World Headlines: Answering Toronto's post-Tory questions

First Up

By Ashley Okwuosa

Good morning and happy Family Day. Enjoy today’s mild weather because it won’t last — a winter storm could reach the city Wednesday night.

Here’s the latest on Toronto’s first week post-Tory, the impact of the new Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions, and what a potential Federal worker strike could mean for you.

DON’T MISS

Canadian Press/Chris Young

city hall

It’s the first week without John Tory as mayor — what comes next?

After a chaotic week at city hall that saw surprise news conferences, lengthy budget discussions, impassioned demonstrations and an early-morning egging, former mayor John Tory officially stepped down Friday. His resignation followed a Star investigation revealing an extended relationship between the 68-year-old married politician and a much-younger staffer. Now, Toronto waits with bated breath for fresh leadership to usher in a new era for the city. Dhriti Gupta ventures to answer Torontonians’ collective questions, like how long until we have a new mayor and what will happen in the meantime?

The aftermath: Deputy mayor Jennifer McKelvie stepped up to oversee operations of the mayor’s office as of 5 p.m. Friday. While she will essentially serve as the chief executive of the city, McKelvie won’t have access to the “strong-mayor” powers bestowed upon the leaders of Toronto and Ottawa by Premier Doug Ford last fall.
Now what? Following a scheduled city council meeting on March 29, the mayor’s office will be declared vacant and the city could vote in a byelection as soon as June 12 or as late as July 12.

Toronto Star File Photo

courts

The registry of wrongful convictions shines a light on the cases the headlines miss

The Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions is the first of its kind in Canada. The brainchild of University of Toronto legal scholar Kent Roach and Métis lawyer Amanda Carling, the registry records cases in which the legal system concedes its mistakes, often by admitting to new evidence after a trial or a guilty plea. Jim Rankin reports on the registry’s goal to educate Canadians about the long-standing problem of wrongful convictions beyond the high-profile cases highlighted by the media.

By the numbers: Of the registry’s 83 documented cases, 28 — or 34 per cent — involved no crime actually taking place. A false guilty plea was a factor in 18 per cent of documented cases.
Why it matters: One in five documented wrongful convictions are of Indigenous people — and that number is only the “tip of the iceberg,” writes Rankin. The overrepresentation of Indigenous people on the registry points to what was already known anecdotally and through data on the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous people in prisons.

Toronto Star File Photo

federal politics

What to expect as federal workers take strike votes

After a year in which pandemic-induced staffing shortages hammered a number of government services, Canadians could soon face more delays in the form of one of the largest public service strikes the country’s ever seen, reports Raisa Patel. Ottawa is preparing for — or already engaged in — collective agreement talks concerning hundreds of thousands of public servants, setting the stage for impasses over wage hikes, remote work and the possibility of a huge chunk of workers to walk off the job. Here’s what a potential strike could mean for you.

What we know: Ottawa’s most contentious battle concerns 120,000 public servants in four of the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s (PSAC) bargaining units.
Why it matters: Because of the size and scope of PSAC’s membership, any job action will have ripple effects across the country. Canada’s last major public service strikes took place in 2004 and 1991 and resulted in disruptions to a number of government services. This time will be no different, said PSAC national president Chris Aylward.

WHAT ELSE

Toronto police are looking for suspect after a man pushed onto subway tracks at Bloor-Yonge station.

Cases of norovirus are rising across Canada. Here’s what you need to know about the highly infectious stomach bug.

A new report from Toronto Public Health paints a gloomy picture of Torontonians’ worsening health during pandemic.

Memorials will be held for the three international students involved in a fatal single-vehicle crash in Toronto last week.

25-cents for a disposable coffee cup? Was Vancouver stirring idealism or refill madness with its coffee-cup charge?

Frankie earns $53,000 but has a mountain of credit card debt. Can he ever climb out of this hole?

This Afghan journalist is taking drastic measures to support his family. And he isn’t alone.

Here’s what’s open and closed in Toronto on Family Day.

ICYMI

Toronto Star Photo Illustration

Go inside the “murky” arrangement pitting the CRA against one of the GTA’s most notorious factories.

CLOSE-UP

Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo

RIO DE JANEIRO: Hundreds of dogs got dressed up and wagged their tails to the tune of samba music Saturday to celebrate during Rio de Janeiro’s “Blocao” dog carnival parade.

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

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