The transfer of TDSB's longest serving principal sparked protests + Ontario line is costing Metrolinx a pretty penny
Good morning. This is the Thursday, June 12 edition of First Up, the Star's daily morning digest. Sign up to get it earlier each day, in your inbox.
Here's the latest on the TDSB transferring its longest-serving principal, Metrolinx's massive land payou t and growing surgery wait times.
Also, we're following developments on an Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport this morning with 242 people on board. Here's what we know.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
DON'T MISS
The TDSB's decision to transfer its longest serving principal is sparking protests
Here's what the rumour mill is saying about Barrie Sketchley's departure from Rosedale Heights.
TDSB seeks public feedback as it reviews controversial policy on specialized program admissions
This Ontario Line property is going to cost Metrolinx big money
A tribunal ruling sided with the land owners' appraisal. Here's how much Metrolinx has to pay.
Metrolinx forced him out of his $1,400-a-month home to make way for a new Ontario Line station. Now his rent has almost doubled — and he won't be the only one, the city warns
Canadians are facing growing wait times for 'priority' surgeries
Despite clearing the COVID backlog, wait times have spiked. Take a look at the data.
I paid $1,500 for an MRI and got an appointment in days. But such scans aren't always good for patients — or our health care system
WHAT ELSE
On Tuesday, federal industry minister Melanie Joly pointed to the domestic auto industry as a potential key part of Ottawa's commitment to reach its exanded defence spending goals.
Spencer Colby/ The Canadian Press file photo
Could Mark Carney's military plans save Canada's auto industry? Here's what you need to know.
Here's how Carney hopes to smooth over his differences with Trump at the G7 summit.
Canada set a record for the number of refugee claims received last year. This is what the UN report said.
Don't believe players' cooked-up story, the Crown said in their closing arguments at the Hockey Canada trial.
Vaughan stopped photo radar after a deluge of speeding tickets. These are the next steps.
Over 80 per cent of Toronto-area condos are now selling for under asking. Here's why.
Edward Keenan: Are police officers in our schools part of the solution? Here's how they could be.
A proposed class action alleges Uber eats customers faced hidden service fees. Here's more.
Kendrick Lamar is performing in Toronto for the first time since his feud with Drake ignited. Here's everything you need to know.
Canadian authors and fans say these 18 summer reads should top your TBR pile. Check out the list here.
POV
As climate induced hell-fires rage across the country, Canada looks to build pipelines.
CLOSE UP
Workers have put a protective coating on the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald along with a plaque acknowledging his controversial role in creating residential schools.
Richard Lautens/ Toronto Star
QUEEN'S PARK: Sir John A. Macdonald is out in public once again. The likeness of Canada's first prime minister, which gazes south down University Avenue, was boarded up five years ago following repeated acts of vandalism over his role in creating residential schools. Take a closer look at the controversy around the statue.
Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca. I will see you back here tomorrow.
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Winnipeg Free Press
37 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Back against the wall, Canada did right to appease Trump on digital tax
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Nevertheless, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Fox News Friday that he was going to abandon intensive tariff negotiations with Canada unless Carney abandoned the digital tax. Less than a day after Trump levelled his latest threat, Carney and the bombastic U.S. president had a call on Sunday night. When everyone awoke Monday morning, the tax was no more. The decision cost the Canadian treasury an estimated $2 billion in retroactive tax levies, and roughly $900 million a year going forward. Did Carney roll over and wiggle his legs in the air for Trump? Perhaps. But in this instance, the reason Carney backed down is arguably more important than the backing-down itself. The uncertainty that has been triggered in this country from the Trump administration's on-again, off-again tariff threats has taken a bite out of consumers and thrown many businesses in a broad array of sectors into financial disarray. Locking down a new continental trade deal is our last, best hope at getting off the Trumpian roller-coaster. Still, it comes at a price, both in terms of totally justifiable government revenues and pride. It doesn't really come with assurances that the mythical trade deal that Trump has been promising will put an end to his whimsical threats. Trump certainly has his own policy priorities; punishing countries that have economies built on manufacturing cheap goods that flood the American market has been his rallying cry for years. At the same time, however, he is susceptible to serving private interests that manage to curry his favour. That is certainly the case with the Big Tech companies that donated millions to his campaign and inauguration while bending a knee and capitulating to whatever nonsense Trump can imagine. The tech companies have eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs, stopped supporting Pride and other LGBTTQ+ organizations and events, and pledged to live under a self-imposed gag order on tariffs and the heavy-handed immigration deportations. All of this played a huge part in Trump taking up the fight to defeat digital tax schemes. Worse, those who have been following Canada-U.S. relations during Trump 2.0 will notice that what happened this weekend is an echo of the pattern Trump has established in his interactions with Canada. Will abandoning (for now) the notion of a digital tax guarantee that Trump won't pick some other issue as the straw that breaks the tariff negotiation's back? Nope, no guarantees. Trump is happy to threaten crippling tariffs on Canadian goods and services whenever he or his acolytes identify a new issue of derision. Since his inauguration in January, the critical issue that Trump linked to trade talks has changed repeatedly: illegal migrant traffic and border security; fentanyl; restrictions on U.S. banks doing business in Canada; demand-side management schemes for eggs, milk and cheese; defence spending; and, now, the digital tax. Trump threatens, Canada responds. On this particular issue, the response is particularly maddening. There is no persuasive economic or moral argument for allowing these gargantuan technology companies to continue earning money in Canada on a tax-free basis. It's not just Canada that thinks so. The member nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development are currently trying to establish a standard global tax for digital services. Even though there are many countries that levy such a tax — including the United Kingdom, and most of the European Union, including France, Germany and Italy— most reasonable observers know that having a single, predictable tax rate in all countries would make much less of a political concern. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. Until the OECD gets its act together — and given recent struggles, it's not certain it will — Trump can pick off digital tax countries one by one using his tariff bazooka. In the day and age of 'elbows up,' Carney's critics may disparage him for giving in (again) to Trump. In the long run, this one issue is not worth losing a chance to put a lid on the violently raging pot that is Trump's trade policy. Leaning once again into the parlance of hockey, Canada needs to be calm and calculated. Give in, but don't give up. And then, take some numbers so that, at some later day, we can kick some butt. Dan LettColumnist Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986. Read more about Dan. Dan's columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press' editing team reviews Dan's columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
European Central Bank head: Frequent shocks to economy make inflation more unpredictable
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Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
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