Digital Equity

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

No Subscription Required

Solving the problem of ‘disappearing’ children

John R. Wiens 6 minute read Monday, Mar. 30, 2026

On Feb. 28, American bombs struck a primary girls’ school in Minab, Iran, killing over 150 people, mainly children and wounding an estimated 100 more. This abhorrent attack was carried out by a military whose leadership proudly boasted they knew everybody’s whereabouts, something making it possible to “take out” the rulers of Iran and earlier, Venezuela.

Incarcerated women read books in the library of the Djanira Dolores de Oliveira women's prison in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Brazilian inmates find relief and reduce sentences through reading

Eléonore Hughes, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Brazilian inmates find relief and reduce sentences through reading

Eléonore Hughes, The Associated Press 6 minute read Saturday, Apr. 25, 2026

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When 33-year-old Brazilian woman Emily de Souza heard about a program allowing her to shave off four days from her prison sentence by reading a book, she seized the opportunity to reconnect with a cherished habit.

Like tens of thousands of detainees across the country — including former President Jair Bolsonaro — she signed up for a sentence reduction program that encourages inmates to immerse themselves in literary works in exchange for reducing their sentences by up to 48 days per year.

The possibility of reuniting earlier with her 9-year-old autistic son, who her mother and aunt are looking after, only ramped up her motivation to participate in the project.

“One day is an eternity because it feels like it’s never going to end,” said de Souza, who is incarcerated at the Djanira Dolores de Oliveira Women’s Prison in Rio de Janeiro, which houses approximately 820 female detainees.

Read
Saturday, Apr. 25, 2026
Leaders like former AFN chief Phil Fontaine were followed, watched, and documented.(Tijana Martin / The Canadian Press files)

Spying on Indigenous peoples fuels mistrust, threatens Canada’s economy and society

Niigaan Sinclair 4 minute read Preview

Spying on Indigenous peoples fuels mistrust, threatens Canada’s economy and society

Niigaan Sinclair 4 minute read Saturday, Mar. 28, 2026

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association published thousands of pages in 2019 that it had fought for years to be released by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

The heavily redacted documents, the association said, show Canada’s spy agency spent years illegally conducting surveillance and documenting peaceful Indigenous protesters and community environmental organizations that opposed the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project. They include the Dogwood Initiative, ForestEthics (now Stand.earth), Sierra Club BC, Leadnow.ca, and the #IdleNoMore movement.

This discovery followed a report by two researchers in 2016, who found that from 2014 to 2015, the RCMP operated project SITKA, which involved a list of more than 300 political activists in the country — most of whom were Indigenous — with 89 marked as “threats” to national security.

If this wasn’t enough, access to information requests by activists found that from 2009 to 2011, Gitxsan professor and child advocate Cindy Blackstock was monitored by officials at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and the justice department – an act that Canada’s privacy commissioner later called a violation of her privacy rights.

Read
Saturday, Mar. 28, 2026
A sign directs a voter to a polling station in Calgary on Monday, April 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
No Subscription Required

Election bill takes aim at deepfakes, long ballots, threats to nomination contests

Jim Bronskill and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview
No Subscription Required

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.

Read
Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026
An Air Canada Express jet taxis past the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, as maintenance crews prepare to move the plane from the runway where it had collided with a Port Authority fire truck Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Air Canada CEO apologizes for inability to express himself adequately in French

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Air Canada CEO apologizes for inability to express himself adequately in French

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026

MONTREAL - The chief executive of Air Canada has apologized for not being able to express himself adequately in French after releasing a video message of condolence on the deadly plane crash in New York on Sunday.

Michael Rousseau has been criticized for the four-minute video posted online that only included two French words — "bonjour" and "merci."

"I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada’s employees," he said in a statement Thursday.

"Despite many lessons over several years, unfortunately, I am still unable to express myself adequately in French. I sincerely apologize for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve."

Read
Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026
File photo — A photographer walks through the room ahead of the Liberal leadership announcement, Sunday, March 9, 2025 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
No Subscription Required

Liberals to debate age restrictions on social media, AI chatbots

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview
No Subscription Required

Liberals to debate age restrictions on social media, AI chatbots

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

OTTAWA - Age restrictions on using social media accounts and AI chatbots are among the topics up for debate when Liberal party grassroots gather next month for their national convention.

There are 24 different policy resolutions that are on the agenda when party rank-and-file meet in Montreal for their convention April 9 through 11.

Two of them try to tackle ongoing concerns about the impact of social media and artificial intelligence on children and youth.

One resolution from Quebec calls for anyone under the age of 16 to be banned from accessing "all AI chatbots and other potentially harmful forms of AI interaction," such as ChatGPT.

Read
Friday, Apr. 24, 2026
Umpire Ryan Additon watches as a call is challenged using MLB's ABS challenge system during the third inning of a spring training baseball game between the Miami Marlins and the Houston Astros Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Jupiter, Fla. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
No Subscription Required

Robot umpires are coming to MLB. Here’s how they work

Ronald Blum, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview
No Subscription Required

Robot umpires are coming to MLB. Here’s how they work

Ronald Blum, The Associated Press 5 minute read Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — Robot umpires are coming to the big leagues this year.

The Automated Ball/Strike System will be introduced in the form of a challenge system in which the human umpire makes each call, which can be appealed to the computer. Robot umpires have been tested in the minor leagues since 2019, with recent testing done at Triple-A since 2022, MLB spring training last year and at the 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta.

Here's what to know about MLB's robot umps.

How does the Automated Ball-Strike System work?

Read
Friday, Apr. 24, 2026
The logos for streaming services Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and Sling TV are pictured on a remote control on Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
No Subscription Required

Canadians increasingly choosing to stream with ads as prices rise: report

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview
No Subscription Required

Canadians increasingly choosing to stream with ads as prices rise: report

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

Canadians subscribed to streaming platforms again faced rising costs last year, as a new report estimates the 10 leading providers hiked prices by an average of seven per cent.

The annual Couch Potato Report, released Monday by Convergence Research, said consumers are continuing to pivot from traditional cable and satellite television packages toward alternatives like Netflix, Crave and Disney Plus, despite those streaming giants having upped their prices in recent years.

In 2024, the top streaming providers had raised their prices by an average of eight per cent for Canadian customers, according to new data from the firm.

The trend comes as streamers continue to push viewers toward plans that include advertisements. Those packages cost less for subscribers but drive additional revenue for the companies because they are able to sell commercial spots.

Read
Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

Lessons from school attendance

Ken Clark 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 23, 2026

The Free Press editorial Government data shows extent of truancy issue (March 16) notes that “More than 15,000 students were chronically absent in the 2023-2024 school year, a staggering number” which was also broken down by school division and Aboriginal status.

Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., speaks at a campaign rally on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Newtown, Pa. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
No Subscription Required

U.S. congressman introduces bill targeting Online Streaming Act

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview
No Subscription Required

U.S. congressman introduces bill targeting Online Streaming Act

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

OTTAWA - A Republican congressman in Washington has introduced a new bill taking aim at Canada’s Online Streaming Act.

The bill would trigger an investigation of the streaming legislation by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Rep. Lloyd Smucker's office said in a news release.

The statement said if the trade representative finds the implementation of the streaming bill discriminates against or burdens American commerce, the USTR would be directed to take “necessary retaliatory action.”

Under the Online Streaming Act, the federal broadcast regulator has ordered large foreign platforms to make a five per cent contribution toward Canadian content.

Read
Friday, Apr. 24, 2026