In the news today: ATIP reform, winter accessibility issues, throwback posts train AI

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Openness advocates unimpressed by early proposals for Access to Information reform

Advocates of more federal transparency are concerned that a federal review of the Access to Information regime will not fix long-standing problems — and could even make things worse.

The Treasury Board Secretariat announced last June a mandatory review of the law, which allows people to request federal documents ranging from internal emails to policy memos.

A draft discussion paper prepared by the Treasury Board acknowledges shortcomings, such as no documentation about government decisions, systematic declassification of historical records and particular problems obtaining records related to Indigenous affairs.

James Turk, with the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University, says it gives him “no comfort whatsoever” that the discussion paper acknowledges problems with the access regime — issues that have been on the table for decades.

Carney skips question period on Parliament’s first day back, meets with Premier Ford

On the first day back in Parliament following the holiday break, Prime Minister Mark Carney — fresh off a globe-hopping mission to secure new investment — ducked out of question period to meet with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Earlier Monday, Carney visited an Ottawa grocery store to announce a 25 per cent hike to the GST credit to help lower-income families deal with the high cost of groceries.

Ford, whose province has been hit hard by tariffs on autos from the U-S, said the pair met in Toronto to discuss how to build a stronger and more independent Canadian economy.

Carney has circled the globe in an effort to strengthen the economy amid American tariffs on key sectors — a travel schedule targeted by the Conservatives, who have accused the prime minister of spending more time abroad than on fixing the affordability crisis at home.

‘A huge problem’: Toronto snowstorm highlights accessibility issues, disability advocates say

Disability advocates are calling for more accessibility support after a snowstorm over the weekend that dumped over 50 centimetres in the Greater Toronto Area. 

David Lepofsky, a retired lawyer and disability rights advocate who is blind, says while he understands clearing that much can be complicated, more should be done to support people like him.

Rabia Khedr, with the advocacy group Disability Without Poverty, says snow-clogged roads are especially challenging for people with disabilities who live alone.

Khedr says under the Disabilities Act, the Ontario government is required to enact a set of standards for municipalities to minimize the impact of severe weather events on people with mobility issues — a much-needed move the province hasn’t yet made. 

Why two skulls unearthed in B.C. could be harbingers for future archeological woes

Two ancient human skulls and jawbones found on a property in Kamloops, B.C., last June could be a sign of future archeological headaches.

The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation declared the property owned by Park Place Seniors Living to be a sacred site.

A lawyer for the landowner says her client was asked by the First Nation to pay $80,000 for security, archeological work and a smudging ceremony, but the client has no intention of paying that.

Chief Rosanne Casimir, citing the B.C. Heritage Conservation Act, says owners and developers are responsible for archeological work, but recognizes legislative gaps could leave private owners vulnerable to costs that could discourage reporting archeological finds.

Premier David Eby has said such cases underscore the need for reforming the act, though it’s unclear when changes would happen.

Viral social media trend reminiscing about 2016 a gold mine for AI firms

If you jumped on the recent social media trend of posting photos or videos from 2016, experts say artificial intelligence thanks you.

The high volume of images is a gold mine for anyone needing data to train AI models and their clear labelling makes it even easier to teach the technology how people, places and things change over time.

Nicolas Papernot, an associate professor of computer engineering at the University of Toronto, says it is usually expensive and time-consuming for companies to collect and label data from 2016, but the public is doing the work for them with the posts.

Sarah Saska, CEO of consultancy firm Feminuity, says once a model is trained on the data, it learns how our identities persist or change over time and can be used to track us, identify us and even make fake but believable videos of us.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2026.