Caldwell also removed the controversial Youth News Network from Manitoba schools. The network's parent company, Athena Education Partners, had previously offered free technology to schools in return for requiring students to watch daily YNN broadcasts, which included commercials from private corporations. According to Todd Scarth of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, YNN televisions were equipped with two-way monitoring systems to ensure that students were watching and that the volume was not adjusted. Athena's contracts also required schools to hire a half-day technician to maintain YNN equipment. Caldwell described YNN's programming as "clearly an unsatisfactory curriculum choice" for children, and oversaw the program's elimination once previously-signed contracts were concluded in August 2000. The network was also banned in other provinces, and went off the air in 2000.