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I am deeply disappointed at yet another massive government IT failure, and sadly, not surprised in the slightest. The Canadian government's initiative to consolidate more than 1,500 government websites into a single super site, Canada.ca, is failing.

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We've all seen how effective the algorithms are at distinguishing genuine, authentic content from bullshit. And we've already talked about how those algorithms are shaped by your ultimate goal: do you want engagement, or do you want veracity? Do you want to be clicky, or do you want to be authentic? Can't always have both.

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Under wide threat of injustice, supporting one another, regardless of faith is essential. How? By supporting Standing Rock while demanding peace for Syria. By attending multi-faith gatherings at our local synagogue. By marching behind Black activists because Black Lives Matter. By emailing our MP.

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Thanks to the hard work of humane societies and SPCAs across Canada, we have a lot to celebrate this holiday season. The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies has just released our annual Animal Shelter Statistics Report, and it is full of great news for companion animals in Canada.

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In a rare occurrence, Christmas Eve and the first day of Hanukkah fall on the same day this year. Perhaps these two religious events coinciding is a signal that the world can be a more united place in 2017.

Michael Bociurkiw

As the world's youngest country, South Sudan, marks the third year of a vicious civil war, I am learning the heart-wrenching stories of some of the 200,000 civilians who have sought shelter in UN-protected camps. I'm here to learn about the impact of the conflict, especially on children.

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Money worries exist across income levels, and across the country. A new study fielded by Ipsos has found that three in 10 Canadians say they feel insecure about their financial health, defined as "a state of overall well-being where a person can fully meet current and future financial obligations to enjoy the things that matter most in life."

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Remember, no family is perfect. No one is perfect. A little family conflict may be unavoidable for some people. Unless it's gross mistreatment, try to skirt disagreements. Agree when you normally wouldn't, swallow a little pride and be more forgiving. It's only one or two days a year. And remember there are many, many people with no family at all. So if you have family, you already have a reason to be thankful.

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The Equatorian region had been regarded as the green belt of South Sudan. That's a big deal for a country teetering on the brink of a food crisis since its inception. Its staple crops such as sorghum and maize have helped local farmers earn a meagre living, helped by the fact that the area is home to major trading routes between Juba and neighbouring countries of Uganda and Kenya.

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According to a new report by Mortgage Professionals Canada, Canadians who purchased their home within the past two years reflect a "new normal" in the Canadian housing market. Thirty-four per cent of first-time buyers think it's important to generate income from their properties, and 13 per cent of homeowners undertook renovations to add space for a rental unit.

World Vision

Visiting Tanzania in September changed my perception of what it's really like to go without. The people we met survive with the bare necessities. A roof over their heads, basic clothing and just enough food to survive. Yet, we witnessed such joy and hope in them, and for this, I fell in love with Tanzania.

Carol Segal

I grew up watching hockey religiously. I traded hockey cards. I went public skating. I played on the street. But the option to play the real game, on ice, wasn't there. My parents didn't have deep pockets. My mom saw it as a boorish, stick wielding fest of violence.

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I have known the Heritage Foundation folks for close to 15 years. Some of their policy recommendations would clearly be deemed too conservative for the Canadian context, but even their foes would admit that they are an incredibly powerful and well-organized group.

Médecins Sans Frontières

The ongoing war in Syria, conflict in Yemen, terror and malnutrition in northeastern Nigeria and record numbers of people around the world forcibly displaced from their homes were just some of the crises that required our intervention last year. But it was the violence we saw against humanitarian action itself that challenged us most.

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Special interest groups have always staged PR events to try and gain coverage, but the real estate industry has decided to take a more "proactive" approach. Some members of the industry are turning regular journalism into "commerce journalism," by manipulating coverage in their favour, sometimes engaging in unethical practices.

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It has been a year since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released its final report, "Honouring the Truth, Reconciling the Future." It seemed like we finally had a government in Ottawa ready to listen and act. In the year since, we have seen the listening. Now we need to see the action.

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It's no secret that the average American child spends seven hours in front of a screen every day and only five minutes playing freely in the great outdoors. It's refreshing to see a group of down-to-earth, respectful and conscious parents walking their walk and freeing their children of the expectations of modern day society.

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December 21, 2016 marks the first anniversary of the launch of the Ontario Fertility Program. Designed to improve access to assisted reproduction technologies for the one in six Ontarians living with infertility, the program contributes to the medical costs required for procedures such as intrauterine insemination (IUI), fertility preservation (FP) and in vitro fertilization (IVF).

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We get so blinded by this tribal zeal that we support anything our side says or does. In sports your guys are always fair and the other guys are always either cheating, playing dirty or whining. We saw this in the last American election. There is no shortage of blinded loyalty to your side and that's the danger of identity politics.

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As a therapist, I help people to recognize their patterns of defense, their habitual ways of responding: their default mode. We all developed ways of adapting and protecting ourselves in our early years when our brains and nervous systems were developing. These ways of coping can become hard-wired.

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For many people, the holidays bring a lot of joy and excitement but also a lot of pressure, stress and anxiety. So the real question is whether it is "normal" stress, or something more concerning that should be addressed with your doctor.