Editorials - May 29, 2026
Road to nowhere
In the first major theological document of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has set out his concerns for the human race as artificial intelligence continues to evolve and become increasingly pervasive in our day-to-day lives in his papal encyclical entitled “Magnifica humanitas”.
In his 42,300-word treatise, he calls for government regulation of the private companies driving the development of AI; protection and retraining for workers whose jobs are threatened; education to help students think critically about the technology; action to protect children from violent, hypersexualized or fake information online that is often generated by AI, and safeguards to ensure that humans remain responsible for all decisions regarding the use of weapons.
Above all, he emphasized the importance of retaining a fundamental social role for all human beings, arguing that the rise of AI risks the very foundations that humankind seeks to establish a just and stable society.
Pope Leo has made peace-making a central theme and is concerned with the role that technology generally and AI specifically play in global stability. He warns that the current development of AI is concentrated in just a few hands and calls for more government oversight internationally.
Pope Leo ultimately prescribes the disarmament of AI, not as a means of “rejecting technology” but “preventing it from dominating humanity.” That doctrine means “freeing technology from monopolistic control and opening it to discussion and debate, therefore making it human-friendly.”
We should all consider the long-reaching implications of this new technology when we think that we are harmlessly using ChatGPT to create an advertisement for our church, or getting advice from a Chatbot or asking Alexa to find us some rock and roll on the internet. – DS
Qu’est-ce que c’est?
Earlier this week, the Ontario Appeal Court dismissed Ford’s effort to cancel an order that calls for access to Ford’s personal call log and requires Ford to hand over his phone records. This fight by Global News dates back to 2022 and deals with development of Greenbelt land but it could be a catch-all for Ford’s many scandals. Also this week, Ford fought to prevent the release of documents tied to the blue licence plate debacle - a freedom of information request from The Canadian Press. Engaged readers will remember that the Minister at the centre of that controversy was none other than our own Lisa Thompson as the Minister of Government and Consumer Services.
On the same day, Caroline Mulroney announced that she would be leaving politics after being a shining light in the PC Party for years (as well as a leadership candidate in the pre-Ford days). Mulroney, notably, has not shut the door on further political involvement in the future. (Do any federal, conservative-leaning parties have deadbeat leaders that no one likes? Perhaps a job opening awaits?)
Despite being different stories, they all carry the through line of a lack of transparency. “You’re talking a lot, but you’re not saying anything,” goes “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads. Those with nothing to hide don’t go to great legal lengths to keep their records from the very people they serve. A common refrain during Ford’s last two terms is, “What is Doug Ford hiding?” We deserve to know the answer. – SL
Life during wartime
There is something uniquely painful about watching a country drift toward a cliff while knowing you cannot grab the wheel. That is the feeling many Canadians outside Alberta are experiencing as Premier Danielle Smith’s government advances a referendum on sovereignty. Prime Minister Mark Carney compared the situation to Brexit, calling these kinds of campaigns a “dangerous bluff” sold to voters as a harmless negotiating tactic. He should know. Carney was governor of the Bank of England during the Brexit years and watched a symbolic protest vote mutate into a decade-long national migraine.
Much of this separation movement feels less like a sincere constitutional project than an effort to destabilize Canada for the benefit of resource extraction interests that view environmental regulation, Indigenous consultation and national institutions as inconvenient speed bumps. The dream being sold is not sovereignty in any meaningful sense. It is deregulation wrapped in prairie mythology.
And yet, from Ontario, there is very little we can actually do. We cannot vote in Alberta’s referendum. We cannot parachute into Calgary and resolve decades of alienation. Democracy can be agonizingly local. You watch events unfold from a distance like someone standing on shore while a storm rearranges the coastline. What we can do is smaller, quieter and probably more important. We can build communities that reflect the Canadian values we claim to cherish. We can vote in municipal elections that too often attract the turnout of an abandoned curling rink.
And we can talk to friends and family in Alberta with empathy instead of smugness. Alienation cannot be defeated through ridicule. If Canada is worth keeping together, it has to feel worth belonging to. – SBS