Weekly News Recap: February 6, 2026

Weekly News Recap: February 6, 2026

Catherine O’Hara, photographed in 2024. Scott A Garfitt Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP

I think one of the sexiest things a couple can share is laughing. -- Catherine O'Hara

SOME GOOD NEWS

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. VIDEO: Want perfect Olympic ice? Call the Canadians (CBC) CANADIAN STORY What! No lucky loonie?! Ah, but the ice will be PERFECT. "Canadian ice masters are in charge of creating the perfect surfaces for hockey and long-track speed skating at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics. Don Moffatt and Mark Messer tell CBC News chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault about their techniques and why there won’t be a lucky loonie buried under centre ice."

  2. Opinion | Catherine O’Hara’s death feels deeply personal for Canadians. Here’s why we’re so devastated (The Toronto Star) I, like many, was gutted. RIP Catherine. We will not see your like again. "When O’Hara died on Jan. 30 at 71, I believe many Canadians felt bereft precisely because they felt like they knew her. The shock of her passing on has left a void in the Canadian cultural fabric that feels deeply personal. O’Hara wasn’t just a Hollywood star who happened to be from Etobicoke; she was the architect of a specific brand of Canadian comedy — one that was collaborative, character-driven and fiercely original. To lose her is to lose the leader of a comedic revolution that began on a small stage in Toronto and eventually conquered the world."

  3. VIDEO: Animated series celebrates women trailblazers, including Canada's first Black female lawyer (CBC) CANADIAN STORY And...I live two doors down from her childhood home. And, there is a move afoot to name the park at the end of my street for her. What a role model! "Jo-Anne Henry says her mother never described herself as a rebel. 'I don't ever remember my mom saying, 'I was the first Black woman lawyer in all of Canada,' Henry said in a phone interview from her home in New York. Violet King, who later married and became Violet King Henry, was also the first Black person to graduate with a law degree in Alberta and the first Black person to be called to the bar in the province."

  4. Cyber headache: U of S to shut down alumni email accounts on Feb. 15 (CBC) SASKATOON STORY "The University of Saskatchewan says it’s shutting down the email service used by thousands of alumni due to rising data costs and cybersecurity threats. For about 20 years, the U of S has offered its graduates a lifetime university email account. On Feb. 15, the university will end alumni email service and close existing accounts. Some alumni are worried they’ll miss important messages sent to an email address they can no longer have, or lose access to banking and other important services if they can't recover passwords."

  5. New archbishop for northern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, speaks Tamil, Cree as well as English (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Quite the story. Ordained in 2000, appointed an archbishop 26 years later. "As a teenager in southern India, Susai Jesu led 4:30 a.m. prayer services in his small Catholic village before the farmers went into the fields. He directed the choir, helped at Mass and soon began training for the priesthood. Little did he know that this dedication would take him halfway around the world on a vast cross-cultural journey — ministering among Indigenous Catholics in Canada, learning their language, culture and historical traumas. He also hosted Pope Francis at his Edmonton parish when the late pontiff visited Canada in 2022 to apologize for the Catholic Church's role in the country's residential school system and its "catastrophic" effects."

  6. VIDEO: Building a Functional LEGO Typewriter (YouTube) This was too good to not include. #NerdyCool "Lego once released a typewriter set but it only mimicked the functions of a typewriter, since then I have always wondered if you could build a working typewriter only using LEGO bricks so today I’m trying to do just that."

  7. VIDEO: Olds College craft brewing program suspension 'very disappointing' for Alberta brewers (CBC) OLDS STORY I remember when this opened. I did the naming for the teaching brewery. I am sad to see this. "Olds College is suspending its craft brewing program and will be closing its brewery later this year, pointing to decreased enrolment and the "downward trend" of the craft beer industry. The official suspension of the central Alberta college's Craft Beverage and Brewery Operations program, which offered a two-year diploma with hands-on experience, comes after the school announced last year that intake would be suspended. "Unfortunately, the craft beer industry has been on a downward trend for the last few years and has resulted in significantly decreased student enrolment," Olds College said in a statement."

  8. VIDEO: Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology closing after international student enrolment drops (CBC) MANITOBA STORY "The Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology is winding down operations over the course of the next year as a result of a steep decline in international student enrolment. The Winnipeg post-secondary institution announced [...] it will be closing after a federal cap led to a drop in international enrolment exceeding 55 per cent, making its current financial model "unsustainable," a memo on MITT's website said. The memo initially said the provincial government directed that MITT wind down operations, but was later changed to remove reference to the province. The document also stated that an undetermined number of programs will be transferred to RRC Polytech."

  9. Yukon University and Arctic Winter Games joint statement on food services and space use (Yukon University) WHITEHORSE STORY I am sorry to see this. "Yukon University and the Whitehorse 2026 Arctic Winter Games Host Society are announcing that, by mutual agreement, the University will withdraw from its role in the upcoming Arctic Winter Games [...] The University has been in ongoing internal conversations in an attempt to gain some clarity and certainty that any labour disruption would allow uninterrupted Games' time access to the whole campus."

  10. VIDEO: How a Canadian in Rome is building a Catholic AI from Vatican archives (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT I love the name of this AI. " 'When ChatGPT dropped, I saw an answer to a problem I was trying to address all my life,' said Matthew Harvey Sanders. The Torontonian — a serious-mannered 43-year-old in clerical black — stands in the modern library of the Vatican's Pontifical Oriental Institute. Balconies lined with shelves rise three storeys overhead, housing one of the largest collections of books on Eastern Catholic traditions in the world. It is a fraction of the Catholic Church's written record: councils and synods, papal encyclicals, official documents and statistical yearbooks tracking baptisms, marriages and ordinations. Sanders is turning that corpus into Magisterium AI, a Catholic-focused artificial intelligence platform he founded and runs as chief executive."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. The Ancient Origins of the Names of the Days of the Week (Mental Floss) Fascinating.

  2. The Smart Guide to Cooking Oils: What to Use, When (Super Age) If you are a serious cook, you have to know your oils.

  3. Cosmic Odometer (Cosmic Odometer) Well, I have just passed 17% of a light year. I don't think I will make the full distance ;-)

  4. VIDEO: History of Headphones: Unraveling the Fascinating Sound Journey (YouTube) I love my headphones.

  5. 24 Simple Secrets to a Healthier Life (New York Times) Easy to read. Smart. And #6, while true, made me laugh.

  6. 7 Tiny Rituals That Restore My Hope (Even on Heavy Days) (Activated Thinker) End your day softly.

  7. Psychologists Say This Small Boundary Habit Makes People Respect You Instantly (Illumination) I have seen this in action -- it's a smart habit.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. $5 Million Gift Establishes Circle for Indigenous Health Research and Innovation at NOSM University (NOSM) ONTARIO STORY "The $5 million donation was made by anonymous donors whose generosity supports Indigenous-led solutions that improve health outcomes across Northern Ontario and advances equity, accountability, and reconciliation."

  2. Billionaire Ross Stevens Donates Record $100 Million to Pay Every U.S. Olympian (Town and Country) "“I do not believe that financial insecurity should stop our nation’s elite athletes from breaking through to new frontiers of excellence,” [Ross] said."

  3. Canadian foundation announces $50 million gift to new University of Kiryat Shmona (Jerusalem Post) CANADIAN CONTENT "The Vancouver-based Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation donated CAD $50 million to the University of Kiryat Shmona to support expansion as the North moves from prolonged displacement toward recovery, the university announced."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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