World Headlines: How the storm upended holiday travel

First Up

By Ashley Okwuosa

Good morning. Here’s the latest on holiday travel woes, Ontario’s recent changes to wetland protections, and a program to support newcomers during their first Canadian winter.

DON’T MISS

Paige Taylor White/The Star

weather

A winter storm upended holiday travel, thwarting family gatherings and more

After Friday’s winter storm, hundreds of flights were severely delayed or cancelled, leaving passengers stranded and unable to reunite with loved ones for the holidays, Clarrie Feinstein reports. At least 60 departing flights were cancelled at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Christmas Day, the airport said. Roughly 80 arrivals were also cancelled, while many passengers experienced hours-long delays. Here’s how Canadians travelling for the holidays had their plans upended by severe winter weather.

Off the rails: After a CN wagon derailed near Grafton, Ont., blocking trains passing through Kingston, Via Rail cancelled 25 trains between Toronto and Montreal on Christmas Day. Via said Sunday trains on those routes would also be cancelled today and passengers would receive a full refund.
Wait, what? Hundreds of Canadians are stuck in Mexico and don’t know don’t know how they’ll get home after their Sunwing flights were cancelled last week.
Silver lining: Here’s how three strangers stuck in Toronto en route to Sault Ste. Marie made the best of their situation.

Paige Taylor White/The Star

environment

The province overhauled how wetlands are evaluated — despite thousands of letters in opposition

On the eve of winter holidays, the province finalized its proposed changes to the “Ontario Wetland Evaluation System” — a scoring method that determines if a wetland warrants provincial protection. Critics, who include the Auditor General of Ontario, said the changes will “completely undermine the protection of wetlands in Ontario” while doing little to fix the housing crisis, reports Noor Javed. Here’s what the changes could mean for currently protected wetlands.

Go deeper: The changes reduce government oversight of evaluating wetlands, evaluating smaller wetlands independently and not as part of a larger wetland complex, and changing the scoring so the presence of an endangered species or species at risk would not automatically qualify the wetland for protection.
Bad news for: Conservation authorities in Toronto, Halton and the Niagara Peninsula. Up to 95 per cent of provincially significant wetlands in their jurisdictions could be “negatively impacted.”
Word from Queen’s Park: In an email to the Star, a spokesperson for Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Graydon Smith said “Our government values the importance wetlands play in communities across the province. The proposed update … would remove duplicative requirements and streamline the evaluation process.”

Samuel Engelking for The Star

canada

This program is helping newcomers find warmth in the Canadian cold

The first winter in Canada can feel harsh and cold for many newcomers struggling to adapt to a new life and watch, from the sidelines, as other Canadians celebrate and embrace the season, writes Nicholas Keung. In response, The Bentway, a not-for-profit that runs a skate trail, events and activities under a stretch of the Gardiner Expressway near the Fort York area, has launched its “First Winter” programs to explore newcomers’ experiences of Toronto’s cold season. Here’s how the organization is fostering “warmth and community and connection” among newcomers this winter.

Go deeper: “As the winter came, I started to understand (seasonal depression), because that tied to that loneliness and the fact of not having family or a very tight group of friends in Canada,” said one woman who moved to Toronto in 2018. “The winter actually hit a lot harder.”

WHAT ELSE

After three years of COVID, Canada still doesn't collect better health data. Here’s why experts say better data reporting could save lives.

A new poll shows most Canadians feel 2022 was worse than 2021. Here’s why Canadians are saying “good riddance” to this year.

Justin Trudeau’s Christmas movie of choice? Die Hard. Here’s what else he shared in his annual Christmas message.

Mélanie Joly opens up about her miscarriage — and why she hasn’t given up on getting pregnant.

The SIU is investigating the death of a 34-year-old man who fell from a balcony in North York on Christmas morning.

Three buses of migrant families from Texas were dropped near Vice President Kamala Harris’ home on Christmas Eve.

Who don’t we see in children’s books? Disabled people just living their lives. Here’s why it matters.

I give to charity. How can I make the most of the tax advantages?

POV

Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Workers are being sacrificed to a doctrine that intentionally keeps unemployment high. Here’s how.

CLOSE-UP

Felipe Dana/AP Photo

UKRAINE: A woman attends Christmas mass at an Orthodox Church in Bobrytsia, just outside Kyiv, on Sunday. Ukrainians usually celebrate Christmas on January 7, but this year the leadership of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine allowed members to observe Christmas on December 25. Here’s why, for some, changing dates represents a separation from Russia, its culture and religion.

Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca. I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

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