Youth Speak News

Canada’s provincial and federal politicians essentially locked the country down again over Christmas because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Tightening restrictions intensified the dreariness, the darkness and coldness of a Christmas season in Canada. These limits on freedom were even instituted in communities that were faring well with flattening the pandemic’s curve.

While University of Toronto students are still closed off from campus due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the institution’s interfaith book club is still coming together in an ecumenical spirit online.

Dinner table conversations at my house often turn to the fond reminiscing of the teenage life of my parents.

In a year when everything was virtually, uhhhh, virtual, Michael Paglia and his music students at All Saints Catholic Secondary School in Whity, Ont., were honoured for their contribution to this virtual reality. 

The new year has arrived, a time many seize as an opportunity to reset, make resolutions and start fresh. This year, I’m sure the question resonates with many around the world — could 2021 please be better than 2020? 

Like most charities across Canada, the Arctic Rose Foundation finds itself operating in a landscape that is, and will remain, uncertain for some time.

As we move into the winter months, we notice the drastic reduction in the number of daylight hours. Each of us is almost guaranteed to have heard that common refrain: “It gets dark so early now!”

With the second wave of COVID-19 dismantling the equilibrium between joy and gloominess, a night of music, prayer and testimony was organized to help Calgary youth take part in the Advent experience.

Social media has fundamentally changed the world. While it has sparked generational, international connectivity, it has also been a gateway to a never-ending stream of controversy. Nowhere has this played out more than in one concept: cancel culture.

In times of adversity, people often search for some light to shed understanding and comfort. For 13-year-old Rachel Bearisto, this light was a new Christmas tradition begun amidst the restrictions COVID-19 has forced upon the holiday season.