Elaine Hyshka

The Canadian Library Challenges Database | Centre for Free Expression The CFE-CFLA/FCAB Canadian Library Challenges Database provides access to challenges libraries have faced to items in their collection, and to displays, programs, room usage, and computer access.

The Centre for Free Expression has done far more legwork, contacting every Alberta school division, asking how many removed books, and sending access to info requests to every division that said they did remove materials. The results they have so far are in this national challenge database #AbEd

By the book: Alberta schools pull at least 160 titles from shelves to meet provincial order | CBC News Alberta school divisions complying with a provincial order have removed dozens of graphic novels from their shelves, from illustrated versions of literary classics to coming-of-age memoirs and dramati...

What books did Alberta schools *actually* pull off the shelves in response to a provincial order? It took a lot of work to find out. We still don't have a complete picture. And some schools are still pulling material.

Free speech advocates say it's ban unmatched in Canadian history. #AbLeg By me.

How Congress can restore the independence of US science Members must go beyond reinstating US government research spending and re-establish decentralized governance at the National Institutes of Health and other agencies.

The most impt change at #NIH and to US science this year is bigger than grant cancellations— it’s how the agency is governed.

For 75 years NIH has been largely independent of presidential control. That’s changed this year. New piece from me and @nataliebaviles.bsky.social in @nature.com
🧪

‘Mass Death on This Scale Is Incomprehensible’ | The Tyee Overdose deaths are trending down, but BC is still in the thick of a crisis. Here’s what the data tells us.

‘Mass Death on This Scale Is Incomprehensible’ -- Overdose deaths are trending down, but BC is still in the thick of a crisis. Here’s what the data tells us, by @michellegamage.bsky.social thetyee.ca/News/2026/03... via @thetyee.ca

Danielle Smith drags the judiciary deeper into her partisan mud slinging The Alberta Premier’s referendum is a direct threat to the proper functioning of our justice system

"This isn’t about constitutional reform. It’s about politics. More specifically, it’s part of a broader and increasingly brazen [UCP] effort to either control the courts or, failing that, convince the public not to trust them. "
www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/opinion...

Accounting watchdog to investigate Deloitte over fake citations in $1.6-million healthcare report – The Independent Chartered Professional Accountants N.L. is leading the investigation after Deloitte admitted AI was involved

NEW: Deloitte is being investigated by Newfoundland & Labrador's accounting watchdog over the firm's use of #AI in a $1.6-million government healtcare report that contains at least four fake citations #artificialintelligence #nlpoli
theindependent.ca/news/lji/acc...

Smith says she's cutting access to social support programs because she "heard that people were moving here just to be on social programs."

This sort of hearsay framing is a dangerous rhetorical device employed by populists. Consider Donald Trump. +

Alberta ‘excessively vulnerable’ to foreign interference, experts warn | CBC News Alberta is not ready to deal with the threat of online disinformation coming from foreign actors in a possible referendum campaign on separation this fall, according to national security experts.

“Alberta is not ready to deal with the threat of online disinformation coming from foreign actors in a possible referendum campaign on separation this fall”

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

“It is no longer sufficient to rely on reactive moderation from technology companies, especially if that moderation is unpopular with users.” Perspective “Dual Public Health and Regulatory Dilemmas of ‘Relational’ Artificial Intelligence” by Nicholas Peoples, M.D., M.Sc., M.S., and Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Ph.D., M.A.

The authors of a new Perspective warn that emotionally dependent attachments to #AI companions may potentially carry significant risks and argue for proactive clinical, research, and policy responses to anticipate harm and maximize societal benefits. nejm.ai/3YqXczH

#MedSky #MLSky

Declining Population Means Fewer People Left To Die by Sarah Auger, Petra Schulz and Angela Welz

heartsalberta.substack.com/p/declining-...

Our new paper led by Javiera Navarrete looks at the state of implementation science research on #harmreduction services delivered by pharmacy staff. 🧪

bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/3...

Family science professor hopes her study supports the need for a national caregiving strategy  – WCHRI Shame compounds stress on caregivers of rural drug users

If you aren’t already following the work of Dr. @hollymathias.bsky.social you should be!

www.wchri.org/our-impact/s...

Alberta's flu season is now the deadliest in recent memory as experts call for action | CBC News Influenza deaths have soared to new heights in Alberta this year, according to nearly two decades worth of data, prompting concern from health experts.

Influenza deaths have soared to new heights in Alberta this year, according to nearly two decades worth of data, prompting concern from health experts
Latest from me👇

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Cover of The Lancet:

@thelancet.com
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

NM, Facing Rising Deaths, Calls for Overdose Prevention Center Study - Filter On February 9, New Mexico state senators will discuss a proposal to study the feasibility of overdose prevention centers (OPC). ...

🧵As proven through an array of studies & folks' lived experiences in the U.S. & abroad, #OverdosePrevention centers ( #OPCs) save lives, improve #PublicHealth outcomes for entire communities, & uplift the well-being of people who use drugs. We'll continue advocating for these...

bit.ly/NMOPCs

"Danielle Smith's government is acting as an embassy for the worst we've seen from south of the border, and it's time to say no.”

The Assembly of Treaty Chiefs has passed a unanimous vote of non-confidence in the UCP government.

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

Ontario must do more for international students seeking health care International students contribute billions to Ontario but remain excluded from OHIP. Why fair health care access matters.

Pleased to see this commentary in Policy Options published by @ualberta.bsky.social MPH student Pranav Sabde. This piece started as an assignment in the health policy course I co-taught with @jaredwesley.ca last term.

policyoptions.irpp.org/2026/02/inte...

If you watch 2 minutes of video today…

Make it this.

A masterclass on oratory and personal responsibility is on full display.

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

What do U.S. adults think about the legal use of #psychedelics & other drugs?

% supporting legal use:

#Cannabis-65%
#Psilocybin-23%
#LSD-10%
#MDMA-9%
#Cocaine-8%

New @rand.org report does a deep dive, going beyond this simple yes/no/don't know question ⬇️

www.rand.org/pubs/researc...

Green-filtered photo of Chapter members at founding meeting. Text reads: "St. Albert-Sturgeon Community Members Launch Newest Friends of Medicare Chapter. Read more from FOM: friendsofmedicare.org/news"

Big news: Friends of Medicare has a brand new chapter!

St. Albert & Sturgeon County residents have come together to organize & advocate for the protection & expansion of public health care in their community and beyond.

Read more & get involved:
www.friendsofmedicare.org/stalbert_stu...

Danger was flagged, but not reported: What the Tumbler Ridge tragedy reveals about Canada’s AI governance vacuum In cases like the Tumbler Ridge shooter’s flagged ChatGPT account, Canada lacks a legal framework for assigning responsibility when an AI company possesses information that could prevent violence.

Danger was flagged, but not reported: What the Tumbler Ridge tragedy reveals about Canada’s AI governance vacuum
theconversation.com/danger-was-f...

I Don’t Recognize Alberta Anymore - Macleans.ca My province has always fought with Ottawa. What’s new is a premier who gives legitimacy to separation.

Maclean's approached me about writing a personal essay on Alberta Secession and my opposition to it.
It was published today.
macleans.ca/politics/i-d...

ANALYSIS | Danielle Smith says court 'skewed' to Liberal donors, but UCP picks have political ties just as often | CBC News CBC analysis suggests about one-fifth of federally named judges match with Liberal donor lists. About as many judges picked by the province likely gave to UCP.

Danielle Smith shared a wildly inaccurate claim on federally appointed judges’ Liberal ties. But that also raised the question: what about the judges UCP gov’t picks for Alberta.
My deep dive:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Thank you 🤍

Duterte refuses to attend ICC pre-trial hearing, as former Philippine leader’s ‘drug war’ case begins Duterte, 80, is accused of crimes against humanity over an anti-drugs crackdowns in which thousands of people were killed in the South-east Asian nation

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

There is so much to unpack from Smith's TV address. It was a firehose of information. But one thing I need to emphasize. A referendum question to introduce an Alberta head tax on immigration!

The political effects of X's feed algorithm https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10098-2 Received: 16 December 2024 Accepted: 4 January 2026 Published online: 18 February 2026 Open access • Check for updates Germain Gauthier,5, Roland Hodler?5, Philine Widmer35 & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya3,4,5 m Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes. However, previous evidence from switching off the algorithm on Meta platforms found no political effects'. Here we present results from a 2023 field experiment on Elon Musk's platform X shedding light on this puzzle. We assigned active US-based users randomly to either an algorithmic or a chronological feed for 7 weeks, measuring political attitudes and online behaviour. Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. In contrast, switching from the algorithmic to the chronological feed had no comparable effects. Neither switching the algorithm on nor switching it off significantly affected affective polarization or self-reported partisanship. To investigate the mechanism, we analysed users' feed content and behaviour. We found that the algorithm promotes conservative content and demotes posts by traditional media. Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm, helping explain the asymmetry in effects. These results suggest that initial exposure to X's algorithm has persistent effects on users' current political attitudes and account-following behaviour, even in the absence of a detectable effect on partisanship.

A new paper shows that less than 2 months of exposure to Twitter’s algorithmic feed significantly shifts people’s political views to the right.

Moving from chronological feed to the algorithmic feed also increases engagement.

This is one of the most concerning papers I’ve read in awhile.

Documents Show BC Knew Safe-Supply Diversion Was Negligible - Filter Even as British Columbia’s Ministry of Health was caving to right-wing panic over “diversion” of safe supply drugs, its public ...

BC knew that just 0.3% of drugs seized in Vancouver by weight were hydromorphone.

"Rather than publicize the evidence to correct loud claims of diversion flooding communities, the BC government opted to sit on the information and retreat from safe supply."

@godfrey.bsky.social reports:

Landmark settlement could create new protections for harm reduction under disability law  A Christian group announces a potentially landmark legal settlement that the ACLU says could establish new federal protections for harm reduction services.

Harm reduction services, including syringe service and fentanyl testing programs, are proven to save lives.

As a federal court recognized, people with substance use disorder have a right to these services under disability law.