According to the Ottawa news website, Blacklock's Reporter, it was blocked by the Canadian government agency Shared Services Canada preventing government employees from accessing its site.
Photo Credit: Blacklock's Reporter

Canada: Government agency blocked employees’ access to Blacklock’s news website

Ottawa’s only reporter-owned and operated news website, Blacklock’s Reporter, was blocked by a Canadian government agency stopping government employees from accessing the site, according to an article in Blacklock’s on Monday (January 5).

The article says confidential memos of Shared Services Canada show the federal agency had imposed a “government-wide blackout on website access by hundreds of thousands of staff”.

According to the website of Shared Services Canada, the agency’s mandate is “to deliver email, data centre and telecommunication services to 43 federal departments and agencies” and “to fundamentally transform how the Government manages its information technology (IT) infrastructure.”

The website of Blacklock’s Reporter points out it “is an accredited member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery covering bills, regulations, Access to Information and federal courts.”

“This is outrageous conduct,” said Blacklock’s publisher Holly Doan in the article,“It’s astonishing to see Canada join the short list of countries that forbid public employees from accessing internet news sites.”

“This is not only Orwellian, it appears to breach the government’s own guidelines on workplace internet use.”

The article notes that “Access To Information records show the department’s IT security division blocked the website blacklocks.ca from last August 22” and that “the Blacklock’s ban appeared to be revoked September 9, the same day the publication filed a formal request for records from Shared Services Canada.”

More information:
Blacklock’s Reporter – Feds Run News Blacklist, Ban Employee Access To Website – here
Shared Services Canada mandate – here

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