Instructor: David McKie
Email: davidmckiec@gmail.com
Phone: 613-290-7380
Office Hours: 16:00-18:00 AST
Classes: 10-12 AST – Mon-Thurs
Delivery Mode: in person
Lab 2
Feb 21-Mar 31
Required text and reading
David, Fred Vallance-Jones, Rob Cribb and Dean Jobb are co-authors of
Digging Deeper Third Edition
Canadian Press Style Guide: An Overview
Optional Texts
David McKie and Jim Bronskill are co-authors of
Your Right To Know: How to Use the Law to
Get Government Secrets
David and Fred are co-authors of
“The Data Journalist: Getting the Story“
Territorial Acknowledgement:
The University of King’s College is located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq. We are all Treaty people.
Course Description
Overall: Working as a team and using investigative techniques, you
will research, write and produce a substantial investigative-enterprise package.
The stories will feature diverse storytelling techniques and, if they meet
the necessary standards, will be published online in The Signal, Canada’s National Observer, or both.
We will function as an investigative newsroom. David McKie, who will act as both
an advisor and editor-in-chief, has final word in all matters.
The deputy editor works closely with the editor-in-chief to organize
assignments and make editorial decisions.
Because this is a course for credit, there is time set aside for
necessary formal teaching, but even in the first week, the emphasis is
on active investigation and learning by doing. This workshop is about
taking the skills you have already learned to work to a new level.
The course, to be delivered synchronously using Zoom, will teach you how to take a deep dive into an investigative-enterprise project, from pitch to final project and potential follow-up.
Required readings: As assigned.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
- identify the required research for investigation or enterprise stories;
- identify a range of public records and learn how to mine them for information;
- find stories in public records such as data;
- use freedom-of-information and access-to-information laws to conduct informal and formal searches and requests;
- present the data in an engaging and informative format, including online graphics packages;
- conduct accountability interviews and follow-up research;
- push for accountability interviews;
- produce finished packages of information — or pitches — on the selected subjects;
- learn how to work in groups;
- be inspired to continue this kind of work!!
COVID-19 Contingency Plans for Course Delivery
Should the University (and/or our course) need to proceed remotely for a period of time, students are asked to check their university email account for direction from the instructor as to how the class delivery will be adapted to circumstances. These instructions may include, but are not limited to, adjustments to course delivery and assignments, and updates on office hours. The School’s technical assistants will also provide information on equipment availability.
Absences
To ensure our classrooms remain safe and trusted spaces for everyone in them, we must all commit to staying home if we are feeling unwell. Reasonable accommodations at the discretion of the instructor will be made for students who, because of illness, are unable to attend class.
Such accommodations may include re-scheduled assignment due dates and presentations (where feasible), or alternate coursework (consistent with the integrity of the class evaluation).
Ground Rules/Protocol
RULE #1: We don’t tell anyone outside of our workshop the topic
of our investigation, including classmates, friends, aunts,
uncles, cats, dogs.
RULE #2: See rule #1
Note on time management: Treat this class as a full-time job. As noted later in the
syllabus, class hours in this course are kept to a minimum to
facilitate maximum time to dig for information. If unavoidable personal conflicts arise,
give David a heads-up.
Please do not increase the potential for conflicts by scheduling extra shifts at a part-time job, taking on additional freelance writing assignments, etc., because there appears to be spare time in the schedule, or there are no specific classes scheduled. You need
to be available on a moment’s notice because last-minute developments such as a key interview that comes together at the last minute will require us to be nimble. You should expect demands in this workshop to increase during the course of the six weeks.
Procedures
The class will be divided into a working team for each of project.
We will decide on the group members and roles, largely depending on your expertise and preference.
Each group will have a senior reporter who attends the daily editorial
meetings.
Note that depending on requirements, and the relative workload of
the groups, you may be asked to take on reporting tasks to help
another group.
Because we are a team, everyone is here for everyone else. We will
assume you are engaged with the project during normal working hours
Monday to Friday.
We know that people sometimes have to deal with
illness, family emergency or the occasional work shift. Please advise
David if this applies to you. Any extended absence due to illness will
need to be documented following university policies.
You may need to complete some tasks outside of working hours; you are free to
organize your time in this latter regard as you please. The important
thing is to meet deadlines as assigned. And if you find yourself having
completed your assigned work, brainstorm to find ways to dig even deeper, and find out what you can do to help your colleagues who may be having a more difficult time.
Experience shows that the best marks typically go to the students who go beyond
merely what was requested. Initiative is rewarded in this class — and the real word.
When you have arranged a substantial interview — any interview other
than brief calls for nuggets of information — you must prepare a list of
questions and discuss them with your group and David. If it’s an accountability interview, you’ll need to come up with a list of questions with your group and David.
These questions should progress from scene-setting, icebreaking
questions, to queries that build upon the agreed factual
base through, to any more difficult, pointed questions.
When you have completed your questions, submit them to David for feedback at
least a day before the scheduled interview. If an interview is arranged
on tighter timelines, get David the questions as soon as you can.
Good performance will beget opportunities. If you shine, you get
the chance to shine some more. We will assign more difficult and
challenging work to those who show an interest and aptitude for it
and develop a record of performance, as would be the case in many newsrooms.
While industriousness and creativity are encouraged, remember
that your safety and the reputation of the school are both
important considerations. Please always be honest, courteous
and upfront with people about your intentions. Do not agree to
interviews that may involve unusual situations, such as
surreptitious meetings, without first consulting with David. These
should almost never be required. You must not use any
specialized techniques, such as “undercover” work, without
getting explicit permission from David, who may need to
obtain permission from higher-ups at King’s.
Use common sense. If you feel a situation could put your personal safety
at risk, bail out and advise David ASAP. For more information on
safety and your work at the journalism school, please go to
http://kingsjournalism.com/handbook/#safety.
All substantial interviews need to be summarized,
transcribed and saved into the transcripts folder in the shared drive.
Each group should create an “interview” folder. Within that folder, there should be a sub-folder for each student, which will contain the interview transcripts and recordings. So, for example, the Health group would contain a sub-folder called “Interviews”. Within that subfolder would be the name of each group member that contains the interview transcripts and recordings.
Immediately upon completion of the interview you must write a
memo indicating the subject and place of the interview, the date and
time, key information that emerged, the best quotes,
and your own assessment of how it went. To make your life simpler, you can do this in the same Word document, just above the transcript.
The complete transcript of the interview should be done as soon afterward
as practicable with the following: The name of the interviewer; the
properly spelled name and title of the interview subject; the location of
the interview; and the date and time, all indicated at the top.
Normally, transcripts are prepared by the person who conducted the interview.
You must also record your interviews, and upload an MP3 file of your
interview your folder in the shared drive. Be sure to convert
any other audio formats to MP3 before uploading. This step is crucial,
as questions will come up during fact-checking after the workshop
concludes and, at times, David needs to be able to check material
from interviews against both the transcript and the audio. To make this task easier, please use time codes at five-minute intervals.
Do let the editorial team know if you get an important break, or if you
are running into an obstacle that seems insurmountable. We can
help. Don’t let days go by without reporting back on issues you are
having.
Telephone interview information: While we try to do as many
interviews in person as possible — especially during a pandemic — interviews with some people far from your location may have to be done by phone. If you have limited
airtime or long-distance minutes, you may wish to download a VOIP
application such as Fongo onto your cellphone. Fongo provides you
with a local phone number — you can also choose a number
somewhere else in Canada — and it allows unlimited free calls to most
parts of the country, with the North the biggest exception. It is an ad-supported
service. But, don’t worry, the ads are unobtrusive. Fongo uses wi-fi when
there is a sufficiently strong signal. Note that when not connected
to wi-fi, Fongo will use cellular data, if you have it enabled, and
uses 30-50 mb of data per hour. Check your data plan to ensure
you won’t be running up big charges. Fongo does not provide
free calls to the United States; you’ll have to buy credits. Calls to
the U.S. cost 2 cents a minute.
Some tips: You should plan each day’s work strategically. There will
be some tasks that are more difficult and some that will be easier to
complete.
• Have a key goal for each day’s work. In concert with the
editorial team, decide what is most important to complete. As
you discover new information, the priorities may shift as more
important goals come into view, relegating other considerations to the background — at least for the time being.
• Always seek primary records. When people tell you things, ask if
they have records such as memos, reports, studies or data related to what they are saying.
• Similarly, you should corroborate key facts with additional sources of information such as primary records or interviews. Remember, the key to investigative journalism is collecting information from many sources to build a picture that is as complete as possible — full well realizing that total completion is virtually impossible, unless someone confesses or provides a proverbial “smoking gun.”
Where we work: Most, if not all of you, have your own computers. So, as much as possible, the workshop is set up so that you are not nailed down to one
location. If you want to write in a coffee shop, transcribe in your room,
or work on the website wherever you are, everything is set up to
make that possible, with all files and resources (except any paper
documents) available online through our Google docs account. This flexibility is even more important during a pandemic when we must conduct our business virtually.
Equipment: Most workshop participants prefer to use their own
computers. A phone scanner such as TurboScan (iOS) or
CamScanner (iOS or Android) does most small to medium-sized jobs
well. A scanner can save copying files at the courthouse, which would
otherwise cost 75 cents a page to copy.
Semi-fictitious Class Schedule
Because investigative journalism happens on the fly, it is impossible
to establish a reliable schedule for this workshop beyond our regular daily gatherings. So, please don’t be surprised if things change from time to time. We will try, as much as
possible, to stick to advertised times, but as the project develops,
please expect to see meeting times changed, meetings
cancelled or additional meeting times set. Meetings may be
required on short notice when developments warrant, so be
ready for that, too. We will put out notices by email and phone you if
necessary. Attendance at all meetings is mandatory, but we will be
flexible for unavoidable pre-existing conflicts including other classes,
media job shifts, etc. but make sure we know.
Week 1 February 21 to 23
Monday to Thurs, 10-12 ADT
Additional meetings if required
Weeks 2 to 5 (Feb. 27-Mar 2, Mar 6-9. 1-Mar 13-16. , Mar. 20-Mar. 23,
Mar. 27-30)
Daily classes, 10-12.
Dream editorial targets (subject to change):
Week 1: Initial research. Initial storyboard and direction established.
Formation of groups. Initial conversation about key public records. Guest speaker.
Week 2: Continued research, the filing of formal and informal access-to-information and freedom-of-information requests, data analysis and discussion of groups’ progress.
Week 3: Continued work on assigned tasks for each group and the introduction of more public records, including data.
Week 4: Depending on the group you are in, substantial, interviewing, data analysis and writing continue and final group pitch.
Week 5: Reporting, interviewing, data analysis and crafting of story using multimedia elements.
Week 6: Continued work on stories for imminent publication.
Assessment
Your mark for the workshop will be determined as follows:
10 per cent: Initial research assignment, which in our case will be the story pitch(s) that you’ll be making, using the template that you’ve been given as a guide. Due Mar 7
10 per cent: Second pitch with an initial indication of how you’ll be using multimedia, including photographs with the help of Michael Creagen. Due Mar 15
20 per cent: This mark will be shared with colleagues in your
reporting group. Everyone in the group will get the same group
mark based on the final story draft.
Specifically, you will be graded on the following components:
-Newsworthiness of your pitches, accuracy, and clarity of writing;
-Quality of the public records;
-Quality of the sources (experts, victims, advocates, etc.) interviewed, both on-the-record and off-the-record;
-Quality of your formal and informal access-to-information requests;
-Quality of your ability to work in a group.
Note that this mark is for the final work produced. Your individual contributions will be marked in the breakdowns described below.
The remainder of the mark will be based on your individual
contributions to the project.
40 per cent: You can receive up to 40 marks for your daily contributions as
indicated in your daily work record, and observations by your
instructor of such things as interviews arranged and completed, formal and informal access to information requests filed; transcripts completed in deadline, participation in meetings, submission of interview questions for review by David, and other contributions.
Here is a guide to grade ranges:
A range: Consistently completes assigned tasks on time and as
assigned, but also goes beyond assigned tasks. Submits all interview
questions for review by instructor. Work always meets professional
standards.
B range: Usually completes assigned tasks on time and as
assigned, and often goes beyond assigned tasks. Submits most
interview questions for review by instructor. Work usually meets
professional standards.
C range: Completes some assigned tasks on time and as assigned.
For many interviews, questions are not submitted for review by
instructor. Work is of satisfactory quality.
D/F range: Never complete assigned tasks on time and as assigned.
Work is unsatisfactory.
10 per cent: Ten percentage points will be based on your having filled out the
daily activity log by 9:30 p.m. each day, starting with the first day
as agreed by the class. For every five percentage points below 100
per cent handed in, you will lose one of the ten percentage points, per
the following scale:
95 to 100 per cent handed in: 10 marks
90 to 95 per cent handed in: 9 marks
85 to 90 per cent handed in: 8 marks
80 to 85 per cent handed in: 7 marks
75 to 80 per cent handed in: 6 marks
70 to 75 per cent handed in: 5 marks
65 to 70 per cent handed in: 4 marks
60 to 65 per cent handed in: 3 marks
55 to 60 per cent handed in: 2 marks
50 to 55 per cent handed in: 1 mark
Below 50 per cent: 0
10 per cent: The final 10 percentage points will be based on your instructor’s
overall evaluation of your professionalism. For this latter 10
percentage points, this is a guide to how you will be evaluated:
A range: “You wouldn’t believe the interview I got, the public record I dug up, or the access-to-information request I filed” Demonstrates
daily commitment to the project, works hard, shows outstanding
creativity in overcoming obstacles, completes assigned tasks on time,
never misses meetings without a good reason and always is a team
player.
B range: “I’m ready to work. Tell me what I need to do.” Completes
assigned tasks, puts in full days, shows some creativity in
overcoming obstacles.
C range: “I sent an email a few days ago but they’re not getting back
to me.” Completes many assigned tasks, waits to be told what to do,
requires frequent intervention by supervisors to complete tasks, may
be hard to locate between meetings and/or is frequently late or
absent from meetings.
D/F range: “I didn’t know I was supposed to be here.” Fails to
complete assigned tasks and may not be around to be assigned.
Misses many meetings
| Grade | Grade Point Value | Definition | Explanation | |
| A+
A A- |
4.30
4.00 3.70 |
90-100 85-89 80-84 | Excellent | Considerable evidence of original thinking; demonstrated outstanding capacity to analyze and synthesize; outstanding grasp of subject matter; evidence of extensive knowledge base. |
| B+
B B- |
3.30
3.00 2.70 |
77-79 73-76 70-72 | Good | Evidence of grasp of subject matter, some evidence of critical capacity and analytical ability; reasonable understanding of relevant issues; evidence of familiarity with the literature |
| C+
C C- |
2.30
2.00 1.70 |
65-69 60-64 55-59 | Satisfactory | Evidence of some understanding of the subject matter; ability to develop solutions to simple problems; benefiting from his/her university experience |
| D | 1.00 | 50-54 | Marginal Pass | Evidence of minimally acceptable familiarity with subject matter; some critical and analytical skills. |
| F | 0.00 | 0-49 | Inadequate | Insufficient evidence of understanding of the subject matter; weakness in critical and analytical skills; limited or irrelevant use of the literature |
| INC | 0.00 | Incomplete | ||
| W | Neutral and no credit
obtained |
Withdrew after deadline | ||
| ILL | Neutral and no credit
obtained |
Compassionate reasons, illness |
Important note on interviews
When you set up and do interviews, you must ensure that you tell
interviewees that their comments will be published for all to see.
Sometimes sources will not understand that student work is published
and you should be sure you are clear that it WILL be published. As a
general rule, interviews must also be “on the record.” We do not use
unnamed sources in published stories in this workshop though they
may assist us with background.
Absences
A student who is absent for up to three consecutive calendar days
and misses a test or graded assignment must contact the course
instructor in advance of the date of the academic requirement. They
must then complete and submit a Student Declaration of Absence
Form (Journalism) to the instructor in person , or via email, no later than three calendar
days after the last day of the absence.
For courses weighted three or six credit hours, a Student Declaration of Absence can be submitted for two separate absences, up to three days each, per course per
term. For a 9-credit hour workshop, a Student Declaration of Absence
can be submitted for a single such absence.
For long-term absences of more than three consecutive days, a
student should follow the same procedure and contact their course
instructor within five calendar days after the last day of the absence.
Documentation from an on-campus or other health care professional
is required to support a long-term absence and should describe how
the medical condition affects the student’s ability to fulfill academic
requirements.
A student experiencing a long-term absence, or more than two short-term
absences, is encouraged to meet with the Journalism School’s
Undergraduate or Graduate Coordinator, or the School Director.
Ethical Conduct
All students are expected to familiarize themselves with the School’s Handbook of Professional Practice and abide by its ethical standards.
Fair & Inclusive Conduct
All students in the School of Journalism should feel they are participants in a respectful, fair and safe learning environment. Classrooms, newsrooms and online course delivery systems are spaces where everyone should feel welcomed and supported. The School expects students, staff and faculty to abide by the highest standards of collegial learning.
The University has policies, procedures and resources to guide students’ experience, whether in a class or as part of a reporting assignment. If you are concerned about your learning environment you may take a range of steps to initiate a discussion or a process:
Meet with the Course Instructor: You are encouraged to discuss concerns about a particular course first with the instructor. This instructor may be able to address concerns informally. Such concerns may relate to grading, course content, interpersonal issues with other students, or any other issue. The instructor may also direct you to other resources within the University. If you have an unresolved issue with an instructor, you can also:
- Appeal a final grade in a course by filing a Request for Reassessment of Final Grade.
- Provide written comment on an instructor in the Student Ratings of Instruction, distributed near the end of the course. Evaluations are reviewed by the Director each year and used in tenure and promotion decisions for Faculty.
Meet with the Journalism School Director: The Director welcomes any comment on the experiences of students within the School. Concerns may be addressed informally — especially as they relate to the curriculum, academic environment and interpersonal issues. The Director may refer students with more specific or serious concerns to individual policies, procedures and resources of the University. Inclusion and respect for others are key values of the School. An experience of racism, intolerance or inequitable treatment will typically prompt co-operation between the Director and the Equity Officer in working toward immediate and longer-term resolutions.
- Write a letter to the School Director to express a strong concern about an experience in the School. The Director may bring it to a meeting of Journalism Faculty and will keep the letter on file.
Meet with the Equity Officer: King’s Equity Officer is available for consultation on any issue concerning equity, diversity, inclusion, discrimination and harassment. The officer administers the Policy and Procedures for Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment, found in the Yellow Book. If you have concerns about your experience in the School, you are encouraged to seek advice and assistance from the officer, who also receives complaints and administers the process for resolution under the policy. This policy is part of the University Code of Conduct, also found in the Yellow Book, which governs conduct by all members of the University community. The Equity Officer is Rhema Ferguson <rhema.ferguson@ukings.ca>
Meet with the Sexualized Violence Prevention and Response Officer: The SVPRO provides support around experiences of sexualized violence and administers King’s Sexualized Violence Policy. This support is confidential and can include informal discussion, academic accommodations, and assistance with disclosures and reports. All decisions regarding disclosure of sexualized violence are in the hands of the individual disclosing. Academic accommodations may be available to those who do not wish to make a formal report. The SVPRO is also available if you are supporting someone who has experienced sexualized violence. The SVPRO is Jordan Roberts <jordan.roberts@ukings.ca>, 902 229-6123.
Review the School’s Safety Guidelines: The School’s Handbook of Professional Practice contains safety guidelines for physical safety while reporting. To do journalism well, you must sometimes be uncomfortable, but you should never be unsafe. If you run into trouble or if you feel a situation might put your or others’ personal safety at risk, call your instructor right away.
Contacting the Police
Journalism students must talk to their instructor before they contact Halifax Regional Police or RCMP. On approval of their request, they must send the police an email from their official school account that is cc’d to their instructor.
Academic Integrity
At King’s, we are guided in all of our work by the values of academic integrity:
honesty, trust, fairness, responsibility and respect. As a student, you are required to
demonstrate these values in all of the work you do. Plagiarism — stealing someone else’s work and presenting it as your own — is a form of academic fraud and unethical journalism. The most common instance involves copying material from the internet without attributing it. If you have any doubt about proper citation for an academic paper or proper attribution in a piece of journalism, contact your instructor. For more information, consult p. 34 of King’s academic calendar.
Accessibility
Students may request accommodation as a result of barriers to inclusion related to disability, religious obligation, or any characteristic under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. If you experience barriers related to the design, instruction, and/or experiences within this course please contact the Student Accessibility Centre. Please note that a classroom may contain specialized furniture and equipment. It is important that these items remain in the classroom, untouched, so that students who require them will be able to participate in the class.
Appeals
Disputes over academic performance and assessment will be dealt with according to the Academic Regulations of the School of Journalism. For more information, see p. 42 of King’s Academic Calendar.
Investigative Journalism Examples
CAJ Data Journalism finalists – 2021
Valérie Ouellet, Naël Shiab, Sylvène Gilchrist
White men make up a third of Canada’s population but a majority of MPs — here’s why
CBC News Investigative Unit / Radio-Canada
Analysis of candidacies during Canadian federal elections
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/info/codesource/code-ouvert/2021/elections/candidatures/analysis.nb.html
Dataset on the Demographics of Canadian Federal Election Candidates (2008-2019)
https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/MI5XQ6
Sample candidates dataset
John Rieti, Angelina King, Katie Swyers, James Wattie
State of Our Schools
CBC News – Toronto
Sample schools dataset
Robyn Doolittle, Chen Wang, Tavia Grant
The Power Gap
The Globe and Mail
Sample salaries dataset
Tai Huynh
COVID-19 infection and vaccinations
The Local, Toronto
Kenyon Wallace, Ed Tubb, Brendan Kennedy
Making sense of COVID-19 data
Toronto Star
Toronto Star long-term-care analysis.xlsx
Toronto Star long-term-care analysis – Google Sheets
2021 Philip Meyer Award winners
The Wall Street Journal – How Tik Tok Figures You Out (first place)
Inside TikTok’s Algorithm: A WSJ Video Investigation – WSJ
The Wall Street Journal’s application form with story links and explanations of methodology
QUESTIONNAIRE_TikTok_WSJ.pdf
http://www.davidmckie.com/PRIMARY_TikTok_WSJ.pdf
The Palm Beach Post – ProPublica – Black Snow: Big Sugar’s Burning Problem (second place)
http://www.davidmckie.com/PBP_PP_BlackSnow_MeyerQuestionnaire.pdf
PBP_PP_BlackSnow_MeyerPrimaryMaterials.pdf
Asbury Park Press and ProPublica – “Gilded Badges: How New Jersey Cops Profit From Police Unions and Avoid Accountability” (third place)
APP_PP_GildedBadges_MeyerQuestionnaire.pdf
APP_PP_GildedBadges_MeyerPrimaryMaterials.pdf
Sigma Award winners 2022
The Sigma Awards Projects Database
https://sigmaawards.org/projects/
General investigations
The Smoke Comes Every Year. Sugar Companies Say the Air Is Safe.
https://projects.propublica.org/black-snow/
Stories from Black Snow: Big Sugar’s Burning Problem
http://www.davidmckie.com/PBP_PP_BlackSnow_MeyerPrimaryMaterials.pdf
Addressing Rape in Four Minutes or Less: Dating App Reps Left Unprepared to Respond to Assault Victims
https://bit.ly/3GrXD1X
Thousands of suspected injuries tied to breast implants revealed in manufacturer data dump, CBC analysis finds
https://bit.ly/3fpVVlM
“THEGRAVEYARDDOESN’T LIE”
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/texas-winter-storm-power-outage-death-toll
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nOcPZRrrS8j24-O0IHyPzbaCfjmBRreP/view?usp=sharing
Bias behind bars: A Globe investigation finds a prison system stacked against Black and Indigenous inmates
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-investigation-racial-bias-in-canadian-prison-risk-assessments/
How we did it: How The Globe uncovered systemic bias in prisoners’ risk assessments
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-investigation-racial-bias-in-canadian-prisons-methodology/
Toronto Star/National Observer: Generation Distress
https://ijb.utoronto.ca/projects/generation-distress/
Clean water broken promises
https://www.nationalobserver.com/tags/clean-water-broken-promises
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/cbdc979bf27642bfba51689ca3c180e8
Decades after mercury poisoned the water, Grassy Narrows still searches for answers
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/06/16/decades-after-mercury-poisoned-water-grassy-narrows-searches-answers
Decades-old water pollution ravaged the health of 2 Ontario First Nations. Elders are still fighting for justice
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/09/02/water-pollution-ontario-first-nations-elders-environmental-justice
How an Ontario paper mill poisoned nearby First Nations
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/09/01/how-ontario-paper-mill-poisoned-nearby-first-nations
Access to information – formal and informal
Completed Access to Information Requests
https://open.canada.ca/en/search/ati?_ga=2.69692565.406018153.1536604353-1818651053.1522773341
Question Period Notes
https://search.open.canada.ca/qpnotes/
Briefing Note Titles and Numbers
https://search.open.canada.ca/briefingt/
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinators
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/atip-aiprp/apps/coords/index-eng.asp
Information about programs and holdings
https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hgw-cgf/oversight-surveillance/atip-aiprp/ai/sfgei-srgfff-eng.asp#A
Access to Information: general info
https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hgw-cgf/oversight-surveillance/atip-aiprp/ai/index-eng.asp
Access to Information request forms
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/tbsf-fsct/350-57_e.asp
Make an access to information or personal information request
https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/access-information-privacy/access-information/request-information.html
epost Connect
https://www.canadapost.ca/cpc/en/business/postal-services/digital-mail/epost-connect.page
PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES
Alberta
http://www.servicealberta.ca/foip/
British Columbia
Main: http://www.gov.bc.ca/citz/iao/foi/
Completed requests:
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/search?id=4BAD1D13C68243D1960FECBBF7B8B091
Manitoba
Main: http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/fippa/
Completed requests: https://www.manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/fippa.html
Proactive disclosure:
https://www.manitoba.ca/openmb/index.html
https://manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/departments/index.html
New Brunswick
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/finance/office_of_the_chief_information_officer/content/rti.html
Newfoundland and Labrador
Main: http://www.atipp.gov.nl.ca/info/accessrequestform.html
Completed requests: http://atipp-search.gov.nl.ca/
Northwest Territories
https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/access-to-information-held-by-public-bodies/
Nova Scotia
Info: http://novascotia.ca/is/programs-and-services/information-access-and-privacy.asp
File a request online: https://iaprequest.novascotia.ca/
Completed requests: https://beta.novascotia.ca/search-previously-released-information-freedom-information-and-protection-privacy-foipop-request
The Right to Know Coalition of Nova Scotia
http://www.nsrighttoknow.ca/
Nunavut
http://www.gov.nu.ca/eia/information/how-place-atipp-request
Ontario
https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-make-freedom-information-request
Prince Edward Island
https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/justice-and-public-safety/freedom-information-and-protection-privacy-foipp
Quebec
Main: http://www.cai.gouv.qc.ca/english/
Yukon
Main: http://www.atipp.gov.yk.ca/
Completed requests: https://open.yukon.ca/data/sites/default/files/20200800-Release.pdf
CITIES
Calgary
https://www.calgary.ca/CA/city-clerks/Pages/Information-Access-Privacy/FOIP-request.aspx
Information disclosure: https://www.calgary.ca/ca/city-clerks/legislative-services/confidential-information-release.html
Edmonton
http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/city_organization/freedom-of-information-and-privacy.aspx
Fredericton
http://www.fredericton.ca/en/right-to-information-and-protection-of-privacy
Halifax Regional Municipality http://www.halifax.ca/AccessPrivacy/index.php
Completed requests: https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/accountability-transparency/access-information/completed-requests
Hamilton
http://www.hamilton.ca/CityDepartments/CorporateServices/Clerks/MFIPPA_adn_PHIPA.htm
Moncton
https://www.moncton.ca/my-govt-work/right-information-and-protection-privacy-act
Montreal
http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=5798,39687582&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Ottawa
Main: http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/your-city-government/access-information-and-privacy
Completed requests: https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/accountability-and-transparency/accountability-framework/freedom-information-and-protection-privacy/disclosure-mfippa-requests
Regina
Main: https://www.regina.ca/city-government/administration/office-of-the-city-clerk/#outline-access-to-information-and-protection-of-privacy
Completed requests: http://open.regina.ca/group/freedom-of-information
Saskatoon
https://www.saskatoon.ca/city-hall/send-comments-concerns-city/freedom-information
Completed requests: https://open.toronto.ca/dataset/freedom-of-information-requests-summary/
Vancouver
Main: http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/foi/index.htm
Completed requests: http://vancouver.ca/your-government/information-released-through-foi-requests-this-year.aspx
Winnipeg
Main: http://winnipeg.ca/clerks/fippa/
Completed requests: http://winnipeg.ca/clerks/fippa/AccessToInfo.stm
A shopping list of key records to obtain through a access-to-information request
20 records you can get using the federal Access to Information Act
1. RECORD: Ministerial briefing notes. DEPARTMENT: All departments. ASK FOR: All briefing notes prepared specifically to help the new minister become acquainted with his/her new portfolio. HINT: Make this request a week or two after a new cabinet is named. RESULT: Yields wide range of information about a department’s plans/activities.
2. RECORD: Expense claims. DEPARTMENT: All departments/agencies. ASK FOR: Receipts, invoices and guest lists detailing travel and hospitality expenses claimed by a deputy minister or other senior bureaucrat that are more detailed than the ones you’ll find in the information federal institutions are obliged to file on line. HINT: Limit request to no more than one year’s worth of claims.RESULT: Can reveal spending habits and establish dates of key meetings, dealings. Remember former federal heritage minister Bev Oda’s $16-dollar glass of orange juice!
3. RECORD: Correspondence. DEPARTMENT: All departments/agencies. ASK FOR: Correspondence with a minister or agency head on a topic of interest. HINT: Frame request narrowly. For instance, exclude letters from the public if you do not require them. RESULT: Can uncover letters from provincial premiers, lobby groups.
4. RECORD: House cards. DEPARTMENT: All departments. ASK FOR: All cards prepared for the minister in the House of Commons on a specific issue. HINT: Watch headlines, Commons debates for ideas. RESULT: Often contain much more detail, background than revealed in Question Period.
5. RECORD: Material on possible legislation. DEPARTMENT: All departments. ASK FOR: Records concerning possible legislation or other initiatives on a given issue. HINT: Limit request to cover the last year to ensure currency of material. RESULT: Provides insight into initiatives that might be in pipeline, and reasons why the initiatives might (or might not) proceed.
6. RECORD: Meeting minutes. DEPARTMENT: All departments/agencies. ASK FOR: Minutes from the two most recent meetings of a specific committee. HINT: Make calls to find out meeting schedules and whether minutes are kept. RESULT: Can aid in understanding internal policy debates and decisions.
7. RECORD: Audits. DEPARTMENT: All departments, most agencies. ASK FOR: Audits and evaluations completed by or for the department/agency on specific subjects in the last year. HINT: Ask department informally for list of audits conducted in the last year. RESULT: Audits often reveal shortcomings in programs, policies.
8. RECORD: Polls. DEPARTMENT: All departments, but especially Privy Council Office. ASK FOR: Polls conducted for the department on a given subject. HINT: Some (but not all) polls are released informally. RESULT: Can reveal public attitudes towards government policies.
9. RECORD: Contract information. DEPARTMENT: All departments. ASK FOR: A copy of the contract for a specific project such as the federal government’s beleaguered Phoenix pay system. HINT: Public Services and Procurement Canada administers many contracts, including Phoenix. RESULT: Reveals details of financial arrangements with private companies.
10. RECORD: Responses to discussion papers. DEPARTMENT: Any department that publishes consultation/discussion paper. ASK FOR:Copies of all submissions in response to the department’s paper. HINT: Put in request just after cut-off date for submissions. Only narrow request if certain submissions are required. RESULT: Reveals views of wide cross-section of groups on pressing issues.
11. RECORD: Contracted studies. DEPARTMENT: Privy Council Office. ASK FOR: Specific studies, research conducted for PCO. HINT: Ask informally for list of studies, which is updated regularly. RESULT: Yields advice prepared for government on unity, security, parliamentary affairs and other key issues.
12. RECORD: 20-year-old cabinet documents. DEPARTMENT: Privy Council Office. ASK FOR: Cabinet records on a specific issue. HINT:Check almanac for noteworthy past events. RESULT: Meeting minutes reveal thinking of ministers on issues. (Cabinet documents routinely become public only after 30 years).
13. RECORD: Prime Minister’s email. DEPARTMENT: Privy Council Office. ASK FOR: E-mail sent to the Prime Minister by visitors to his website. HINT: Limit request to a one-week period. RESULT: Names of correspondents are deleted, but letters yield an interesting mix of feedback, including light-hearted, angry and thoughtful correspondence.
14. RECORD: Criminal intelligence briefs. AGENCY: RCMP. ASK FOR: Criminal intelligence briefs prepared during the last six months. HINT:Make time-frame the last couple of years if you are seeking a brief on a specific subject. RESULT: Briefs cover issues such as aboriginal militancy, drug trade and smuggling.
15. RECORD: Incident reports. AGENCY: RCMP. ASK FOR: Incident report on a specific event. HINT: Broaden request to include other records if incident is a prolonged one, such as a standoff. RESULT: Can help explain police decision-making.
16. RECORD: Lessons learned. DEPARTMENT: National Defence. ASK FOR: “Lessons learned” from major military missions. HINT: Wait a month or two after mission is complete. RESULT: Provides evaluation of peacekeeping tours and other assignments.
17. RECORD: UFO reports. DEPARTMENT: Transport. ASK FOR: Reports of unidentified flying objects filed by the public. HINT: UFO reports are also often filed with Defence and RCMP. RESULT: Names of people who make reports are deleted, but other details can be released.
18. RECORD: Observer reports. DEPARTMENT: Fisheries. ASK FOR: Observer reports prepared for the department. HINTS: Limit request to specific geographic area and time frame. RESULTS: Can provide details about operations of foreign vessels.
19. RECORD: SIRC reports. AGENCY: Security Intelligence Review Committee. ASK FOR: Specific reports prepared by committee on CSIS activities. HINT: Reports are listed in back of committee’s annual report. RESULT: Reports, though heavily edited, provide check on spy agency CSIS.
20. RECORD: CRTC debriefing notes. AGENCY: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. ASK FOR: Debriefing notes prepared in connection with a specific licensing hearing. HINT: Make request shortly after licence decision is made. RESULT: Can provide behind-the-scenes reasoning on why TV, radio licences are granted or denied.
Ten ways to improve your searches
1. Look to the headlines for ideas.
2. Check the relevant federal websites for forms, contacts, info on departmental holdings.
3. Call the access co-ordinator before making your request.
4. Call the co-ordinator after submitting your request.
5. Make similar requests to more than one department, agency or government.
6. Keep a photocopy or scan of each request and attach all return correspondence.
7. Negotiate with departments, agencies or governments.
8. Be persistent. If necessary, complain.
9. Read and re-read the records you receive carefully.
10. Don’t get discouraged.
Resources
Dean Beeby’s access-to-information tipsheet.pdf
Click here to see an example of an access-to-information request.
Click here to see freedom-of-information requests to E-Comm 9-1-1
Click here to see freedom-of-information request to WorkSafe BC
Canadian Access to Information News Story Index
http://www.canadafoi.ca/atianewsintro.pdf
To download the PowerPoint on the same topic, please click here.
Open data
Prioritizing youth in Canada’s fall economic update is a good start
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/11/22/opinion/prioritizing-youth-canada-fall-economic-update-good-start
Open data portals
http://www.davidmckie.com/open-data-portals/
Proactive disclosures
https://open.canada.ca/en/proactive-disclosure
Federal mandate letters
https://pm.gc.ca/en/mandate-letters
Statistics Canada tables
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/type/data
Canadian Institute for Health Information
https://www.cihi.ca/en
Provinces and territories
B.C.
http://www.openinfo.gov.bc.ca/ibc/index.page?
http://www.data.gov.bc.ca/
Alberta
http://data.alberta.ca/
Saskatchewan Open Data
http://www.opendatask.ca/
Manitoba
https://www.gov.mb.ca/openmb/index.html
Ontario
http://www.ontario.ca/government/open-data-ontario
Québec Ouvert (les données ouvertes pour le Québec)
http://quebecouvert.org/
New Brunswick
https://gnb.socrata.com/
Nova Scotia
https://data.novascotia.ca/
Newfoundland and Labrador
http://open.gov.nl.ca/
Prince Edward Island
https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/search/site/?f%5B0%5D=type%3Aservice&f%5B1%5D=field_service_topics%3A2237
Yukon
https://open.yukon.ca/data/
Northwest Territories
https://www.opennwt.ca/
Nunavut
https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset?keywords=Nunavut&page=1
Cities
Edmonton
http://data.edmonton.ca/
Halifax
https://www.halifax.ca/home/open-data
Fredericton
http://www.fredericton.ca/en/open-data
Mississauga
http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/residents/mississaugadata
Montreal
https://donnees-montreal-ca.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
SANTÉ MONTRÉAL
https://santemontreal.qc.ca/en/public/coronavirus-covid-19/situation-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-in-montreal/#c41383
Oakville
http://oakville.ca/data/
Saskatoon
http://opendata-saskatoon.cloudapp.net/
Ottawa
http://data.ottawa.ca/en/?page=1
Ottawa – Daily COVID-19 Dashboard
https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/reports-research-and-statistics/daily-covid19-dashboard.aspx
Toronto
https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/data-research-maps/open-data/open-data-catalogue/
Toronto – COVID-19: Pandemic Data
https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-pandemic-data/
Saint John
http://catalogue-saintjohn.opendata.arcgis.com/
St. John’s
http://www.stjohns.ca/event/open-data
Vancouver
https://opendata.vancouver.ca/pages/home/
Winnipeg
https://data.winnipeg.ca/
http://www.mbcdp.ca/local-data-portals.html
Financial public records: Public accounts, budgets, annual reports
Public Accounts of Canada
https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/cpc-pac/index-eng.html
Nova Scotia Public Accounts
https://beta.novascotia.ca/public-accounts
Nova Scotia Health Authority public accounts uploaded to DocumentCloud
https://notices.novascotia.ca/files/public-accounts/2020/nova-scotia-health-authority.pdf
Federal Public Accounts
https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/350b4f13-d84a-4e94-b221-1109dc00ab39
Federal Public Accounts – PDF format
https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/301/public_accounts_can/pdf/index.html
Federal Public Accounts – Volume one
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21562922-2021-vol1-eng-1
Federal Public Accounts – Volume two
https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20493462-p51-1-2020-2-eng
Federal Public Accounts – Corrections to Volume two
https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20493460-erratum-vol2-org-415-416-418-419-eng
Federal Public Accounts – Volume three
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20493461-p51-1-2020-3-eng
COVID-19 wage and rent subsidies for businesses
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/wage-rent-subsidies.html
Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/bsf-osb.nsf/eng/home
Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (username and password creation)
https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/registration-inscription/home.html?lang=eng
Bankruptcy
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inbsf-osb.nsf/en/home
Tutorial for conducting bankruptcy searches
CCAA records list
https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/bsf-osb.nsf/eng/h_br02281.html
Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) Records List
https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/92697343-d36d-4427-a1a8-ebac6b2725cc
List of charities and certain other qualified donees – basic search
https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/hacc/srch/pub/dsplyBscSrch?request_locale=en
Week one
Class recordings:
Feb 22, 2023, King’s Investigative Workshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr4WZJWlvEY
Feb 23, 2023, King’s Investigative Workshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQOFFs7hopw
Fiera Foods' setup, according to the CRA, involved an opaque web of 13 temp agencies, middle men, cash chequing joints, and hundreds of temp workers — some of whom earned less than minimum wage:https://t.co/cnplh02c8H
— Sara Mojtehedzadeh (@SaraMojtehedz) February 19, 2023
A web of temp agencies. Millions in tax refunds. Inside a ‘murky’ arrangement pitting the CRA against one of the GTA’s most notorious factories
https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2023/02/18/a-web-of-temp-agencies-millions-in-tax-refunds-inside-a-murky-arrangement-pitting-the-cra-against-one-of-the-gtas-most-notorious-factories.html
A web of temp agencies. Millions in tax refunds. Inside a ‘murky’ arrangement pitting the CRA against one of the GTA’s most notorious factories
http://www.davidmckie.com/Star investigation into Fiera Foods.pdf
Undercover Temp Nation story was a year in the making
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVF1-NjDjB0
The truth about essential work | Sara Mojtehedzadeh | TEDxToronto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu8HofI0QlM
Fiera Foods Company
https://www.fierafoods.com/
Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLii)
https://www.canlii.org/en/
Canada’s inflation rate slowed to 5.9% in January
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-inflation-january-1.6754818
Affordability Index
https://youthfulcities.com/urban-indexes/rai-2022/
Census Program Data Wiewer
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/dv-vd/cpdv-vdpr/index-eng.cfm
Census Profile – 2021
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E
Census Profile, 2016 Census
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E
Consumer Price Index visualization tool
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/2018016/cpilg-ipcgl-eng.htm
Consumer Price Index frequently asked questions
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22672133-consumer-price-index-frequently-asked-questions
The eight major components in the Consumer Price Index
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22672133-consumer-price-index-frequently-asked-questions#document/p1/a2199262
Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions
https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/dai/btd/sad-faq
Consumer price index portal
https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects-start/prices_and_price_indexes/consumer_price_indexes
Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/14-20-0001/142000012018001-eng.htm
Population estimates, quarterly
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1710000901
Population estimates on July 1st, by age and sex
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710000501
Investment status of residential properties
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=4610007001
Nova Scotia
Info: http://novascotia.ca/is/programs-and-services/information-access-and-privacy.asp
File a request online: https://iaprequest.novascotia.ca/
Completed requests: https://openinformation.novascotia.ca/
Halifax Regional Municipality: https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/accountability-transparency/access-information
Completed requests: https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/accountability-transparency/access-information/completed-requests
Open Data Portal
https://open.canada.ca/en/open-data
Bank of Canada
https://www.bankofcanada.ca/
https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2023/01/fad-press-release-2023-01-25/
Statistics Canada’s data tables
Prioritizing youth in Canada’s fall economic update is a good start
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/11/22/opinion/prioritizing-youth-canada-fall-economic-update-good-start
Prioritizing youth in Canada’s fall economic update is a good start (PDF version)
Affordability Index
https://youthfulcities.com/urban-indexes/rai-2022/
Best Cities for Youth to Work in Canada
https://youthfulcities.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/WorkIndex_EN_May10PM_Reduced.pdf
Bank of Canada might need to raise rates if companies keep raising prices, Macklem warns
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/inflation-family-column-don-pittis-1.6750879
Loblaw financial filing uploaded to DocumentCloud
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23317723-loblaw-interim-financial-statement-filed-nov-12-2020
Employee wages by industry, annual
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410006401
Nova Scotia grocery stores put to the test for the lowest prices
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2174604355567
Ottawa paid out more than $37-billion in pandemic wage subsidies to businesses with tax debts
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-cews-pandemic-wage-subsidy-spending-government/
Ottawa paid out more than $37-billion in pandemic wage subsidies to businesses with tax debts
Parliament of Canada
https://www.parl.ca/
House of Commons Public Accounts Committee
https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/PACP?parl=41&session=1
Auditor General Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy report
https://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/osh_20211213_e_43981.html
CEWS Registry Results
https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/habs/cews/srch/pub/fllLstSrh
Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy
https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/office-superintendent-bankruptcy/en
Tutorial for conducting bankruptcy searches
Employee wages by industry, annual1, 2
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410006401
Rental Market Survey Data Tables
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-data/data-tables/rental-market/rental-market-report-data-tables
Undergraduate tuition fees, Canadian students, by selected standard geographic areas and by field of study
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3710012001
Week two
Feb 27, 2023, King’s Investigative Workshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvSPjVtgFtg
Feb 28, 2023, King’s Investigative Workshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UO_avBcC1Q
March 1, 2023, King’s Investigative Workshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHLMuhs-4nk
Links
Uploading documents to DocumentCloud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_d0zsw6hhQ&feature=youtu.be
Statistics Canada’s data tables
Quarterly balance sheet, income statement and selected financial ratios, by non-financial industries, non seasonally adjusted
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3310022501
Quarterly balance sheet, income statement and selected financial ratios, by financial industries, non seasonally adjusted (x 1,000,000)
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3310022701
Undistributed corporation profits (x 1,000,000)
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3610011701
Gross domestic product, income-based, quarterly (x 1,000,000)
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3610010301
Only a fraction of CEBA loans have been repaid as businesses call for deadline extension
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ceba-loan-repayments-deadline-extension-1.6759630
Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted – by CMAs
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1810000401
Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy
https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/office-superintendent-bankruptcy/en
Tutorial for conducting bankruptcy searches
Consumer Price Index and Inflation Perceptions
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23692126-consumer-price-index-and-inflation-perceptions
real-affordability-index-2022_updated.xlsx
Completed Access to Information Requests
https://open.canada.ca/en/search/ati?_ga=2.69692565.406018153.1536604353-1818651053.1522773341
Question Period Notes
https://search.open.canada.ca/qpnotes/
Nova Scotia
Info: http://novascotia.ca/is/programs-and-services/information-access-and-privacy.asp
File a request online: https://iaprequest.novascotia.ca/
Completed requests: https://beta.novascotia.ca/search-previously-released-information-freedom-information-and-protection-privacy-foipop-request
Newfoundland and Labrador
Main: http://www.atipp.gov.nl.ca/info/accessrequestform.html
Completed requests: http://atipp-search.gov.nl.ca/
Parliament of Canada
https://www.parl.ca/
Nova Scotia Hansard debates
https://nslegislature.ca/legislative-business/hansard-debates
Pitching story board
bit.ly/nicar20pitch
Selected indicators of quality of life in Canada
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2022007-eng.htm
Estimates of the components of interprovincial migration, by age and sex, annual
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710001501
Week three
Consumer Price Index and Inflation Perceptions in Canada: Can measurement approaches or behavioural factors explain the gap?https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/62f0014m/62f0014m2021017-eng.htm
CPI report uploaded to DocumentCloud
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23692126-consumer-price-index-and-inflation-perceptions
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23692126-consumer-price-index-and-inflation-perceptions#document/p6/a2216546
Master table for wages, inflation and housing
Affordability index folder on Google drive
Industry groups by class of worker including job permanency, labour force status, age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810044801
Nova Scotia Property Online
https://novascotia.ca/sns/access/land/property-online.asp
Registry of Joint Stock Companies
https://beta.novascotia.ca/programs-and-services/registry-joint-stock-companies
Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy
https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/office-superintendent-bankruptcy/en
Residential Standards Violations
https://catalogue-hrm.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/HRM::residential-standards-violations/explore
Nova Scotia Power fails to meet renewable power mandate, faces potential $10 million fine
Nova Scotia Power fails to meet renewable power mandate, faces potential $10 million fine – Halifax Examiner
A chance to get answers on soaring grocery costs (Toronto Star editorial).pdf
Loblaw fourth-quarter results uploaded to DocumentCloud
Supermarkets continue to increase profits on back of inflation, data shows.pdf
Amid high inflation, MPs should push grocer CEOs to disclose margins on food: experts
https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2023/03/07/amid-high-inflation-mps-should-push-grocer-ceos-to-disclose-margins-on-food-experts/#.ZAcl83bMJPa
Inflation Pressures
https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/inflation-pressures.html
Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E
Grocery store CEOs will face questions on food prices at Commons committee today
https://ottawa.citynews.ca/local-news/grocery-store-ceos-will-face-questions-on-food-prices-at-commons-committee-today-6664911
Grocery CEOs deny accusations that food price inflation is driven by profit-mongering
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/grocery-store-ceos-questions-on-food-prices-at-commons-committee-1.6303774
‘It is simply not true’ — Grocery CEOs push back at price-gouging allegations
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-poilievre-far-right-meeting-1.6772366
Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food
https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/AGRI
Loblaw news release
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23698751-english-loblaw-2022-q4-news-release
Loblaw 2022 annual report
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23693708-english-loblaw-2022-annual-report#document/p4/a2215037
Loblaw executive compensation
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23314994-loblaw-may-5-2022-management-proxy-circular#document/p77/a2175927
Citing risks in Loblaw’s management discussion and analysis filing
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23698746-english-loblaw-2022-mda#document/p37/a2217184
Revenue statement in Loblaw 2022 third-quarter report
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23317678-loblaw-interim-financial-statement-filed-nov-16-2022#document/p2/a2175963
House of Commons committees
https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/Home
House of Commons committee meetings
https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/Meetings
ParlVu (Watching House of Commons committees online)
https://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony
Parliamentary committee grills grocery chain CEOs over high food prices, soaring profits
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/03/09/news/grocery-chain-ceos-agriculture-committee-food-prices-profits
Restaurants Canada calls on federal government to adopt phased approach to CEBA repayment
https://www.cbj.ca/restaurants-canada-calls-on-federal-government-to-adopt-phased-approach-to-ceba-repayment/
Week four
Advocacy, community groups track hate in Canada when law enforcement fails us
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/03/10/investigations/tracking-hate-crime-incidents-canada
The hidden hate on campus: We tracked incidents at colleges and universities and found a growing problem
https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2023/03/10/the-hidden-hate-on-campus-we-tracked-incidents-at-colleges-and-universities-and-found-a-growing-problem.html
Sense of meaning and purpose by gender and other selected sociodemographic characteristics
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1310084601
Natural Resources Briefing note on the province’s elecricity costs
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23706891-natural-resources-canada-march-13-2023-formal-release-of-briefing-note-re-deputy-minister-meeting-on-the-atlantic-loop_2022-00342
Week Five
University students forced out of Halifax apartment worry about steep housing costs
https://globalnews.ca/news/9560711/dalhousie-students-renters-halifax-fixed-rate-loophole/
N.S. housing crisis: How the fixed-term lease ‘loophole’ can be ‘easily abused’
https://globalnews.ca/news/9145023/ns-fixed-term-lease-loophole/
Age (in single years), average age and median age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions, census subdivisions and dissemination areas
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810002301
What’s my money worth?
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/features/2022/inflation-calculator/
Labour Force Survey: Public Use Microdata File
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71m0001x/71m0001x2021001-eng.htm
From bubble to boom? New report shows economic momentum in Atlantic Canada
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/from-bubble-to-boom-new-report-shows-economic-momentum-in-atlantic-canada-1.6782002
Ontario Living Wage Network
https://www.ontariolivingwage.ca/
Nova Scotia expected to table budget today with focus on health care – again
https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/nova-scotia-expected-to-table-budget-today-with-focus-on-health-care-again-1.6325224
Age (in single years), average age and median age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions, census subdivisions and dissemination areas
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=9810002301
Centre for Municipal and Local Data
https://www159.statcan.gc.ca/index-eng.htm
https://twitter.com/StatCan_eng/status/1638933785671798784?t=ms83jVBAvnMLFzuKx8MyIA&s=19
2021 Census – Boundary files
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/geo/sip-pis/boundary-limites/index2021-eng.cfm?Year=21
Week Six
Millennials dominate insolvencies as credit card, student loan, CERB tax debts add up
https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/millennials-dominate-insolvencies-as-credit-card-student-loan-cerb-tax-debts-add-up
Age (in single years), average age and median age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions, census subdivisions and dissemination areas
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=9810002301
Census Program Data Viewer
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/dv-vd/cpdv-vdpr/index-eng.cfm
Halifax 15-29 – median income – Census 2021
http://www.davidmckie.com/36898-2/
Expert insight: Young adult Canadians who live alone more likely to struggle with unaffordable housing
https://news.westernu.ca/2023/03/expert-insight-canadian-young-adults-who-live-alone-more-likely-to-struggle-with-unaffordable-housing/
CMHC’s National Housing Strategy — young adults among the most in need
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/nhs/guidepage-strategy/priority-areas-for-action
CMHC National Housing Strategy– a general description
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/nhs/guidepage-strategy
Kate H. Choi, Director of the Centre for Research on Social Inequality at Western
https://www.katehchoi.com/research
Young people in Halifax mapped in Tableau story
http://www.davidmckie.com/37066-2/
Poverty rate in Nova Scotia
https://novascotia.ca/finance/statistics/archive_news.asp?id=18263&dg=&df=&dto=0&dti=3
The Current – CBC Radio
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/wednesday-march-29-2023-episode-transcript-1.6795420
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23733106-wednesday-march-29-2023-episode-transcript-_-cbc-radio
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23733106-wednesday-march-29-2023-episode-transcript-_-cbc-radio#document/p8/a2234918
Annual demographic estimates, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations: Interactive dashboard
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2020003-eng.htm
Population estimates, July 1, by census metropolitan area and census agglomeration, 2016 boundaries
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710013501
Annual Demographic Estimates: Subprovincial Areas, July 1, 2022
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/91-214-x/91-214-x2023001-eng.htm