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

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.

“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.

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.

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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