How 2022 became a big year for going green

Plus, Trudeau's point person on Islamophobia and funding for Toronto groups tackling social crises  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

First Up   By Manuela Vega   Good morning. Toronto’s public school board has voted to adopt mandatory Indigenous education in Grade 11. Here’s what you need to know. Plus, the latest on Trudeau’s first-ever point-person on Islamophobia, funding cuts to groups fighting social crises and the transition to clean energy.       DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   federal politics Amira Elghawaby has apologized for her comments on Quebec’s secularism law as Justin Trudeau offers support The prime minister’s first special representative on Islamophobia won’t be starting the job for another three weeks, but she’s already engaging with political leaders as she faces a wave of criticism for past comments on Quebec’s controversial secularism law, Raisa Patel reports. Trudeau, meanwhile, stood by his decision to appoint Elghawaby and aimed to calm tensions, saying “Quebecers are not racists.” Here’s what you need to know about the comments Elghawaby made in a 2019 column and the criticism from Quebec. Context: The provincial law bans people who deliver public services from wearing religious symbols. It made headlines in 2021 after a schoolteacher was removed from her classroom for wearing a hijab. Meanwhile: Candice Bergen, the former interim Conservative leader, has resigned from Parliament, marking the end of a tumultuous year for the Federal Conservatives. And Pierre Poilievre is finally gaining support — at Justin Trudeau’s expense.   Steve Russell/The Star   social programming Community groups tackling Toronto’s social crises are facing city funding cuts While the city’s new budget has allocated an additional $48-million for Toronto police, community agencies providing services to marginalized people are working with the same $25.7 million they got last year, Alyshah Hasham reports. Factor in inflation, and that actually amounts to a 6.7 per cent cut, advocates say. Take a closer look at the challenges the groups are facing. More: Groups funded through the Community Partnership and Investment Program cover youth, arts, seniors and Black and Indigenous-focused services. They help provide neighbour mediation training and community gardens. Go deeper: “We are eroding what we really need to bring young people together with positive role models and healthy activities,” said the executive director of The Neighbourhood Group Community Services. “They can become disillusioned … They don’t feel like the city is really there for them or cares for them.” Word from the city: John Tory’s press secretary said the mayor fully supports the funding program and is in “discussions with city staff right now about whether any additional support is possible.”   Mario Tama/Getty Images   climate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was expected to stifle the global move to green energy — then something else happened Facing an abrupt cutoff of Russian gas, and amid a spike in prices, European leaders scrambled for fossil fuels. Suddenly, oil and gas seemed to be treated not as the leading causes of the climate crisis but as key geopolitical resources, Marco Chown Oved reports, leading to frustration among some environmentalists. Now, nearly a year later, it’s become clear that the war ultimately sped up the global transition to clean energy. Here’s how 2022 became a “momentous turning point.” Go deeper: European renewable power surpassed natural gas as a generation source for the first time in 2022, after outdoing coal in 2019, according to Ember, a U.K.-based clean energy think-tank. Last year was also the first year where investments in renewables exceeded those in fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency. More: Beyond the electricity markets, which are controlled by governments, consumers also contributed to the shift as they switched in record numbers to electric vehicles and heat pumps.       WHAT ELSE   MPs are calling for a plan to resettle 10,000 Uyghurs. Here’s what you need to know.   Two RCMP officers are being charged with manslaughter in the death of an Indigenous man. Americans think Canadian soldiers can save Haiti. Martin Regg Cohn makes the case for why they’re wrong.   A judge has tossed an attempted murder charge in the latest gun case to collapse over Toronto police conduct. Why wasn’t there a timeline to get this immigration detainee — who died in custody — out of jail?   A man has been charged with attempted murder after a seriously injured infant was found in a Markham hotel. New construction condo sales have hit a 15-year low. Here’s why it means long-term trouble for the market.   Pot producers have found a creative way around THC limits for gummies — and Health Canada is not amused. A “brilliant” former CBC Radio journalist has died a week after a random assault.   Grocers are calling foul after Frito-Lay suddenly hiked snack prices. There’s a new celebrity cosmetic surgery craze — these are the pros, the cons and the risks.   Tom Brady was the greatest. But at what cost?       POV Handout Photo Toronto’s first budget with its “strong mayor” feels a lot like “Groundhog Day” — with one tiny difference.       CLOSE-UP Town of South Bruce Peninsula   WIARTON: A new albino groundhog — a recent arrival, reportedly from Cleveland, Ohio — is set to predict whether we’re in for an early spring this morning.     Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca. I’ll see you back here tomorrow.     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