Tragedy strikes a Quebec daycare

Plus, a call to find missing Indigenous murder victims and Metrolinx’s cosy relationship with the Ford government  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

First Up   By Manuela Vega   Good morning. Here’s the latest on a bus that crashed into a daycare, four Indigenous women believed to be victims of a serial killer and Doug Ford’s apparent cosiness with Metrolinx.       DON’T MISS Allan Woods/Toronto Star   QUEBEC A driver has been charged with first-degree murder after a bus hit a Laval daycare, killing two children Two four-year-olds — identified in court documents only as J.G and M.D — have died, and six other children were injured after a driver ploughed a bus through the front wall of a daycare on Wednesday morning. The alleged driver, a 51-year-old municipal employee of the Montreal suburb, was also taken to hospital. Police have not commented on any possible motive for the attack. Allan Woods reports from Laval on the chaotic scene and what is known about the driver. More: Pierre Ny St-Amand faces two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault and four counts of assault with a weapon. More: A police officer told a court that doctors determined St-Amand had no physical injuries but they wanted him to undergo a mental health assessment to determine if he presented a danger to the public.   David Lipnowski/For the Toronto Star   MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND GIRLS For 50 days she stood vigil at a Winnipeg landfill. Today, the alleged serial killer charged in her mother’s death goes to court “In my culture, Indigenous women, any woman for that matter, are considered sacred,” says Cambria Harris. She’s fighting for her mother to be found, so her spirit can finally rest. Harris, along with a few other community members, have spent nearly two months at a camp outside a landfill, dedicated to four Indigenous women who police say are victims of a serial killer. The remains of one, Rebecca Contois, were found there in June. Omar Mosleh reports on the uphill battle for attention to the cause of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls —  and calls for police to search landfills for the women who have died. More: Police say the victims are Morgan Harris, 39, Marcedes Myran, 26, Rebecca Contois, 24, and an unidentified victim who police believe was an Indigenous woman in her 20s. She is being referred to as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman. By the numbers: The RCMP said in a 2014 report they estimate there have been about 1,181 missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls nationwide between 1980 and 2012, but the Native Women’s Association of Canada says the number is likely upwards of 4,000. Watch for: A 35-year-old Winnipeg man charged with four counts of first-degree murder is slated to appear in court today.   Steve Russell/Toronto Star   STAR EXCLUSIVE Doug Ford’s government interfered in Metrolinx tree removal communications Just how independent is Metrolinx? According to internal emails obtained by the Star, the Ontario government directed the transit agency to leave two Toronto NDP MPPs off a notice sent to city and federal politicians about tree removals in their jurisdictions. It overrode Metrolinx’s recommendation to include Kristyn Wong-Tam and Peter Tabuns in conversations and asked the transit agency to remove the estimated number of trees being taken down from construction notices. Lex Harvey reports on criticism emerging about Metrolinx — and what else the emails reveal. Context: Metrolinx has been positioned as an arm’s-length agency, but it’s been criticized for an apparent cosiness with Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative administration. Critics say it’s doing the Ford government’s bidding instead of impartially evaluating multibillion-dollar projects and implementing the best transit policy based on evidence. More: Metrolinx’s plans to build a transit station at Osgoode Hall will cause “permanent damage to one of the most historic sites in Canada,” a report by a heritage expert says. Another angle: Trees are not the root of Metrolinx’s problems at Queen and University.       WHAT ELSE   Here’s why Jagmeet Singh is criticizing Justin Trudeau’s health-care funding offer — while Pierre Poilievre says he’d honour it.   Canada was called a COVID vaccine hoarder. Has it redeemed itself? The Innisfil police shooter “ambushed” cops before killing himself — and what else the SIU concluded.   An expanded Afghan refugee program is now expected within weeks. This is what is at stake. Some of Canada’s biggest companies got COVID wage subsidies while spending billions on dividends and share buybacks, a report shows.   Did a senator use “inauthentic” documents to help evacuate Afghan women and activists? Cabinet ministers are defending the decision to have the RCMP investigate. Without a huge influx of purpose-built rentals, Toronto rents will keep rising and people will keep leaving.   Two teams set out to divert trash from the Toronto Harbour. They removed 100,000 pieces of plastic and hundreds of “fatbergs.” Toronto social services are dangerously underfunded. Here’s how one front-line worker served community members coffee and meals with skeletal resources.   Developers are seeking a two-year extension on Toronto’s new vacant homes tax. Here’s what we know about the numbers. Here’s why some Ontario schools don’t love Valentine’s Day anymore.   Netflix Canada has begun cracking down on shared passwords — here’s what you need to know.       POV Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star So, there’s money for police and the World Cup — but not for keeping Torontonians warm? It’s the least we could do.       CLOSE-UP Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images   TURKEY: Survivors gathered next to a bonfire outside collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras on Wednesday after their homes were destroyed in Monday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Meanwhile, their access to Twitter — which had been a lifeline after the earthquake — has been restricted. Here’s why some people blame government censorship.     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