New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt has called on the federal government to prohibit children under 16 from using social media. In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney that her office released Tuesday, Holt also asked the federal government to prevent social media companies from advertising to minors and from developing content “designed to prey […]

Three days after the February mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., government officials warned Prime Minister Mark Carney that online sentiment was shifting from collective grief toward “emerging accountability narratives” — including questions about mental health intervention, firearms access and whether warning signs were missed. The memo to Carney from the Privy Council Office said […]

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico jury determined Tuesday that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its social media platforms, a verdict that signals a changing tide against tech companies and the government’s willingness to crack down. The landmark decision comes after a nearly seven-week trial, […]

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A jury began deliberations Monday in a landmark trial in New Mexico where social media conglomerate Meta is accused of misleading its users about how safe its platforms are for children. Meta’s attorneys dispute the claims and say the company provides built-in protections for teenagers and weeds out harmful content […]

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A daunting stream of testimony and evidence has been presented in a New Mexico case that explores what the social media conglomerate Meta knew about the effects of its platforms on children. State prosecutors allege Meta failed to disclose the risks that its platforms pose for children, including mental health […]

Nancy Saunders says her son Ben Brennan accomplished so much in his short life. He was an exceptional musician, loved writing and was a freelance recording engineer, she said. Brennan played in bands across Canada and toured Europe. He studied at the University of King’s College in Halifax. Deeply kind and compassionate, “he just had […]

Maya Cassady was just two months away from graduating high school with honours when she obtained her mental health records through a freedom of information request. Just hours after reading the contents, which included doctors’ ponderings about a diagnosis, the 17-year-old took her own life.  It was March 30, 2023. Since Maya’s death, her mother, […]

The Federal Trade Commission has launched an inquiry into several social media and artificial intelligence companies about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions. The FTC said Thursday it has sent letters to Google parent Alphabet, Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms, Snap, Character Technologies, ChatGPT maker OpenAI […]

A man who tried to stab a Catholic pastor in the middle of a Sunday religious service last winter had previously gone to hospital and said he planned to kill a priest, a court has been told. Pawel Olownia has been found not criminally responsible for the Feb. 9 incident at Holy Ghost Parish, which […]

Recent polls show housing and food security among top issues in Antigonish, Colchester, Cumberland, and Pictou counties.  Mental health counselling was the highest average reported need in Nova Scotia, although Halifax Regional Municipality made up a large plurality of total respondents (39 per cent), accounting for a skewed average of all counties. This article will […]

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles cast her ballot in the advance polls that opened Thursday, as her party lost a second election candidate, while the other party leaders talked mental health, interprovincial trade and rental housing policies. The Progressive Conservative, Liberal and NDP leaders have all said their full platforms will come “soon,” with the […]

SAO PAULO (AP) — “King” doesn’t disclose his real name. Even clients of his Sao Paulo newsstand have to call him by his moniker. The Brazilian online sports gambling addict lowered his profile after a loan shark threatened to put bullets in his head if he didn’t pay up. Broke and embarrassed, King sought treatment […]