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Internet access in Canada a basic service for all
Canada’s telecom regulator says all Canadians must have access to reliable internet services no matter where they live.
The historic decision by the CRTC means that Canada has now joined a small handful of nations that define high-speed Internet as a basic service for all.
The ruling will be a game-changer for rural remote reserve communities across Canada where Internet access is either unavailable or unaffordable.

Tax changes in New Year
Tax changes that kick in Jan. 1 will provide some relief for your electricity bill but could raise costs to heat your home.
Ontario’s government is removing the eight percent provincial portion of the HST on consumer power bills.
Cap and trade programs to fight climate change coming in the new year will affect your family heating bill, raising it by about $6 a month for natural gas.

Restaurants will display calorie counts
The New Year ushers in changes for restaurant chains and food service providers.
The Healthy Menu Choices Act requires operators in Ontario to list calorie counts for all food and drink items.
The changes will come into force January 1st and affect restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores and movie theatres.
Penalties for non-compliance could see food service operators fined up to $10,000 a day.

No more carding for police in Ontario
Starting January 1st Ontario has banned arbitrary and race-based collection of identifying information by police, referred to as carding or street checks. 
The regulation prohibiting carding also sets out, for the first time in Ontario’s history, clear and consistent rules for voluntary police-public interactions where police are seeking to collect identifying information. Officials say the rules will ensure public interactions with police are conducted without bias or discrimination.