armour and two shoulder patches from an RCMP uniform.

The case is rekindling memories of the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history in April 2020 when a lone gunman, disguised as a Mountie and driving a replica police car, went on a 13-hour rampage through the northern and central parts of the province before he was shot dead by two RCMP officers north of Halifax. He killed 22 people.

The final report of the public inquiry into the shootings said the gunman had abused his partner, Lisa Banfield, for years before the attacks. His rampage began with an assault on Banfield, who escaped and survived by hiding in the woods.

Nova Scotia has since declared intimate partner violence an epidemic.

Police said that they do not believe the suspect in Tuesday's incident, Connor James Tobin, was inspired by the mass shooting, but they added that more information may come to light as the investigation continues.

"Considering the overall circumstances and the weapons present, the situation carried a significant risk of becoming lethal," the RCMP said in an email. "At this stage, however, there is no evidence to suggest that Tobin was planning a broader attack."

Tobin is facing additional charges from December and January involving the same victim. Police say they learned of the incidents as part of this week's investigation. Charges include break and enter, disguise with intent, assault with a weapon, assault by choking, uttering death threats and criminal harassment.

“This was a fast‑moving intimate partner violence-related situation, and the quick, co-ordinated response by RCMP officers and our partners at Halifax Regional Police ensured it was resolved safely,” Staff Sgt. Mark MacPherson said in a statement.

Tobin, who remains in custody, is facing a slew of weapons charges in relation to the restaurant incident, including eight counts of failure to comply with a youth order, criminal harassment, disguise with intent and resisting arrest. There are additional charges for having body armour without a permit and possessing police shoulder patches.

Statistics Canada says 44 per cent of women and girls who’ve been in an intimate relationship — about 6.2 million women over the age of 15 — have reported some kind of psychological, physical or sexual abuse. There were more than 117,000 cases of intimate partner violence in Canada in 2022, with nearly 80 per cent of reports coming from women, says StatCan. The agency notes offences are vastly under-reported, with about 80 per cent of victims choosing not to contact police.

Kristina Fifield is a trauma therapist and social worker specializing in gender-based violence and a member of the committee monitoring the progress on recommendations from the public inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting. All of society must respond to the intimate partner violence epidemic, she said, as family members, co-workers, and others usually see red flags in relationships before those signs escalate to a greater level of violence.

While there is work being done to improve services to victims of violence, Fifield says more needs to happen on prevention and early intervention. “One thing that I think could make a shift in some of this (is) teaching from a very young age children, within the home, when they're going to school, about emotional regulation,” she said in an interview.

“How do you deal with anger and rage? How do you deal with different emotions that are coming up that are intense, in a non-violent way?”

Fifield says many people, especially youth, are feeling disconnected from the physical world and finding connections through online spaces or via AI programs like ChatGPT.

The internet, Fifield said, can make faraway violence like war and other traumatic events feel close to home because of the immediacy of the content and the ease with which people can access it. Coupled with local issues like food and housing insecurity, extended time spent online can aggravate people's sense that life is overwhelming, she said.

“All of these things are happening on a global level around violence and suffering and witnessing that. That is being held in our bodies and that does things to our brains,” she said.

Attorney general Scott Armstrong said in an interview Thursday that police prevented what could have been a tragedy, adding that the government is committed to addressing the recommendations from the mass casualty public inquiry. That includes extending emergency protection orders from 30 days to a year and more professional development for teachers on how to teach young people about avoiding unhealthy relationships, he said.

“We have actions being taken by (the office of) mental health and addictions, for example, education, for example,” Armstrong said. “I think there has been a sector-wide initiative to try to establish the fact that this is not socially acceptable," he said referring to government departments, transition houses and women's shelters.

"It’s everyone's responsibility to be vocal and stand up loudly and talk about these issues.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

Devin Stevens, The Canadian Press

A three-judge panel says the B.C. Supreme Court made three legal errors when limiting the Nuchatlaht Nation's claim over a 201 square kilometre portion of the island, finding the nation had met the test for "sufficient occupation" when the British Crown asserted sovereignty.

The Nuchatlaht's lawyer, Jack Woodward, said in an interview Thursday that they are "jubilant" about the recognition of the ownership of their land.

He said the Nuchatlaht is a small, remote community that has been "somewhat ignored and neglected by the rest of society for a very long time."

"They had to sit by helplessly and watch their ancestral heritage being industrialized and logged," he said.

Woodward said the Nuchatlaht has always asserted its ownership over the area, but the provincial government has been managing Crown land like it with "only one objective, which is forestry."

He said it's been "heartbreaking" for the Nuchatlaht to see their ancient territory logged and now they've scored more than just a victory, likening it to winning an inheritance to which they were always entitled.

The 2024 lower court ruling found the Nuchatlaht had established title over coastal areas of the island, but the Appeal Court found the judge had relied too much on the findings of an anthropologist about the nation's use of "remote inland" areas before and after 1846.

The ruling says the trial judge drew an "arbitrary boundary" in granting title over a portion of the area claimed, which wasn't "based upon the Nuchatlaht’s manner of life, material resources, and technological abilities."

It says the lower court's adoption of the boundary didn't reflect the nation's use of the lands as evidenced by the presence of thousands of "culturally modified trees" dating back to the late 18th century.

The Appeal Court says the Nuchatlaht identified territory that it "exclusively" occupied and used for hunting, fishing and gathering activities, in addition to other evidence that established its "strong presence on or over the land claimed." 


Woodward said the Nuchatlaht can now come up with a land-use plan that addresses the community's needs for infrastructure, roads and housing.

"The Court of Appeal did what judges are supposed to do. They looked at the facts and they looked at the law and they applied the law to the facts," he said. "You know, if you don't get your uncle's inheritance, you expect the judge to fix that. These people didn't get their inheritance and the judges have fixed it. That's the right thing to do."

Respondents to the appeal included the federal and provincial governments and Western Forest Products Inc.

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma said in a statement that the province is "carefully reviewing the decision."

"We will take the time needed to assess its implications and our legal options going forward," the statement said.

The Ministry of Attorney General said the claim area in the case doesn't involve any fee simple land.

Western Forest Products said in an emailed statement that the company is "in the process of reviewing it and will need time to fully assess any implications" of the court ruling.

No one from the federal government was immediately available to comment on the court decision.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press

Speaking after a meeting with First Nations leaders on Thursday, Eby said his government would pass legislation this session to suspend certain sections of the law that place the province at the greatest legal risk.

But strategy shift away from immediately redrawing the legislation failed to quell First Nations' concerns, with one source saying the suspension plan faced "complete opposition" in the meeting, while Robert Phillips of the First Nations Summit said later that leaders had been "clear and resolute" that they do not support any regression or pause on reconciliation.

"Fundamentally, First Nations cannot afford to 'pause' efforts to protect their title and rights," Phillips said.

DRIPA has been at the centre of a legal and political storm after being cited by First Nations in two landmark court cases last year.

The Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title decision last August sparked concerns about implications for private land ownership, while the B.C. Court of Appeal found in December that the province's mineral claims regime was "inconsistent" with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a framework for the provincial legislation.

DRIPA should be "properly interpreted" to incorporate UNDRIP into B.C.'s laws "with immediate legal effect," the ruling in favour of the Gitxaala and Ehattesaht First Nations said.

Since the Gitxaala ruling, the government has been struggling to find a way to mitigate the possible impact of DRIPA despite strong opposition from First Nations — something Eby seemed to acknowledge Thursday.

"It (the proposed pause) is a change to the act, and it is a change to it being enforced, but it is the least invasive way that we could think of doing it," he said.

Eby said he hoped First Nations leaders would at least tolerate the pause as the government appealed the Gitxaala case to the Supreme Court of Canada.

He acknowledged that the previous plan to redraw DRIPA had proven "totally unacceptable" to leaders who found the unilateral changes "profoundly offensive to them."

At the same time, Eby said, the government faced ongoing legal risks.

Roberts said First Nations "simply do not agree with the province's interpretation of the Gitxaala decision," he said. "The province's response is entirely political and misdirected."

It is not clear when legislators will vote on the proposed suspension, but Roberts said it will be the time for the three Indigenous members of the NDP government to either "not show up" or vote against" the relevant legislation.

Eby's promise to make the proposed suspension a confidence vote comes as his party holds a single-seat majority. "It's required to be a confidence vote for the government, and we have a strong and united caucus," he said.

He said all MLAs understand the importance of working in partnership with First Nations, while growing the economy of B.C.

"This work is part of it," he said. "So, our commitment is to introduce this bill, to have it fully debated in the legislature, and to have a vote on it."

The premier presented his proposal to suspend sections of DRIPA less than 24 hours after saying that changing the legislation was "non-negotiable."

In a background briefing ahead of Eby's announcement, a senior figure in his office said the three-year pause was based on legal advice about how long it might take for the Supreme Court of Canada to rule on the Gitxaala case.

"What we have proposed is a maximum of three years, and it could be less based on when the (mineral tenure case) is concluded through the courts," Eby said later.

He denied that there was also a political calculus, saying he had "no interest in having this issue last through an election."

Eby did not identify which sections of DRIPA would be suspended, adding that other sections of DRIPA will remain in effect, including those that allow the government and First Nations to sign resource agreements.

Opposition parties in the provincial legislature criticized the proposed suspension.

The B.C. Conservative Party has been seeking the repeal of DRIPA, and interim leader Trevor Halford said Eby's announcement had made things worse.

"We have been asking for certainty, full stop," he said. "What he did today was, he made the situation more uncertain, than it has ever been before."

B.C. Green Rob Botterell agreed that the suspension would cause uncertainty, but questioned the very need for revisions.

"Is the solution to be repealing DRIPA? No," Botterell said. "Is the solution to be amending DRIPA? No. What is the solution is to actually put the resources forward to actually implement DRIPA."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner and Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press

Members of Sipekne’katik First Nation blockaded part of Highway 102 near Shubenacadie, N.S., about 50 kilometres north of Halifax. And in Cape Breton, people in Potlotek First Nation shut down Highway 4, forcing RCMP officers who had raided a cannabis storefront earlier in the day to abandon their vehicles in the community and leave on foot.

Michelle Glasgow, chief of Sipekne’katik First Nation, said Thursday on social media that the protest isn't directly about cannabis but about the province asserting jurisdiction over unceded Mi’kmaq lands.

In an email Thursday afternoon, Nova Scotia RCMP said the police vehicles remain in Potlotek.

"The Nova Scotia RCMP. continues to be engaged and communications are ongoing with community leaders," police spokesperson Cindy Bayers said.

The RCMP had raided the storefront in Potlotek at 7:30 a.m., Bayers said. "Officers safely arrested two men on the premises in relation to the federal Cannabis Act and seized cannabis products."

Thursday's events are the latest in an ongoing dispute between Mi’kmaw governments and the province that ratcheted up when Attorney General Scott Armstrong issued a directive to police agencies in December to increase illegal cannabis enforcement. Armstrong wrote to 13 Mi'kmaq chiefs at the time, requesting their co-operation.

Since then, police have conducted raids across the province, many of them in Indigenous communities. In March, the council of Cape Breton’s Membertou First Nation, led by Chief Terry Paul, passed a resolution saying the province and RCMP have no right to carry out enforcement on its lands. And the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs, issued a statement saying raids have undermined the positive work that had been done to build relationships between the First Nations, police and the province.

The Sipekne'katik First Nation has cited the cannabis directive for banning Premier Tim Houston and several ministers from the community.

But the escalation of tensions on Thursday seemed to be about more than just cannabis. The provincial government and Mi’kmaq leaders are also in conflict over grant funding, resource extraction policies and protests on Crown land.

On Highway 102 outside of Halifax on Thursday afternoon, more than 20 Sipekne'katik community members and supporters were present at the blockade that had reduced traffic to one lane, with people holding signs, singing and playing drums.

Tara Henderson, who was among the protesters, said the province's ongoing crackdown on First Nations-run cannabis operations has coincided with budget cuts to programs that support Mi'kmaq communities, further harming the relationship between Indigenous people in Nova Scotia and the provincial government.

"I want Tim Houston to reverse all the cuts to Mi'kmaq cultural programs, the Friendship Centre had funding cut to valuable programs."

Henderson said she has children who are status members of Sipekne'katik First Nation, but that she herself doesn't have this status and considers herself to be a community member.

She said it was important for her to show up and support Sipekne'katik and broader Mi'kmaq communities that she says have been targeted by cannabis raids.

"This is the bulldozing of our treaty rights. It's economic warfare that Tim Houston is waging … on unceded land," she said in an interview at the protest.

"We have a right to self-governance, this shouldn't be happening in 2026."

Houston has said that illegal cannabis represents a serious harm to Nova Scotians. The province allows cannabis sales only at the Crown-owned Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. locations, one of which is located in a First Nation community.

The province maintains that multiple court decisions have rejected the idea that cannabis sales are a treaty right. There are other cases involving Indigenous-owned cannabis operators currently making their way through the provincial court system.

“Federal and provincial laws govern alcohol, tobacco and cannabis,” the government said in a statement in March. “These laws apply throughout Nova Scotia, including on reserve lands. Police are responsible for enforcement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press

The act governs how federal agencies collect, use and disclose personal information, and gives people the right to see and correct data about them the government holds. The law has not changed substantially since it took effect in 1983.

In a policy paper issued Thursday, the government says that in most cases, reusing personal data or sharing it with another program for an alternative purpose requires the person's consent or must meet one of the few legal exceptions.

"These rules were designed to protect privacy, but they make it harder to deliver modern, connected services that rely on secure data sharing," the paper says. "The goal is to make it easier for programs to share data responsibly, so Canadians only have to provide information once."

The government proposes allowing federal agencies to reuse and share personal data with each other and with their provincial, territorial or municipal partners, without consent, if it improves services or programs.

This would be allowed only when the data is limited to what is clearly required, the reuse and sharing are done in the least invasive way possible and strong safeguards are in place, the policy paper says.

Although consent would not be required, individuals would still be informed of such uses, the paper adds. "This would be done through stronger transparency requirements, including clear, easy-to-understand privacy notices that are published in a central registry before the data is shared or reused."

The government also suggests bolstering protection by recognizing privacy as a fundamental right and requiring what's known as a privacy impact assessment when a federal program uses personal data to make a decision about someone.

It also proposes enshrining in law the obligation to notify people of a breach at a federal department or agency that involves personal data.

Another proposal recognizes that the government is increasingly adopting technologies such as artificial intelligence and automated decision systems to improve service delivery.

"While these technologies can improve efficiency and consistency, they raise concerns about transparency and trust," the paper says.

"Individuals may find it hard to understand how AI or ADS work and what personal data these systems use to make or support decisions. There is no federal legislation in Canada that fills this gap."

The government proposes amending the Privacy Act to require institutions, upon request, to explain how an automated decision system supported a decision and what personal data was used.

The measure would help people check to see if the data used by the system is accurate and ask for corrections if needed, the paper says.

"People could also ask for a human review of a decision if they believe the ADS made a mistake or used incorrect or incomplete personal data," the paper says.

The government notes that Canadians currently rely on two separate laws to request information from the federal government: the Access to Information Act for general records and the Privacy Act for their personal information.

"This dual system for access requests can be confusing and inefficient," the paper says. "Individuals seeking access to their own information often do not know which law applies, and may end up navigating two separate processes, which can lead to delays, incomplete responses, and multiple requests."

The government proposes removing the personal data request process from the Privacy Act and incorporating it into the access law to create "a more harmonized regime" for requests.

The government says Indigenous Peoples have distinct perspectives and priorities when it comes to data, including the personal data of the members of their communities.

A modernized Privacy Act would aim to support self-determination, meaning Indigenous Peoples could make decisions about their own data in ways that reflect their values and priorities, the paper says.

"This may include shared stewardship with the government of Canada, ensuring Indigenous authority while working together to manage and protect data," it reads.

Ottawa says comments and feedback on the policy approaches will be collected through an online submission form until July 10.

It also promises consultation meetings with federal institutions and subject matter experts over the coming months, with a report on the overall findings to be published in the winter of 2026-27.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press

The system, set out in the Canada Elections Act, sees the candidate who receives the most votes in a given riding become the member of Parliament.

Fair Voting BC and the Springtide Collective for Democratic Society argued in court that the first-past-the-post system violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms' guarantee of effective representation.

The groups also said the system leads to the under-representation of women and other groups in Parliament, breaching the Charter's equality rights provision.

The Ontario Superior Court dismissed the challenge in 2023, saying that while a proportional representation system would be a fair alternative to the current approach, it is not required by the Constitution.

The province's Court of Appeal also rejected the groups' key arguments.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press