Debate and classroom discussion topics

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

Canadians deserve clearer conversation about MAID

Krista Carr 4 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2026

When Canada legalized medical assistance in dying in June 2016, the public debate focused largely on one situation: people facing the end of life and suffering intolerably.

For many Canadians, that remains their understanding of the law today.

But Canada’s MAID framework has evolved significantly since then. In 2021, Parliament expanded the law through Bill C-7, creating two pathways for assisted death. The first pathway applies to people whose natural death is imminent and expected soon (reasonably foreseeable).

The second — known as “Track 2” — allows separate access to MAID for individuals with disabilities who are not dying.

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‘Hockey Night in Canada’ NHL broadcasts won’t return to CBC next fall

The Associated Press 4 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

TORONTO (AP) — “Hockey Night in Canada,” a program featuring NHL games that has been part of the national fabric for nearly 75 years on CBC television, will not return to the public broadcaster next season.

A sublicensing agreement between Rogers Communications and the CBC that allowed the show to air on the network expired at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The two sides did not extend the partnership for the 2026-27 season, the first year of Rogers’ 12 year, $11 billion broadcast rights deal with the NHL. The CBC previously aired national games on Saturdays, along with all four playoff rounds each year.

“After a successful 12-year partnership, Sportsnet and CBC today announced the public broadcaster will no longer carry NHL broadcasts after the current season as it moves forward with a new sports programming strategy following the unprecedented success of the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games,” Sportsnet and the CBC said Tuesday in a joint statement. “Watching hockey on Saturday night is a time-honoured tradition for Canadians, and Sportsnet is privileged to continue delivering that tradition."

Mayor’s cabinet signs off on proposed 110-acre neighbourhood on Dugald Road

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Preview

Mayor’s cabinet signs off on proposed 110-acre neighbourhood on Dugald Road

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2026

A major development proposes to create nearly 3,000 homes, ample commercial space and a possible school at a mostly vacant industrial park.

The Waters Urban Village project would transform 110 acres (44.5 hectares) of employment and industrial land at 1390 and 1470 Dugald Road in the St. Boniface Industrial Park by creating 2,946 residential units, a commercial town centre, a central park and six business park buildings, pending final city council approval.

The largest high-rise residential buildings would be close to key Winnipeg Transit routes.

The substantial addition of infill homes and businesses fits well with the city’s goals to make use of existing infrastructure, said a proponent of the project.

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Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2026

Justice minister says he will review MAID committee testimony before making decision

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Justice minister says he will review MAID committee testimony before making decision

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

OTTAWA - Justice Minister Sean Fraser says he will take time over the summer to review the work of a committee tasked with determining whether Canada is ready to allow people with mental illness access to medically assisted dying.

Committee co-chair Marcus Powlowski said last week the report would be presented to Parliament on Wednesday to ensure it's in the government's hands before the House of Commons takes its summer break.

Fraser said Tuesday he will consider more than the committee's conclusions and recommendations.

"Importantly to me, I'm also going to be reviewing the witness testimony upon which those recommendations were based," he said.

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

Minister says ‘lost Canadians’ must prove link to Canada in each generation

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Minister says ‘lost Canadians’ must prove link to Canada in each generation

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2026

OTTAWA - Immigration Minister Lena Diab says having a Canadian ancestor does not guarantee someone is eligible for Canadian citizenship.

Diab was pushed in question period Tuesday by Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner to state how many people got proof of citizenship under the new citizenship-by-descent law using inaccurate documents.

An unknown number of people who received citizenship certificates under the new law received letters from the federal government over the weekend demanding that they surrender them. A statement from the Immigration Department says "a limited number" of people received these letters.

A spokesperson from Diab's office later said "a few dozen" surrender letters have been issued.

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Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2026

Ottawa’s new surveillance pricing rules not likely to take effect before 2028

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Ottawa’s new surveillance pricing rules not likely to take effect before 2028

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

OTTAWA - The federal government wants to be "super careful" as it tackles surveillance pricing, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said after tabling the government's new privacy bill.

Under the plan outlined by Solomon, those rules on surveillance pricing are unlikely to be in place before 2028.

"It's very easy to say just ban using personal information to give personal pricing, because we have to be super careful that we don't want to penalize people who are members of a rewards program," Solomon said Monday in an interview with The Canadian Press.

The government introduced the bill Monday — its third attempt to update decades-old privacy laws covering the private sector.

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

Liberal government tables new First Nations drinking water legislation

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Liberal government tables new First Nations drinking water legislation

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

OTTAWA - New legislation tabled by the government on Tuesday will create a legislative framework to protect drinking water in First Nations communities, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said.

But one chief who helped draft a previous version of the legislation warns that the bill's vague language on First Nations' right to clean drinking water will only leave communities worse off.

Gull-Masty told reporters on Parliament Hill that Bill C-37, tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, will "advance the critical work of addressing long-term drinking water advisories" and recognize First Nations jurisdiction over water on their lands.

She said the new bill is backed by $4.6 billion in funding over five years, describing the sum as the single largest commitment ever made to First Nations water protection.

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Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

Ebola stretches weakened global aid system

Kyle Volpi Hiebert 4 minute read Preview

Ebola stretches weakened global aid system

Kyle Volpi Hiebert 4 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2026

The WHO has declared the current outbreak an international public health emergency.

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Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2026

The risks of online age verification

David Nutbean 5 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2026

The regulations and requirements to implement these protections could potentially be damaging to everyone.

Division undertakes close to $1M in security upgrades after sex offender gets into two schools

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview

Division undertakes close to $1M in security upgrades after sex offender gets into two schools

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 15, 2026

Selfies are now standard protocol for all visitors to public schools in St. Vital.

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Monday, Jun. 15, 2026