Montreal police spied on La Presse journalist Patrick Lagacé

Montreal’s police force is under fire after revelations that investigators spied on a newspaper columnist in order to find out which of its members was leaking information to the media, the Star's Alan Woods reports..

Internal affairs investigators with the Montreal police were able to get a series of warrants that allowed them to see who was calling or being called by journalist Patrick Lagacé.

Some of the warrants also allowed investigators to remotely activate the GPS on his iPhone, meaning his movements could be followed in real time.

It is case so blatant that it has unified normally warring political parties, been denounced by the mayor of Montreal and even sparked a critical tweet from famed American whistleblower Edward Snowden, who knows a thing or two about electronic surveillance.

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CRTC to review differential pricing practices on Internet service

The Globe and Mail's Christine Dobby reports:

"Canada’s telecom regulator will take a close look at its policy on net neutrality as a public hearing begins this week on Internet pricing practices that allow access to certain content for “free” but charge customers regular rates for other data usage.

"The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) kicks off a five-day hearing on Monday at its Gatineau, Que., headquarters, tackling the topic of “differential pricing,” which is when an Internet provider charges one price for customers to access some content and a different price to download or stream other content.

"The proceeding was spurred by multiple complaints over Videotron Ltd.’s Unlimited Music program, which lets subscribers to the Quebec company’s premium wireless plans stream select music services such as Spotify and Google Music without any impact on their monthly data bucket."

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Twitter cuts staff, kills off Vine app amid pressure to grow

Twitter, seemingly unable to find a buyer and losing money, is cutting about 9 percent of its employees worldwide. the Associated Press reports.
It is also killing off Vine, a mobile video app where people share short video clips that play in a loop. While beloved by users and a pioneer in its own right, Vine, which launched in 2013, never took off with the masses and has lost its luster as of late.
Twitter has failed to keep pace with rivals Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram and in recent months, rumors abounded that it would be acquired. In a conference call with analysts on Thursday, CEO Jack Dorsey quickly brushed aside what he called "recent market speculation." He said the company is committed to growing long-term shareholder value, and that he doesn't plan to comment "any further on this topic."
Shares of Twitter, which have tumbled 27 percent in the past month as possible suitors have wandered away, rose 34 cents, or 2 percent, to $17.63 in afternoon trading on Thursday.
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Former director of HR sues CBC, alleging senior management conspired to fire her

The Financial Post reports that a former human resources executive for the CBC has filed a wrongful dismissal suit against the broadcaster, alleging that senior HR staff conspired to fire her while she was on medical leave and that CEO Hubert Lacroix breached his duties in refusing to review the matter, according to court documents.

The suit is one of at least four pending cases against the CBC alleging wrongful dismissal, and reveals allegations of infighting in the HR department in the months following the revelations that several women had publicly accused former CBC star Jian Ghomeshi of sexual abuse and inappropriate workplace behaviour.

Serena Thadani-Anthony served as Executive Director of HR from January 2015 to December 2015 in an interim capacity, after her predecessor Todd Spencer was fired in the wake of the Ghomeshi scandal. She previously served as senior director of HR.

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Corus profit plummets in fourth quarter

The Globe and Mail's James Bradshaw reports that Corus Entertainment Inc. saw its fourth-quarter profit wiped out by a soft advertising market and the continuing cost of merging Shaw Media assets acquired earlier this year into the business.

The results represent the first full quarter with contributions from the media properties Corus bought from Shaw Communications in a $2.65-billion deal earlier this year, and offer a mix of worrisome and hopeful signs.

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