November 8, 2024

CUPE to defy Ford government’s ‘shocking’ legislation + a fatal shooting outside a Scarborough school

CUPE #CUPE

Good morning. This is the Tuesday, Nov. 1 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 an upcoming school strike, the Emergencies Act inquiry and a shooting outside a Scarborough school.

DON’T MISS:

Ontario school support staff say they’ll walk out Friday

In defiance of legislation introduced Monday by Ontario’s education minister to avert a strike — and despite having a new contract imposed on them — school support staff across the province will walk off the job Friday. The action will leave hundreds of thousands of GTA students out of school, Kristin Rushowy reports. Here’s why a constitutional and labour lawyer called the government’s latest move “shocking” and what we know about mediation efforts.

  • Context: This is the first time in Canada since 1986 that the notwithstanding clause has been used to pass labour legislation, and the second time Doug Ford’s government has used it.
  • Word from the union: “This is a violation of our human and our labour rights,” said CUPE’s national president. “They don’t care, and they are going to squirm this through come hell or high water.”
  • By the numbers: It’s unclear if the strike will last after Friday. Stephen Lecce announced there will be a $4,000 fine per worker for each day off work, plus a $500,000 daily fine for the union. CUPE said it will cover members’ fines, which could total $220 million per day.
  • “Freedom Convoy” occupiers knew they could close Ottawa

    The demonstrators that occupied Ottawa in February received near-daily reports from a so-called “Freedom Convoy” supporter, providing updates on police actions, unfounded claims and conspiracy theories. The documents, which are referenced in an Ontario Provincial Police threat assessment accessed by the Star Monday, show organizers knew they could “block all downtown Ottawa” before they arrived, Alex Ballingall and Tonda MacCharles report. Take a closer look at the communications between demonstrators as police wrestled with how to confront them.

  • Context: Over 13 days of public hearings so far, the inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act has heard that OPP intelligence predicted protesters could stay in Ottawa for a lengthy period, but that the local police department — under the leadership of then-Chief Peter Sloly — believed most demonstrators would leave after a single weekend.
  • A double shooting put a Scarborough high school in lockdown

    One male died and another was taken to hospital in serious condition after a shooting outside of Woburn Collegiate Monday afternoon — the second fatal shooting outside the school in two years. It wasn’t yet clear if the victims were students, but they were believed to be teenagers, a police spokesperson said. Jennifer Pagliaro reports on the terror students and parents felt as they heard the sounds of gunfire.

  • More: The school went into lockdown just before 3:30 p.m. and the Toronto District School Board announced an end to the lockdown around 5:15 p.m.
  • Word from John Tory: As politicians took to social media to express their sorrow over the incident, Mayor John Tory said he intended to sit down with police and school board officials to see what more could be done to ensure safety around schools.
  • WHAT ELSE:

    POV:

    Doug Ford’s math on social assistance doesn’t add up — here’s why it doesn’t solve the problem of legislated poverty for people on ODSP.

    CLOSE-UP:

    MILL VALLEY JUNIOR SCHOOL: Students have a dance party after walking around the school for their Halloween Parade.

    Thank you for reading First Up. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca

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