Halifax woman warns others of free puppy scam

HALIFAX — A Nova Scotia woman has come forward to warn people about an unusually cruel scam that involves the promise of free, purebred puppies.

Lara Ryan says she didn’t realize what was happening two years ago when strangers first started showing up at her home, telling her they were responding to an online ad from a man hoping to give away a puppy he could no longer care for.

At first, Ryan and her husband Brett assumed there had been a few honest mistakes, but then a pattern emerged.

In all, about a dozen people have approached them with similar stories, all of them saying they decided to pick up the dog rather than wire money the man requested to cover shipping costs.

Ryan says she’s been told many different breeds have been offered, and the man’s phone numbers and email addresses are never the same — and can’t be traced.

She says it’s clear the scammer wants the money, but when he can’t get it, the ruse continues until the unsuspecting dog lovers — some from as far away as Toronto — show up at her home in Fergusons Cove.

Canada files North Pole competing claim with Russia

THE NORTH POLE — Canada is heading for negotiations over who owns the North Pole.

After years of delay and political arm-twisting, Canada has made a claim to a vast portion of the Arctic seabed that includes the North Pole.

The claim sets up the federal government for talks with Russian and Denmark, which had already filed their own claims.

Canada’s document was filed last week with a United Nations body that is to determine the scientific validity of each country’s version of where the lines on the map should be.

A decision is to be made after negotiations between the three countries. Canada’s submission is late — the previous federal government nixed plans for a claim in 2013 that didn’t include the North Pole.

Social media in hotseat, politicians consider options

OTTAWA — Tech giants will be in the hot seat this week as politicians from Canada and 10 other countries gather to consider how best to protect citizens’ privacy and their democracies in the age of big data.

The international grand committee on big data, privacy and democracy is meeting in Ottawa for three days, starting today.

It will hear from experts on how best governments can prevent the use of social media to violate individuals’ privacy, spread fake news, sow dissension and manipulate election outcomes.

Committee members will also grill representatives from a host of internet giants — Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft, Amazon and Mozilla — on what they’re doing, or not doing, to prevent abuse.

This week’s meeting — the second since last year’s inaugural gathering in the U.K. — is being hosted by the House of Commons committee on access to information, privacy and ethics.

Anna Maria Tremonti steps down as host of The Current

TORONTO — Award-winning broadcaster Anna Maria Tremonti is stepping down from her role as host of CBC Radio One’s “The Current” to dive into the digital world of podcasting.

Tremonti announced in a news release Monday that she will produce and host new projects for CBC Podcasts, including a one-on-one interview series set to launch this fall.

She’s expected to host her last broadcast of “The Current” on June 21.

Her upcoming interview podcast is billed as a series of in-depth conversations with guests who are both wellknown and on the rise.