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Written by Chris Bilton Copy Editor, Digital News
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Good morning. Today we'll dive into the latest research about screen addiction among kids and young adults. We'll also provide an update on how the Build Canada Homes agency is tracking against its goals a year after being launched. And CBC News obtained National Defence documents detailing the challenges faced by Canadian troops during a major training exercise with American forces in Alaska.
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FEATURED STORIES
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(Jc Milhet/Hans Lucas/AFP/Getty Images)
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Kids and young adults are addicted to screens. New research argues it may be a public health concern
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The physical and mental well-being of millions of kids around the world is at risk because of excess screen time, according to a new series of research papers published Sunday by medical journal The Lancet.
What's happening: Researchers reviewed data from 2,790 studies comprised of more than nine million participants. Among the youngest users of digital devices, age 10 and under, too much screen time was linked to sleeping less and affected cognitive, emotional and social development. For young people between the ages of 10 and 24, the implications ranged from mental health problems and reduced physical activity to substance abuse, self-harm and suicidal ideation.
Why it matters: The researchers say the true severity of the issue can't be fully understood or addressed without access to tech companies' own user data — something those companies are currently under no obligation to share. While the data review in The Lancet highlights the positive benefits of digital media for young people when it's used in moderation and for education and extracurricular learning, one Toronto psychologist says in order to leverage the benefits, the risks of these technologies need to be managed.
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Build Canada Homes was launched a year ago. Is it moving too slowly to meet the demand for affordable housing?
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Build Canada Homes, the federal government's initiative to tackle the housing crisis and speed up residential construction, has committed to supporting the construction of roughly 19,000 affordable units across the country. A year in, only about 2,000 of these are currently being built.
What's happening: The agency promises to scale up the delivery of affordable housing at a time when industry leaders are raising the alarm about the lagging pace of housing development across the country. Though the agency technically only became a Crown corporation in July, its spokesperson Joshua Coke told CBC News: "Canada's housing sector is under unprecedented pressure, with demand for affordable homes far exceeding current supply."
Why it matters: The Canadian government — under both Conservatives and Liberals — effectively stopped funding and building new affordable housing for roughly three decades. Meanwhile, housing starts have hovered around 250,000 annually over the past two years, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a pace that needs to be doubled "if we are to restore 2019 affordability across the country," says its chief economist Mathieu Laberge.
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Canadian troops struggle in Alaska as military relearns Arctic warfare
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A series of internal Department of National Defence documents obtained by CBC News suggest Canadian troops were ill-prepared and occasionally ill-equipped for the harsh conditions they faced last winter during a major training exercise with American forces in Alaska.
What happened: The February training, which involved more than 400 members of the 3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment (3RCR) during Exercise Global Response, north of Fairbanks, Alaska, saw troops deal with frostbite, failing batteries, communications problems and gaps in basic winter skills.
Why it matters: The Carney government has committed to an almost year-round presence in the Far North. Despite the challenges, the battalion was successful in the exercise by capturing its training objectives. But the reports indicate, among other things, that troops will need to learn to rely less on technology and more on basic skills in order to fight and survive, according to defence experts.
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