A
@TorontoStar
investigation has revealed the federal government is fast-tracking applications for temporary foreign workers by directing processing officers to skip crucial steps designed to prevent fraud by
@GhadaaSharif
and
@KenyonWallace
To put it into perspective what a loss this is, here's a
@TorontoStar
archives photo by Todd Karol of St. Anne’s Anglican Church with art work painted by members of the Group of Seven:
Absolutely heartbreaking to see these drone shots of Toronto’s St. Anne’s church. It’s completely gutted. So much beauty, so much history, destroyed within hours.
📷:
@PatMorrell_CBC
Deputy mayor Jennifer McKelvie says drivers blocking intersections, aka "blocking the box," will now be fined $450, up from $85, if ticketed. In community safety zones, the fine will now be $500, up from $120.
@TorontoStar
story to be updated here:
An update from
@andy_takagi
and I: The
@TorontoStar
has learned that the dumpster which may have possibly played a role in the cyclist’s death (police still investigating) was illegally blocking the bike lane, without a city permit ➡️
A 24-year-old woman killed by a dump truck driver is the fourth cyclist to die on Toronto streets this year. Police are investigating construction material that was blocking the bike lane near where she was killed in Yorkville via
@torontostar
“Body cameras worn by Toronto police officers are equipped with lights to indicate when they are active and recording. Elewa said he saw multiple officers turn off their cameras during the demonstration.” via
@TorontoStar
6 arrested at pro-Palestinian protest on Saturday; videos show a tense scene with several violent interactions between cops & protesters
@TorontoStar
's coverage linked below. huge thanks to everyone who responded to my post yesterday and talked to us!
Column from
@thekeenanwire
:
Just what does a cop have to do to get fired in this town? Toronto police officers can evidently keep their jobs and keep getting paid for them even after they’ve been convicted of a crime. via
@TorontoStar
Hundreds of cyclists are out for Toronto’s third ghost bike memorial ride this year, for 59-year-old Vlad Zotov, who died last week after being struck by a driver:
Ride co-organized by
@RespectTO
and
@MGridetoronto
It’s been an absolute joy reporting on the
@TorontoStar
’s city desk (with an occasional hand in breaking news) for the past year and a half. Now, I’m honoured to share that I’ll be joining the superstar team led by
@BenSpurr
at the city hall bureau for the next year!
I set a goal for myself last year to complete a personal trifecta before I graduate: get cover stories on business, culture and the front page. As of today, that’s complete! I’m also honoured to have my very first A1 byline alongside a reporter whose work I admire! 🎉
My latest for
@TorontoStar
: Trekked and tracked the whole 15.6 km of Metrolinx’s Ontario Line (yes, by foot) to see how it’s rumbling through local neighbourhoods🚊
The digging is just beginning, but the Ontario Line is already remaking Toronto. The Star's
@mahdishabibinia
and
@Lachancephoto
travelled the entire 15.6-kilometre length to find out how.
Part 2 of 2: l'll be joining the
@TorontoStar
's radio room at the breaking news desk for the next few months as well! Send all tips and quips my way at mhabibinia
@thestar
.ca😁 dms are open too. (Welcoming all and any pasta recipes)
The intent of the Port Lands’ flood protection project, which includes rerouting the Don River, is to flood protect the Port Lands’ floodplain and portions of East Bayfront and Leslieville. It was not designed to mitigate flooding on the DVP, which is in the Don River floodplain.
Didn't we spend like a billion dollars in public funds on a Don River flood mitigation plan, and is it now just causing the Don River to flood in a different place?
This week I returned to a formidable newsroom at the
@TorontoStar
as a generalist staff reporter, and on Monday I start with the city desk (i.e. urban affairs, crime, city hall, housing)😊 Any issues or stories you think I should look into, reach out at mhabibinia
@thestar
.ca
The
@TorontoStar
’s crime & justice team has been nothing short of phenomenal in covering the Umar Zameer trial & the succession of questions that followed Sunday’s verdict.
A 🧵 of Star stories, overseen by an equally talented set of editors which include
@EdTubb
&
@tocudmore
:
A must-read from
@dmrider
on why Willowdale’s modular housing project is rotting in a warehouse, 1 of 5 in Toronto meant to quickly ease its housing crisis. Fantastic reporting coupled w tackling misinformation and accountability head-on. via
@TorontoStar
RCMP say a longtime City of Toronto senior bureaucrat was part of an organized crime gambling ring allegedly run by an ex-Hells Angels hit man.
From
@dmrider
via
@TorontoStar
Despite council's push to crack down on drivers causing gridlock, we reported recently that Toronto police are laying far fewer tickets than in the past for box-blocking. As of mid August, police laid 113 charges this year — fewer than one a day:
More Spadina x TTC news! Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik has introduced a motion to install a temporary bus priority lane on a busy stretch of Spadina for the buses that have recently replaced the 510 streetcar via
@TorontoStar
I wish people would understand that journalists aren't "behind" on the news just because social media posts circulate moments before our stories do. There's a thing called verification that needs to happen before we publish and embed something into the public record *forever*.
Southbound travel times for transit riders on Spadina Avenue have been reduced by almost half during peak hours after dedicated bus lanes were added to temporarily replace the 510 streetcar,
@MayorOliviaChow
just told reporters at Spadina x Front.
From me: Toronto, UHN and United Way agreed in 2019 to create 500 affordable homes with health & social supports at seven sites across the city. A housing complex opening this winter in Parkdale will be the first. via
@TorontoStar
On TTC strike watch tonight: latest seems to be a shift in tone. Union last said “some progress” made in bargaining and latest TTC statements say it believes a deal is “within reach” for the midnight strike deadline. Follow
@TorontoStar
’s coverage here:
Thank you
@TorontoStar
@starradiobox
for an unforgettable six months where I learned a lot about myself as a reporter & I grew as a person. What made it all even better was meeting some remarkable colleagues & editors along the way.💙🤍 Stay tuned for one more story to go live👀
1/2 The past six weeks at The Globe and Mail as an intern have made me happier than any metaphor or cliche could even begin to cover. I’ve learned so much and met a countless number of amazing, talented individuals along the way!!
This is so dejecting.
@nziafati
is one of the brightest, most passionate and multi-skilled journalists I know. I often seek her guidance when I’m stuck or need a second set of eyes/ears/brain on even just life.
Nothing more depressing than waking up to news alerts about mass layoffs at your company.
And yes, I am one of them. Will have more to say later, when I'm not feeling this way.
.
@Yusuf_Faqiri
told the Star he didn’t just lose a brother who was “larger than life” but in the quest for justice, “some of us lost our entire decade.” He said he wants Canadians to understand mental illness affects everyone, and Soleiman’s tragedy could have been anyone’s.
Latest: Canada's Competition Bureau is suing Cineplex for allegedly advertising misleading ticket prices and drip pricing the total with online booking fees, noting the company has generated a revenue of nearly $17 million in junk fees. // via
@TorontoStar
It's no surprise that two wheels have claimed victory in the CityNews' Spadina Sprint. In a race along Spadina Avenue between walking, cycling and taking the 510 replacement bus, the bicycle has arrived first.
A U.S.-based security company is suing Air Canada over a major heist at Pearson airport this spring, claiming the airline allowed a thief to walk out of a warehouse with more than $20 million in cash and gold by presenting a phoney waybill. | Latest from
@BenSpurr
& I:
Latest from me and
@andy_takagi
for
@TorontoStar
: City lays bylaw charges against companies that illegally left garbage bin in bike lane where a cyclist died
With nearly 40 people involved in this project, the
@TorontoStar
’s new series, “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” launched yesterday, looking at how Canada is failing a generation and the toll it’s taking on kids.
Stories to roll out daily here:
There are 17,000 Ontario kids on wait lists for surgery, most for longer than is healthy. Meet Bahar. After years of delays, her future is at risk.
This is, “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” a series looking at how Canada is failing a generation. Can we fix it?
Special day celebrating
@TorontoMet
fall vocation today! Particularly privileged to present Honourary Doctorate citation for distinguished journalist
@LisaLaFlamme_
and Dean's Award recipient, the talented graduate of
@thecreativeschl
@mahdishabibinia
Congratulations to all!
At 15, Ozama Shaw is among the youngest killed by police in Ontario. Six years later, his mom still searches for meaning as a coroner’s inquest unfolds. Set to close Wed., the jury may make recommendations on how to prevent similar deaths. Via
@torontostar
TTC bus vs streetcar: With the Spadina streetcar and transit corridor down until December, replacement buses have now joined one of the city’s most congested roads and I tested both (so you don’t have to): via
@TorontoStar
with photos by
@Lachancephoto
Soleiman Faqiri: A mother’s memories of the son she loved, before he was killed by Ontario jail guards. Via
@TorontoStar
⬇️
Also a 🧵 of other facts I learned about Soleiman while reporting.
@Justice4Soli
1/7
Coun. Jennifer McKelvie says she plans to give Taylor Swift this T-shirt when she visits in November. (Also, Rogers has apparently agreed to cover the costs in temporarily renaming the route from Rogers Centre to Nathan Phillips Square as “Taylor Swift Way”.)
“You live east? I live west. In Toronto’s gridlock that means we can’t be friends”
@KopunF
on how Toronto’s traffic and public transit are shaping who we see and when we see them, and the divide is deep between Toronto East and West: via
@TorontoStar
Latest from me:
‘What’s the point?’ City Hall wants $450 fines for blocking the box — but Toronto drivers rarely get ticketed for causing gridlock via
@TorontoStar
“Information held by the government is supposed to be yours. Yet at every turn, the process gives institutions incentives to keep records hidden” // by
@robyndoolittle
and
@tom_cardoso
; data analysis by Mahima Singh and Yang Sun via
@globeandmail
@dmrider
T-minus 56 minutes until the midnight strike deadline. TTC last said at 10pm that progress is being made (waiting for their 11pm update). We haven’t heard from the union ATU Local 113 in the last couple hours but their last two updates (9:30 & 7:30) said progress was being made.
Latest from me: Police chief says people can expect to be arrested for any protests taking place on the Avenue Road overpass moving forward. “Activities that take place on the overpass in the surrounding areas will be investigated with a criminal lens.” Via
@TorontoStar
2/2 While my internship with the ROB finishes today (sobbing in CP), I’m so thankful and thrilled to say I will be back in a couple weeks to join the programming team at
@globeandmail
as Content Editor for the summer staff program🥳
BREAKING: TTC, union reach a framework settlement. TTC CEO Rick Leary said it’s essentially a tentative deal, they just need to cross Ts and dot Is
via
@TorontoStar
There is a lot of misinformation flying around executive committee today and in recent weeks around how much the Yonge-Dundas Square renaming will cost. Here's the TL;DR version: it will *not* cost tax payers hundreds of thousands more than initially reported.
Latest: Since Oct. 7, police have investigated 38 antisemitic hate crimes & 17 related to Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian or anti-Arab hate, Chief Myron Demkiw said today. A bolstered Hate Crimes Unit has arrested 25 people & laid 64 charges.
@TorontoStar
At 5:30 p.m., an announcement through Union Station advised service was resuming with “significant delays and cancellations.” Just before 6 p.m., additional announcements advised GO trains were heading to Hamilton, Milton, Barrie, Kitchener and Lakeshore West, among others.
#Developing
: All GO trains and UP Express stopped due to internet outage, CN says.
GO Transit says trains at all of its corridors are holding at the nearest station amidst a network-wide outage with CN systems.
2/2 While my internship with the ROB finishes today (sobbing in CP), I’m so thankful and thrilled to say I will be back in a couple weeks to join the programming team at
@globeandmail
as Content Editor for the summer staff program🥳
@TorontoStar
BREAKING: Soleiman Faqiri’s death should be deemed a homicide, coroner’s counsel tells jury. The status quo in Ontario jails “cannot continue,” Prabhu Rajan said Friday. Via
@TorontoStar
Thank you
@sabaeitizaz
for having me on
@StarThisMatters
to talk about takeaways & results of the inquest into Soleiman Faqiri’s death. It was fraught with distressing evidence & testimony. We can now say Soleiman was killed by jail guards — but his family knew this all along.
After 7 years of grieving & seeking answers,a coroner's inquest jury has given a verdict that might provide a little solace & closure for the Faqiri family...confirming Soleiman Faqiri's death was a homicide.
@mahdishabibinia
on
@StarThisMatters
explains:
With the thunderstorm in full effect, feels like a relevant moment to resurface this story on what the city calls its largest and most significant stormwater management project in Toronto's history, which has been in the works since 2012 ⬇️☔️
ICYMI from me for
@TorontoStar
:
Toronto’s had a massive stormwater management project underway for years. Here’s what these new tunnels will do during downpours
Massive shoutout to
@bcohenn
and
@joshualdwchong
for working long hours and days covering dozens & dozens of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests, sit-ins, demonstrations and press conferences. Their takeaways are worth a read ⬇️
Over the past 11 weeks,
@bcohenn
and I have covered more than 40 events in Toronto since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. What we've seen is heartbreaking, hopeful — and complicated.
Here's our weekend feature for the
@TorontoStar
:
Latest from me: As North York Harvest Food Bank
@nyhfb
continues to see rising demand for its services, the same affordability crisis driving visitors to them is making it difficult for the food bank to afford operating at a large scale. Via
@TorontoStar
Toronto has an ‘ambitious’ plan for Villiers Island. Planners say they’re balancing housing density with an inviting public realm, but critics say the plans don’t go far enough in an affordability crisis.
My latest for
@TorontoStar
:
📢Callout for a
@globeandmail
story:
Gas prices affecting ur spending in other ways? Do u drive a lot? Are u a local business owner or delivery driver? Live in the suburbs? Planning for the long weekend? If so, email me at mhabibinia
@globeandmail
.com or DM me. Open to referrals!
How this seven-year-old train enthusiast saw his dreams come true thanks to a GO staff member
A touching feel-good story by
@andy_takagi
for
@TorontoStar
From
@_kevindonovan
:
A toxic email exchange between Barry and Honey Sherman, recently obtained by the
@TorontoStar
, may shed light on why Toronto police investigators so vigorously pursued the mistaken murder-suicide theory.
The ‘pee-stain denim’ trend is a sign that the world is coming apart at the wet seams.
Fashion is supposed to conceal bodily functions – not celebrate them.
#Opinion
by
@vinaymenon
“In a message emailed to members and obtained by the Star, the Toronto Police Association’s board of directors said they were ‘able to influence the discussion around the police budget’ in a campaign that reached residents both through social media and at their doorstep.”
Toronto’s last outdoor batting cages and the longest go-kart track in Canada closed for good to allow for a Centennial Park revamp, despite thousands of people trying to save the facilities. Via
@TorontoStar
“Toronto police confirmed one person was arrested for breach of peace and was unconditionally released. Video on X appears to show the person was a counterprotester who was part of a small group that appeared to confront pro-Palestinian demonstrators, as observed by the Star.”
A pro-Palestinian rally in downtown Toronto on Saturday afternoon drew thousands of demonstrators and led to one arrest, and comes after a week of heightened tensions between demonstrators and police.
From
@julienreanna
and me in
@TorontoStar
:
Getting an education lowers a prisoner’s likelihood of reoffending. So why does Canada make it nearly impossible for inmates to take online courses? via
@TorontoStar
by
@BKennedyStar
Correction: This is a (biological) female who proved superior in skill and training to her (also biological) female opponent that had an initial, sore reaction to losing.
Watch this (whole thread), then explain why you’re OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment. This isn’t sport. From the bullying cheat in red all the way up to the organisers who allowed this to happen, this is men revelling in their power over women.
Another shocking exclusive from
@powellbetsy
&
@debdundas
: Alice Munro told a police officer her daughter Andrea Skinner was lying about her stepdad's sexual abuse despite his written confession to Munro, the now-retired officer told the
@TorontoStar
Two events will merge in one of the city’s lively neighbourhoods today: day two of the Taste of Little Italy festival then at 3 p.m. Italy begins its defence of its European Championship title against Albania ⚽️🇮🇹
Toronto police’s head of traffic services Supt. Matt Moyer “cautions” not to look at ticketing data alone. He said traffic agents are enforcing road rules “daily” while also moving traffic along, even if they don’t ticket often.
@TorontoStar
ATU Local 113 president Marvin Alfred saying it is not an official deal, it’s a framework but they will be ironing out details in the coming days.
.
@dmrider
@BenSpurr
&
@alysanmati
take a look inside Olivia Chow’s council: “outsiders suddenly on the inside, former Chow foes weighing opposition vs collaboration, erstwhile allies clinging to their independence” — & what it means for the city’s future.
"Maybe I’m wrong to believe it without seeing proof. But when enough people start talking about something, you start to think maybe there was something to it." smfh that quote right there basically sums up how mis/disinformation spreads
A crucial read, from
@alex_n_boyd
/
@calvi_leon
: A 'serial pooping problem' or something else? What's really behind the rumours about people defecating at Wasaga Beach via
@torontostar