25 years later, how much has Toronto changed? Or stayed the same.

Plus, here’s how medical websites are trying to work around Ontario’s new lower fees for virtual visits  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

First Up   By Ashley Okwuosa   Good morning, and welcome to 2023. If you’re looking for some cosmic guidance in the new year, here’s what your horoscope says to expect in your career, relationships, and home life this year. Here’s the latest on costly virtual visits, how the city is handling a racial profiling dispute, and a belated 25th birthday for amalgamated Toronto.         DON’T MISS St. Joseph’s Healthcare   Health Forget the video calls. How about chat? Here’s how medical websites are trying to work around Ontario’s new lower fees for virtual visits Following the decision to lower payments that doctors receive for one-off virtual fees, companies have started directly charging clients — one as much as $75 — for virtual medical services, reports Patty Winsa. But critics wonder if this contravenes federal and provincial legislation that says patients can’t be billed for insured services or special access to them. To survive recent government cuts, some companies are finding loopholes in legislation and invoicing patients for medical appointments using chat. Here’s why some worry the changing landscape for virtual health care could lead to a two-tiered health-care system.  Context: During the pandemic, video and phone appointments became a necessity and the government allowed doctors to bill OHIP for one-off virtual appointments on par with what they billed to see a patient in person, typically around $36. The new payments under OHIP are $20 for a video consult and $15 by phone.   Dan Pearce/Toronto Star   GTA Toronto renews fight to fire bylaw officer in racial profiling dispute The City of Toronto is going to court to overturn an order that forced it to rehire a bylaw officer accused of racial profiling. The city fired the veteran municipal standards officer a little over two years ago over allegations he discriminated against two Black women while enforcing COVID-19 restrictions in an Etobicoke park, reports Ben Spurr. The officer at the centre of the case denied the allegations, and his union filed a grievance challenging his dismissal. This June, the arbitrator presiding over the case determined the city was wrong to fire him and ordered him reinstated. The Star has learned the city is challenging that decision and has applied for a judicial review with Ontario’s Divisional Court. Here’s why the city says it’s “disappointed with the arbitrator’s decision and conclusions,” and what happens next.  Go Deeper: The interaction that led to the officer’s dismissal occurred three weeks after George Floyd’s murder in Minnesota refocused global attention on anti-Black racism. The incident provoked public outcry when the women posted a video of a portion of it to social media. The pair filed a complaint with Toronto’s Human Rights Office, alleging they had been harassed because of the colour of their skin.   Steve Russell/Toronto Star   GTA 25 years after the birth of the Megacity, Toronto has changed for the better — but we still have work to do Toronto, as we know it, was born 25 years ago: on Jan. 1, 1998, the legislation that abolished Metropolitan Toronto and amalgamated the civic governments took effect. A quarter of a century later, the city has changed in many ways, but we’re still struggling with the same old issues, writes Edward Keenan. Amalgamated Toronto has everything you’d want in a metropolis. Still, we remain divided and increasingly stratified and have failed to solve or progress on any number of pressing issues that arose from our growth and success. Despite our years, here’s where the city still falls short two and a half decades later.  History lesson: In the 1980s, when the G7 leaders held a conference in Toronto, a newspaper columnist suggested giving foreign visitors a ride on the Queen streetcar from end-to-end would show all the aspects of the city as it’s lived in: through slums and wealth and office towers and gritty or happening nightlife spots. Today that same streetcar ride just showcases various levels and advanced stages of gentrification.        WHAT ELSE   Here’s why Doug Ford is predicting 2023 will be a good year for Ontario. Plus, more from his annual New Year’s message.   From Athens to Taipei, here’s how cities around the world welcomed 2023. From more affordable housing to fewer pot shops, here’s what the Star is wishing for in the new year.   Canada’s new foreign homebuyer ban went into effect on Jan. 1. Here’s how it works. “When we look back at 2022, it was deadly.” According to the OPP, over 400 people died in car crashes and marine incidents last year.   From conjunctivitis to tick bites, Ontario pharmacists can now treat 13 common ailments. Here’s what you need to know. It’s “damning on us as a society:” Advocates are calling for more access to warming centres as Toronto falls behind cities like Hamilton.   City finances are stretched, so this organization is looking to civic-minded Torontonians to help build a $50-million playground on the waterfront. This image of a mother and child is raising money for a Toronto charity. The only problem? It’s not real. Here’s why this charity turned to AI-generated images in their campaign.   At the AGO, a woman found an old Polaroid of her dad on display. Here’s how it ended up at the museum. Here’s how Oprah Winfrey, Dan Rather, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar paid their respects to Barbara Walters, the trailblazing news anchor who died at 93.   Canada is requiring a negative COVID-19 test of travellers from China. Here’s why experts say the move is “largely political” and won’t prevent new variants or the spread of COVID.       POV Cole Burston/The Canadian Press file photo Doug Ford and John Tory both won fresh mandates in 2022 — and dropped the reasonable approach to issues.       CLOSE-UP Andrew Medichini/AP photo   VATICAN CITY: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s body lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday, January 2nd. Thousands of people lined up hours before dawn to pay their respects to the German theologian who will be remembered as the first pope in 600 years to resign. The Vatican announced his death on Saturday. He was 95.      Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca. Manuela will see you back here tomorrow.   Become a Star subscriber and save! Boxing week offer: $1/week for 52 weeks Get This Offer   If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below.   Unsubscribe From This Newsletter Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts View in Browser Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5E 1E6. 416-367-2000 PRIVACY POLICY