Most of the media coverage of last week’s Ontario budget focused on beer and licence plates. But today in The Conversation Canada, we dig deeper into a far more important issue – the decision by the Ford government to cut legal aid funding by 30 per cent. Legal experts Sharry Aiken of Queen’s University and Sean Rehaag of York University explain how the cuts will cause hardships for many low-income Ontarians – and why it's especially cruel for refugee claimants, who will now receive no legal aid funding from the province.

None of us need another reason to spend more time with our phones. But active-living researcher Tarun Katapally of the University of Regina explains how smartphones could tackle “the physical inactivity pandemic” by helping people understand the amount of physical activity they accumulate.

Have you ever heard of the “Olympics for education”? A team of education specialists explain PISA – the Programme for International Student Assessment, a global academic benchmark for for 15-year-olds launched by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Margot Irvine of the University of Guelph has done a lovely profile on the legendary French film director Agnès Varda, who died at the age of 90 last month. She also explains why fans left potatoes as a tribute at her home and burial place.

And finally…our global team has provided several stories about the tragic fire at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The news is slightly better this morning than it was on Monday, but rebuilding the structure will take years and cost millions.

Regards,