The life and legacy of Hazel McCallion + all the news you need to know today

Good morning. This is the Monday, Jan. 30 edition of First Up, the Star’s daily morning digest. Sign up to get it earlier each day, in your inbox.

The WHO says that the pandemic may be nearing an “inflexion point.” Here’s what we know.

Plus, the latest on the death of Hazel McCallion, the homelessness crisis hitting ERs and new alcohol guidelines.

DON’T MISS:

Hazel McCallion has died at age 101

Known as a shrewd and iron-willed politician, the longtime Mississauga mayor also had a reputation for her common touch and boundless energy, David Rider, Janet Hurley and Mike Funston report. She died early Sunday of pancreatic cancer, according to a longtime friend speaking on behalf of her family. Here’s what you should know about the life and legacy of the feared and revered “Hurricane Hazel.”

On the front lines of the homelessness crisis, a downtown ER tries a novel approach

At St. Michael’s hospital, staff aren’t just facing the pressures of the health care system — they’re facing a homelessness crisis as people turn to ERs for shelter when they have nowhere else to go. An emergency room chief says more than 4,500 homeless Torontonians entered the trauma centre in the last year, about 15 per cent of them because they had no alternative shelter options. Victoria Gibson reports on the new approach that connects ER patients with outreach workers who can help those experiencing homelessness find short- and long-term help.

Canada’s new alcohol guidelines have us rethinking our relationship with risk

According to new guidance from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, no amount of alcohol is good for your health and anything more than two drinks a week increases the risk for alcohol-related consequences like injury or cancer. The advice is a drastic change from what it had been over the past dozen years — that 10 drinks a week for women and 15 for men was considered low-risk. Janet Hurley reports on the guidance — and the emerging disbelief, displeasure and denial.

WHAT ELSE:

POV:

Toronto’s housing rules control where the city grows — and where it doesn’t. Here’s what that looks like.

CLOSE-UP:

MATTAMY ATHLETIC CENTRE: Premier Hockey Federation all-star Saroya Tinker, 24, is the executive director of the Black Girl Hockey Club. The girls are “my purpose … they’re what keeps me going,” she says. Here’s how she’s pushing to change the sport’s culture.

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

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