Censorship and cancel culture

Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

FILE - Line judge Robin DeLorenzo looks on during the second half of an NFL football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans, Dec. 29, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
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Pioneering female NFL official sues league over her treatment and firing

Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview
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Pioneering female NFL official sues league over her treatment and firing

Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press 4 minute read Tuesday, Apr. 28, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — In a new lawsuit, one of the first three women to officiate an NFL game describes her three years at the pinnacle of her profession as a descent into the grip of a sexist institution unable to treat a woman as an equal.

Robin DeLorenzo cited gender-based scrutiny, humiliation and open hostility among the indignities she suffered from 2022 to 2025 as a league official.

The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, filed Friday, sought reinstatement along with unspecified damages.

Brian McCarthy, an NFL spokesperson, said in an email that DeLorenzo was terminated after three seasons of documented underperformance.

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Tuesday, Apr. 28, 2026
A clown shouts slogans during a protest against the government's ban on holiday parties at schools during teaching hours, outside the Ministry of Education in La Paz, Bolivia, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
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Clowns take to the streets of Bolivia to protest decree that could crush their livelihoods

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview
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Clowns take to the streets of Bolivia to protest decree that could crush their livelihoods

The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, May. 1, 2026

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.

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Friday, May. 1, 2026
A Montreal police shoulder patch is seen on an officer in Montreal on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Hate crimes numbers stayed steady in 2024 after years of increases: StatCan

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Hate crimes numbers stayed steady in 2024 after years of increases: StatCan

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Friday, May. 1, 2026

OTTAWA - The number of police-reported hate crimes stayed steady in 2024, after sharp increases in prior years, Statistics Canada said Monday.

There were 4,882 hate crimes in Canada in 2024, a one per cent increase over the previous year, StatCan reported.

The numbers follow a 34 per cent rise between 2022 and 2023, and come after the number of police-reported hate crimes more than doubled since 2018.

"The relative stability in the total number of police-reported hate crimes in 2024 was shaped by variation in motivation," StatCan said.

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Friday, May. 1, 2026
Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft sit parked at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Air Canada CEO to step down later this year after backlash over lack of French

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Preview

Air Canada CEO to step down later this year after backlash over lack of French

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Friday, May. 1, 2026

MONTREAL - Air Canada chief executive Michael Rousseau will leave the company later this year after coming under fire last week for his failure to deliver a video condolence message in French following a plane crash that killed two Air Canada Express pilots.

Rousseau has told the board he will step down before October, the airline said Monday. He is expected to continue to lead Canada's largest carrier and serve on its board of directors until they part ways.

The announcement leaves Air Canada scrambling to find a replacement amid the challenge of soaring fuel prices and depressed cross-border travel, and follows a half-decade marked by both COVID-19 hurdles and profit wins under the watch of a CEO known more for his financial finesse than fine-tuned community relations.

Rousseau, 68, was widely criticized for his lack of French in the four-minute condolence video posted online that included only two words in the language — "bonjour" and "merci."

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Friday, May. 1, 2026
A man is silhouetted as buildings cast their shadows in front of the Peace tower on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
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Liberals dismiss call for law to ensure political fibs and flubs don’t eclipse facts

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview
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Liberals dismiss call for law to ensure political fibs and flubs don’t eclipse facts

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, May. 1, 2026

OTTAWA - The Liberal government has dismissed a Toronto man's proposal to keep politicians honest in an age of misinformation, saying there are already several ways to fight falsehoods.

Federico Sanchez initiated an electronic petition to the House of Commons to propose legislation that would help correct the record when members of Parliament stray from the truth intentionally or simply because they are ill-informed.

Sanchez said he was "very upset" by the lack of federal interest in his pitch.

"It made me feel like they didn't take it seriously," he said in an interview. "If they don't think that there's a problem, then I think we're going to have a lot worse days ahead."

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Friday, May. 1, 2026
Vancouver Rise midfielder Quinn poses for a photo in Vancouver, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

‘This is people’s lives’: Canadian soccer star Quinn continues trans advocacy

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

‘This is people’s lives’: Canadian soccer star Quinn continues trans advocacy

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Thursday, Apr. 30, 2026

VANCOUVER -

A Canadian soccer star is speaking out about the need to make sports safe for trans athletes — and the world safer for trans people — as restrictive laws come into effect across North America.

“This is people's lives," said Quinn, a midfielder for the Vancouver Rise of the Northern Super League. "Like, this isn't something to take lightly."

It's been more than five years since Quinn, 30, publicly came out as nonbinary.

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Thursday, Apr. 30, 2026
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Youth Ambassador Advisory Squad (YAAS) members after releasing the YAAS youth-led report on experiences of children in and beyond government care, Thursday.
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Advocate’s report calls for urgent reform of child-welfare system

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Preview
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Advocate’s report calls for urgent reform of child-welfare system

Scott Billeck 5 minute read Thursday, Mar. 26, 2026

Cali Derksen was 14 when she threw a few things into a backpack and left home, fleeing weapons and threats of violence for what she believed would be a safer place.

Now 16, she said Child and Family Services did “good” by removing her from the home.

“But after they did that, I didn’t think much really came out of them,” she said Thursday at the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth office at 320 Donald St. “I had to call Kids Help line. I had to find solutions for myself in order to feel safe… because CFS wasn’t supporting me.”

Derksen’s experience is one of 17 shared in a new report calling for urgent reform of Manitoba’s child-welfare system. Youth in care say they are often left unsupported, unprepared and unheard.

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Thursday, Mar. 26, 2026
A sign directs a voter to a polling station in Calgary on Monday, April 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
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Election bill takes aim at deepfakes, long ballots, threats to nomination contests

Jim Bronskill and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview
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Election bill takes aim at deepfakes, long ballots, threats to nomination contests

Jim Bronskill and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026

OTTAWA - The Liberal government is proposing new legislation to strengthen election integrity by banning digital deepfakes of candidates, cracking down on unduly long ballots and protecting nomination and leadership contests.

The bill, introduced Thursday, would extend existing election protections beyond the campaign period itself, making them effective year-round.

The government says this would include the extension of rules forbidding foreign people or organizations from improperly influencing someone's vote, as well as bans on offering or accepting bribes to influence a vote.

Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said the changes follow recommendations made by the chief electoral officer, the commissioner of elections and the public inquiry into foreign interference.

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Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026

Respite care cuts will break strained system

Jennifer Anderson 5 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2026

When people hear the word “respite,” they often imagine a break — a little time off for parents caring for a child with disabilities.

For single-parent families like mine, respite is not a break.

It is survival.

My son was born with cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy. His seizures began when he was still a baby and escalated to the point where he was having multiple seizures an hour. Over the years he has required intensive care admissions, emergency interventions, and constant monitoring. He is nonverbal, requires a feeding tube for nutrition, and needs assistance with mobility and daily care.

People congregate outside the Supreme Court of Canada as the court hears appeals regarding Quebec’s secularism law (Bill 21) in Ottawa on Monday, March 23, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
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Lawyers for Quebec government tell Supreme Court that Bill 21 is legitimate

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview
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Lawyers for Quebec government tell Supreme Court that Bill 21 is legitimate

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2026

OTTAWA - The Quebec government is urging the Supreme Court of Canada to uphold a controversial secularism law, arguing that the Constitution allows the province to override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The case revolves around the law, adopted in 2019, that banned some public sector workers from wearing religious symbols on the job, including judges, police officers and teachers.

Quebec pre-emptively used its powers to override the Charter when it adopted the law, and the court challenge could have implications for how other provinces handle similar cases.

The federal and provincial governments can override the Charter if they invoke what is known as the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution.

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Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2026