World Headlines: TD is putting the central bank on blast

First Up

By Manuela Vega

Good morning. Doug Ford’s proposal to open private surgery centres will actually hurt — not help — hospitals, the doctors’ college is warning.

Plus, the latest on findings at a former residential school, a TD report blasting the central bank and cartel violence in Mexico.

DON’T MISS

Canadian Press/Star Blanket Cree Nation

CANADA

A search at Saskatchewan residential school site has found a fragment of a child’s jawbone

A ground-penetrating radar search at the former Lebret Indian Industrial School site has revealed more than 2,000 anomalies, a Saskatchewan First Nation says. “Now we have to come up with a strategy on how we’re going to determine what’s a stone, what’s a piece of wood, what’s gravel, or what might actually be” remains, search leader Sheldon Poitras said. A physical search, meanwhile, found what is believed to be a fragment of a child’s jawbone from about 125 years ago. It is believed the child was between four and six years old, Omar Mosleh reports. Here’s what else we know about the search.

Go deeper: The jawbone fragment “brings us back to about 1898,” Poitras said. “So this is physical evidence, physical proof, of an unmarked grave.”
Context: Areas for the search were selected after testimonials from former students and elders who witnessed or heard stories of what happened at the school.
More: The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.

Canadian Press File Photo

economy

TD chief economist points finger at Bank of Canada for mortgage pinch

“You can be confident that interest rates will be low for a long time,” Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said in October 2020. As a result, Canadians rushed into variable-rate mortgages, which at the time offered rates much lower than fixed-rate loans, TD’s chief economist says in a new report. But TD’s Beata Caranci notes that it was only about a year later that the Bank of Canada began aggressively raising rates, and now, with the Bank’s central policy rate at 4.25 per cent, many are regretting their decision, Christine Dobby reports. Here’s more on how the report critiques the central bank.

Wait, what? Those with variable-rate loans are facing ever-higher monthly payments while also grappling with the rising costs of everyday items.
By the numbers: Variable-rate mortgages now account for about a third of total mortgage debt, the central bank said in November, up from about 20 per cent pre-pandemic.
More: House prices saw an historic drop in the fourth quarter, but is it a crash?

Juan Carlos Cruz/AFP via Getty Images

world

Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden have left — but Mexicans are calling for help

“Why, mom?” a child aboard a commercial plane set to depart from the Culiacán airport cries out. Outside, a heavily armed drug cartel and a military aircraft are exchanging fire — on the same day the Mexican military carried out an operation to arrest one of the six sons of former cartel boss Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán. The plane engine was hit and the crew helped passengers disembark to a windowless room in the airport. A week later, amid violence in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, residents say they’re dealing with post-traumatic stress. Santiago Arias Orozco and Joanna Chiu report on the impacts of cartel violence on the Mexican people and how they’re speaking out.

Meanwhile: The “Three Amigos” summit of North American leaders concluded Wednesday. Experts say the failed policies of Mexican and North American governments are partly to blame for the violence.
Wait, what? Former Sinaloa Cartel leader El Chapo was most recently arrested in 2016 and is serving a life sentence at a maximum-security facility in Colorado. People in Mexico are increasingly questioning the value of targeting drug kingpins, when it can endanger the lives of ordinary people.

WHAT ELSE

The NDP, Liberals and Greens are asking the auditor general to examine the impact of the Ford government’s move to develop the Greenbelt.

AI requires constant public auditing and re-evaluation — Toronto police’s consultation on the technology is lacking sufficient public engagement.

Toronto health inspectors found 20 major infractions at these restaurants over the past week.

Microsoft’s AI can mimic any voice after just three seconds. Some experts are worried.

Ontario egg farmers are lowering prices. Here’s why you won’t pay much less at the supermarket.

Cutting costs in Toronto parks, councillors say the city’s 2023 “starvation budget” is “stealing from the future.”

A study shows patients who use virtual walk-in clinics are more likely to go to the ER later.

Toronto ranks among the world’s worst for traffic. Take a look at the numbers.

An East York school was placed under lockdown after a gun was fired, police say.

Lisa Marie Presley has died at 54 after being rushed to hospital.

POV

Steve Russell/The Star

Looking at December’s travel chaos, it’s clear passengers’ rights in Canada are more aspirational than inspirational.

CLOSE-UP

Paige Taylor White/The Star

THE JUNCTION: Helen Androulidakis shows off a tray of cinnamon buns, among the most popular offerings at Sweet Trolley Bakery. Here’s more on this go-to for affordable, freshly baked desserts.

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

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