Liberals set to debate age restrictions for social media

MONTREAL - Liberal party members will soon grapple with the question of whether children and young teens should be barred from accessing social media accounts for platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube.

The policy resolution is expected to hit the floor at the Liberal party policy convention in Montreal for debate and a vote on Saturday.

Jonathan Nuss, the head of the Outremont Liberal riding association, is one of the main proponents of a resolution calling on the party to ensure social media platforms limit user accounts to Canadians aged 16 and older.

The Montreal lawyer and father of two young children said he wants this resolution to kick-start a national debate on addictive technologies and the harmful effects social media can have on young children — a debate that's already happening among parents across the country.

From ‘BuddhaBot’ to $1.99 chats with AI Jesus, the faith-based tech boom is here

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — For some evangelical Christians, faith is about having a personal relationship with Jesus. At $1.99 per minute, the tech company Just Like Me is taking that concept to a new level.

Users of the platform can join video calls with an avatar of Jesus generated by artificial intelligence. Like other religious AI tools on the market, it offers words of prayer and encouragement in various languages. With the occasional glitch, it remembers previous conversations and speaks through not-quite-synced lips.

“You do feel a little accountable to the AI,” CEO Chris Breed said. “They’re your friend. You’ve made an attachment.”

The rush to create faith-based generative AI is unsurprising, given the popularity of chatbots for everything from therapy and medical advice to companionship and romance. They range from alleged Hindu gurus and Buddhist priests to AI Jesuses and chatbots akin to OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Catholics.

Food is food regardless of where it comes from

In the recent budget, the government of Manitoba announced it will remove provincial sales tax from prepared meals sold in grocery stores, while continuing to apply it to the very same meals sold in restaurants.

This change is presented as an affordability measure. However, if the goal is to make food more affordable, then tax policy should reflect a simple principle: food is food.

Food is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

With just one per cent of restaurants classified as high-end or luxury dining, the reality is that the vast majority operate in the mid-market — serving as an essential part of Manitobans’ daily routines and busy lives. In fact, low-income Canadians spend a greater proportion of their income on restaurants than those with a higher income, so a tax on restaurant food disproportionately affects them.

Artemis II astronauts make long-distance call to the space station as they head home from the moon

HOUSTON (AP) — Still aglow from their triumphant lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts made more history Tuesday: calling their friends aboard the International Space Station hundreds of thousands of miles away as they headed home from the moon.

It was the first moonship-to-spaceship radio linkup ever. NASA's Apollo crews had no off-the-planet company back in the 1960s and 1970s, the last time humanity set sail for deep space.

"We have been waiting for this like you can’t imagine,” Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman called out.

For Christina Koch on Artemis II and Jessica Meir aboard the space station, it marked a joyous space reunion despite being 230,000 miles (370,000 kilometers) apart. The two teamed up for the world's first all-female spacewalk in 2019 outside the orbiting lab.

Feds, city, province join forces with First Nation to build 150 apartments in St. James

More than a century after its lake became the source of Winnipeg’s drinking water, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is leading a major housing development in the city, backed by more than $51 million in government funding.

The federal government announced the combined funding Tuesday to build 150 apartment units at 2675 Portage Ave. in the city’s St. James neighbourhood. The development will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

Shoal Lake 40 Chief Herb Greene said the project carries historical significance.

“This development is about three things: history, teamwork, and the future,” Greene said during a sod-turning ceremony Tuesday. He noted for more than 100 years, Winnipeg was in dire need of a reliable source of clean drinking water.

In pictures: Artemis II crew captures eclipse, Earthrise, far side of moon during lunar flyby

NASA released new photos Tuesday captured by the Artemis II astronauts.

Artemis II’s lunar fly-around and intense observation period lasted seven hours.

A total solar eclipse greeted the three Americans and one Canadian as the moon temporarily blocked the sun from their perspective.

Venturing as close as 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometers) to the gray dusty surface, the astronauts zipped through a list of more than two dozen photo targets, using powerful Nikon cameras as well as their iPhones to zoom in on impact craters and other intriguing lunar features.

Energy-hungry Nova Scotia companies nearly doubled their solar power capacity in 2025

HALIFAX - Energy-hungry companies in Nova Scotia are heading toward the light.

New statistics from the province's private power utility show that commercial-scale players — which includes municipalities and First Nations — grew their capacity to generate solar energy by 82 per cent last year.

Energy consultant David Brushett says that’s partly because legislative changes a few years ago have allowed companies to install solar systems 10 times larger than before. The “net-metering” system gives firms a credit on their power bills for the electricity they generate, offsetting their own usage. Even with the new rules, they are not allowed to generate more power than their operations consume.

The program allows solar projects of up to one megawatt for commercial customers. Brushett says that size makes more financial sense. “So that allowed much larger installations,” Brushett said in an interview.

Tailors age out of the workforce even as demand for their skills grows

NEW YORK (AP) — Hunched over a sewing machine, Kil Bae is hemming a dress inside his Manhattan tailor shop when a new customer stops by with a vintage Tommy Hilfiger jacket he wants taken in.

The modeling agent paid $20 at a thrift store for his reversible bomber style that's plaid on one side and red on the other. He's willing to spend $280 to have it slimmed down. Alteration requests with such a price disparity would have seemed odd a few years ago, the tailor says, but are helping to keep the bobbins bobbing at his one-man shop, 85 Custom Tailor.

Bae carefully examines the cotton jacket before moving in to pin it, circling the customer like a sculptor with a chisel. He started training as a tailor at age 17, in his native South Korea. Now 63, he's part of a shrinking breed in the U.S., where professional sewers, dressmakers and tailors are aging out of the workforce as their services find fresh demand.

Shoppers who grew up on disposable fast fashion are enlisting tailors and seamstresses to give off-the-rack purchases a custom fit or personal flair, to revive secondhand finds or to extend the lives of their wardrobes, according to fashion industry experts. Weight-loss drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy mean more Americans are seeking adjusted waistbands, tapered sleeves and other types of resizing, Bae said.

Federal privacy law changes would expand sharing of personal data across government

OTTAWA - The Liberal government proposes making it easier for federal agencies to share and reuse the personal data of Canadians through a major overhaul of the Privacy Act.

The act governs how federal agencies collect, use and disclose personal information, and gives people the right to see and correct data about them the government holds. The law has not changed substantially since it took effect in 1983.

In a policy paper issued Thursday, the government says that in most cases, reusing personal data or sharing it with another program for an alternative purpose requires the person's consent or must meet one of the few legal exceptions.

"These rules were designed to protect privacy, but they make it harder to deliver modern, connected services that rely on secure data sharing," the paper says. "The goal is to make it easier for programs to share data responsibly, so Canadians only have to provide information once."

A legal reckoning for social media firms

It has been referred to as a bellwether case, a landmark decision and a profound “enough is enough” moment.

April Fools’ Day jokes highlight real-life issues, joys of local small businesses, owners say

Oh Doughnuts patrons received a prank with their pastries on Wednesday morning.

The beloved Winnipeg business posted on social media that, at day’s end, it would shut its doors for good.

“The economy has been rough for us all, but as a small business it just became too difficult to keep this doughnut train going,” the post stated.

Eagle-eyed readers noted it twice mentioned April 1 — a hint it was in fact an April Fools’ Day jest.

Winnipeg dad, young son captivated by first mission to moon in more than a half-century

Father hopes witnessing the launch might leave an impression on his son who has developed a budding interest in astronomy.

The Latest: Artemis II astronauts reach orbit on historic mission to the moon and back

Four astronauts embarked on a high-stakes flight around the moon Wednesday, humanity’s first lunar voyage in more than half a century and the thrilling leadoff in NASA’s push toward a landing in two years.

NASA's launch team loaded more than 700,000 gallons of fuel into the 32-story Space Launch System rocket early Wednesday, setting the stage for blast off in the evening at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Artemis astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are on board. They’ll hurtle several thousand miles beyond the moon, hang a U-turn and then come straight back. No circling around the moon, no stopping for a moonwalk — just a quick out-and-back lasting less than 10 days. NASA promises more boot prints in the gray lunar dust, but not before a couple practice missions.

Unlike the Apollo missions that sent astronauts to the moon from 1968 through 1972, Artemis’ debut crew includes a woman, a person of color and a Canadian citizen.

Federal government taking over vaccine injury compensation, aims to address backlog

OTTAWA - The federal public health agency is taking over administration of a program that compensates people who have been injured by vaccines, and pledging to review claims that were refused by a third-party administrator for being filed too late.

The vaccine injury support program began accepting claims in June 2021, after the widespread rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in Canada.

People who experienced a "serious and permanent injury" as a result of receiving a vaccine authorized by Health Canada after Dec. 8, 2020, are eligible to make a claim.

It's also been the subject of complaints from claimants who say the process is slow and communication is poor.

Swan River-based cosmetics brand seeks ‘bigger breakthrough’

A makeup and skincare brand led by a newcomer out of the town of Swan River is looking to expand its reach.

Popularity of sweater with Manitoba roots goes galactic after visit to stars

It’s the ultimate interstellar fashion moment; a vintage-inspired Mary Maxim fox knit, worn by Ryan Gosling’s character in his latest blockbuster Project Hail Mary, has sent the crafting world spinning.

Clowns take to the streets of Bolivia to protest decree that could crush their livelihoods

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Dozens of clowns marched through the streets of Bolivia’s capital on Monday to protest a government decree that limits extracurricular activities, threatening their livelihoods.

Wearing full face paint and their signature red noses, the clowns gathered in front of the Ministry of Education in La Paz to oppose a decree published in February. The new mandate says schools must comply with 200 days of lessons each year — effectively banning schools from hosting the special events where these entertainers are frequently employed.

“This decree will economically affect all of us who work with children,” said Wilder Ramírez, a leader of the local clown union, who also goes by the name of Zapallito. The clown told journalists that “children need to laugh” while his colleagues wondered out loud if Bolivia’s Education Minister had ever had a childhood.

Clowns in Bolivia are often hired for school festivities to entertain children during breaks from their regular lessons. One such upcoming event is Children’s Day, which the country celebrates on April 12.

‘Neighbours hating each other’: Proposed Saskatchewan wind farm divides community

Don Bourassa says a proposed wind farm near his home in southeast Saskatchewan has ruined relationships in his community — to the point where he feels he has been bullied.

A resident of the Rural Municipality of Weyburn, Bourassa said one of his neighbours approached him about buying his property to keep him quiet on Enbridge's Seven Stars Energy Project.

"He wants me out of there, to shut up," Bourassa said in an interview. "That's bullying and I'm not falling for that.

“It’s neighbours hating each other."

Boy Kibble craze a soul-destroying approach to maxxing meal plans

Sometimes, when I am filling my dog’s bowl with tiny brown triangles, I have the (depressing) thought: I wish there was such a thing as human kibble, so I didn’t have to work out what to feed myself all the time. Pre-portioned, perfectly macro-balanced sustenance, so I can just eat my People Chow and move on with my day.

Quebec man charged with fraud in local ‘grandparent scam’

Winnipeg police have arrested a 24-year-old Quebec man in a so-called grandparent scam carried out last month.

Police said Friday that a person in their 80s was contacted by someone posing as a justice official. The caller claimed a relative had been arrested and that money was needed to keep them out of jail.

After the victim agreed to pay the amount, an unknown man arrived at their home to collect the money.

The victim later learned from family members that the story was false, and reported the incident to police.

Province making up chaotic, inadequate child-care ‘plan’ as it goes along

The Manitoba government can point to a lot of ink spilled — and a lot of money committed — on child care over the past few years. Fees have come down to $10 a day. New spaces have been promised. Workforce strategies have been rolled out.

On paper, it all sounds like progress.

But a scathing new report from Manitoba’s auditor general makes one thing painfully clear: when it comes to actually delivering child-care spaces where and when families need them, the province has badly dropped the ball.

And both the former Progressive Conservative government and the current NDP one are equally to blame.