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Censorship and cancel culture

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Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, on Friday, May 1, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Canada objects to Olympics loosening restrictions on Russia athletes amid Ukraine war

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Canada objects to Olympics loosening restrictions on Russia athletes amid Ukraine war

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 1:20 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Canada objected on Thursday to the International Olympic Committee loosening its suspension on Russian athletes.

The move, announced Tuesday, would apply to the 2028 games in Los Angeles, opening the door for Russian athletes to compete, but the IOC says it will decide later if they could do it with the Russian flag and anthem.

"I am appalled by the IOC’s decision," wrote Secretary of State for sport Adam van Koeverden, a former Olympian.

"The countries of Russia and Belarus should not be represented in international sports competitions while Russia's illegal and unjustifiable full-scale invasion against Ukraine continues," he wrote.

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Updated: Yesterday at 1:20 PM CDT
Alberta country music artist and rancher Corb Lund formally submits his
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Anti-coal mining petition led by musician Corb Lund fails in Alberta

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview
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Anti-coal mining petition led by musician Corb Lund fails in Alberta

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Sunday, Jul. 5, 2026

EDMONTON - A petition led by country musician Corb Lund to ban new coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rockies has failed.

Alberta's election agency announced Friday that Lund's petition didn't gain enough verified signatures to move it forward.

Lund, in a statement, said it appears roughly 35,000 signatures were rejected by Elections Alberta, and he has "grave concerns" about the fairness of the process.

"We are simultaneously shocked by this outcome, yet, unfortunately, not surprised, given the continual government rule changes and roadblocks we have faced throughout this campaign," he said.

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Sunday, Jul. 5, 2026
BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS Jonathan K. waves an Israeli flag in front of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights during the protest, Friday.

Protesters denounce controversial exhibition at rights museum

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Preview

Protesters denounce controversial exhibition at rights museum

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Friday, Jun. 26, 2026

More than 200 people demonstrated outside the Canadian Museum for Human Rights Friday evening to protest the exhibition about the mass displacement of Palestinians in the 1940s during the Arab-Israeli war.

Outside the museum at The Forks, the sidewalk was lined with people wearing white and blue clothing while waving Israeli flags and holding placards that denounced the display.

Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present focuses on the Nakba, in which an estimated 750,000 Palestinians were displaced between 1947 and 1949. The exhibition documents Palestinian Canadians’ experiences through art, photos and text.

One protester said she worries students and other groups who visit the exhibition will get a one-sided version.

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Friday, Jun. 26, 2026
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS The temporary exhibition Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present will be at the CMHR until 2028.
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Palestinian Canadians share keepsakes, memories in CMHR’s Nakba exhibition

Eva Wasney 5 minute read Preview
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Palestinian Canadians share keepsakes, memories in CMHR’s Nakba exhibition

Eva Wasney 5 minute read Friday, Jun. 26, 2026

Fouad Sahyoun was four years old when his family fled their home in Haifa amid bombardment from encroaching Israeli paramilitary forces in 1948.

“We took a few suitcases and (some) money and we went to Alexandria. We were never allowed to go back,” said Sahyoun, a Palestinian Canadian living in Montreal. “When the money ran out, we became real refugees.”

The 82-year-old is one of an estimated 750,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced in 1948 following the partitioning of Palestine and during the creation of the State of Israel. This event is known as the Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic.

Sahyoun’s story and the deeds to his family’s seized property in Haifa are included in Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present, a new exhibition open to the public Saturday at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

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Friday, Jun. 26, 2026
Isabelle Masson, curator, views the new exhibit, Palestine Uprooted - Nakba Past and Present, that she created at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg, Friday, June 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
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Exhibit on displaced Palestinians set to open at human rights museum amid criticism

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview
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Exhibit on displaced Palestinians set to open at human rights museum amid criticism

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

WINNIPEG - The head of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights says it's unfortunate a trustee resigned over an exhibit about displaced Palestinians but she stands by the decision for it to open to the public Saturday.

The exhibit, titled "Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present," focuses on people affected by the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe. About 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced in 1948 during fighting over control of what is now Israel.

The exhibit has been in the works for four years, though Palestinian Canadians have been calling for their stories to be told at the Winnipeg museum since it opened in 2014.

Jewish groups have raised concerns that the exhibit could fuel antisemitism by not providing more historical context and that it was created without sufficient consultation and transparency.

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Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's policy conference at the Washington Hilton, Friday, June 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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A Trump commission urges ‘bridges’ between church and state in sweeping draft report

Peter Smith, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview
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A Trump commission urges ‘bridges’ between church and state in sweeping draft report

Peter Smith, The Associated Press 7 minute read Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

A new report by a Trump administration commission suggests replacing the idea of separating church and state with the idea of building bridges between them.

The assertion — challenging a longstanding concept in American law — comes amid a raft of recommendations in a draft report of the Religious Liberty Commission, released Friday afternoon.

The advisory body was created by President Donald Trump last year and filled almost entirely by conservative Christians. The 224-page draft report — part policy document, part philosophical argument — echoes members' support for a stronger role for religion and religious expression in government, schools and the public square.

The report applauds recent Supreme Court decisions expanding rights to religious expression in public settings, such as creating opt-outs for religious objections to school lessons.

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Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026
FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cellphone with an image on a computer monitor generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

OpenAI and Anthropic limit new AI models to Trump-approved customers during cybersecurity review

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

OpenAI and Anthropic limit new AI models to Trump-approved customers during cybersecurity review

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 6 minute read Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026

ChatGPT maker OpenAI said Friday it is restricting the release of its new artificial intelligence model at the request of President Donald Trump’s administration, the latest in an unprecedented government vetting of AI products for cybersecurity risks.

Its chief rival, Anthropic, announced hours later that the Trump administration has approved a limited release of its strongest cybersecurity model, two weeks after the U.S. Commerce Department effectively banned it.

Both companies said their newest models would be available to small groups of trusted partners. OpenAI said its new AI product, called GPT-5.6 Sol, would be accessible only to customers approved by the Trump administration.

“We don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default,” OpenAI said in a statement. The company said it viewed the testing period as a temporary step on the “path to broader availability in the coming weeks.”

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Saturday, Jun. 27, 2026
A Bible and Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy sit on the desk of State Board of Education member LJ Francis during a meeting on proposed social studies standards at the Barbara Jordan Building in Austin on Monday, June 22, 2026. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
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Bible stories are approved as required reading in Texas public schools

Jamie Stengle And John Hanna, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview
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Bible stories are approved as required reading in Texas public schools

Jamie Stengle And John Hanna, The Associated Press 5 minute read Monday, Jun. 29, 2026

DALLAS (AP) — Texas' education board on Friday approved a required reading list for more than 5 million public school students that includes Bible stories, widening conservative efforts to bring Christian teachings into U.S. classrooms.

The state-mandated list of assigned reading — which includes Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” and excerpts from the New Testament — appeared to be among the first of its kind of the nation and will take effect starting in 2030.

The State Board of Education, which is controlled by Republicans, approved the list on a 9-5 vote following weeks of contentious debate that again put Texas at the center of wrangling over the role of religion in public schools. Last year, Texas became the largest state to require teachers to hang the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

The board this week was also considering new social studies curriculum that draws lines between Bible stories and American history.

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Monday, Jun. 29, 2026
FILE - Senior Judge Glen H. Davidson speaks to the audience during the

Judge rules against effort to create majority-Black DeSoto County districts

Simeon Gates/mississippi Today, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Judge rules against effort to create majority-Black DeSoto County districts

Simeon Gates/mississippi Today, The Associated Press 3 minute read Thursday, Jun. 25, 2026

U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled Wednesday that the plaintiffs in Harris v. DeSoto County did not provide enough evidence that DeSoto County district maps were drawn to intentionally dilute Black voting power.

In ruling for DeSoto County, Davidson wrote, “plaintiffs cannot prove their claims for vote dilution pursuant to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and judgment must be awarded to defendants.”

Davidson’s ruling comes after hearing arguments in the case in March.

The federal lawsuit, filed in September of 2024, alleged that the 2022 DeSoto County electoral map diluted Black voting power in county office elections. The plaintiffs sought a new redistricting plan and special elections for positions on the boards of supervisors and education and for the election commission, plus the offices of constable and justice court judge.

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Thursday, Jun. 25, 2026
Saskatchewan NDP Leader of the Opposition Carla Beck speaks during a press conference before the release of provincial Saskatchewan budget in Regina, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu

Saskatchewan NDP urges province to repeal pronoun law affecting LGBTQ+ youth

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Saskatchewan NDP urges province to repeal pronoun law affecting LGBTQ+ youth

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, Jun. 26, 2026

REGINA - Nearly three years after Saskatchewan's pronoun law came into effect, LGBTQ+ groups and the province's Opposition are warning of its consequences.

"We see concerns about incidents of discrimination going up," NDP Leader Carla Beck said at a news conference Thursday. "People (are) scared to talk about issues that would make students feel loved and seen and accepted."

In August 2023, Premier Scott Moe's Saskatchewan Party government imposed rules that require parental consent for children under 16 to change their names or pronouns at school.

The rules were challenged in court, but months later Moe's government invoked the notwithstanding clause and put them into legislation.

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Friday, Jun. 26, 2026