:format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/morning-digest/2022/12/26/winter-storm-upends-holiday-travel-the-province-changes-how-wetlands-are-evaluated/_2_what_else.jpg "Vacation journey, safety for Ontario wetlands, and first Canadian winters for newcomers.")
Good morning. That is the Monday, Dec 26 version of First Up, the Star’s every day morning digest. Signal as much as get it earlier every day, in your inbox.
Right here’s the newest on vacation journey woes, Ontario’s latest modifications to wetland protections and a program to help newcomers throughout their first Canadian winter.
DON’T MISS:
A winter storm upended vacation journey, thwarting household gatherings and extra
After Friday’s winter storm, lots of of flights have been severely delayed or cancelled, leaving passengers stranded and unable to reunite with family members for the vacations, Clarrie Feinstein experiences. At the very least 60 departing flights have been cancelled at Toronto’s Pearson Worldwide Airport on Christmas Day, the airport mentioned. Roughly 80 arrivals have been additionally cancelled, whereas many passengers skilled hours-long delays. Right here’s how Canadians travelling for the vacations had their plans upended by extreme winter climate.
The province overhauled how wetlands are evaluated — regardless of 1000’s of letters in opposition
On the eve of winter holidays, the province finalized its proposed modifications to the “Ontario Wetland Analysis System” — a scoring methodology that determines if a wetland warrants provincial safety. Critics, who embrace the Auditor Normal of Ontario, mentioned the modifications will “fully undermine the safety of wetlands in Ontario” whereas doing little to repair the housing disaster, experiences Noor Javed. Right here’s what the modifications might imply for presently protected wetlands.
- Go deeper: The modifications scale back authorities oversight of evaluating wetlands, evaluating smaller wetlands independently and never as half of a bigger wetland advanced, and altering the scoring so the presence of an endangered species or species in danger wouldn’t routinely qualify the wetland for cover.
- Dangerous information for: Conservation authorities in Toronto, Halton and the Niagara Peninsula, that are answerable for managing wetlands. As much as 95 per cent of provincially vital wetlands of their jurisdictions might be “negatively impacted.”
- Phrase from Queen’s Park: In an e mail to the Star, a spokesperson for Minister of Pure Sources and Forestry Graydon Smith mentioned “Our authorities values the significance wetlands play in communities throughout the province. The proposed replace … would take away duplicative necessities and streamline the analysis course of.”
This program helps newcomers discover heat within the Canadian chilly
The primary winter in Canada can really feel harsh and chilly for a lot of newcomers struggling to adapt to a brand new life and watch, from the sidelines, as different Canadians rejoice and embrace the season, writes Nicholas Keung. In response, The Bentway, a not-for-profit that runs a skate path, occasions and actions below a stretch of the Gardiner Expressway close to the Fort York space, has launched its “First Winter” applications to discover newcomers’ experiences of Toronto’s chilly season. Right here’s how the group is fostering “heat and group and connection” amongst newcomers this winter.
- Go deeper: “Because the winter got here, I began to grasp (seasonal despair), as a result of that tied to that loneliness and the very fact of not having household or a really tight group of mates in Canada,” mentioned one girl who moved to Toronto in 2018. “The winter truly hit lots tougher.”
WHAT ELSE:
POV:
:format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/morning-digest/2022/12/26/winter-storm-upends-holiday-travel-the-province-changes-how-wetlands-are-evaluated/_3_pov.jpg)
Staff are being sacrificed to a doctrine that deliberately retains unemployment excessive. Right here’s how.
CLOSE-UP:
:format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/morning-digest/2022/12/26/winter-storm-upends-holiday-travel-the-province-changes-how-wetlands-are-evaluated/close_up.jpg)
UKRAINE: A girl attends a Christmas mass at an Orthodox Church in Bobrytsia, simply outdoors Kyiv, on Sunday. Ukranians normally rejoice Christmas on January 7, however this 12 months the management of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine allowed members to watch Christmas on December 25. Right here’s why, for some, altering dates represents a separation from Russia, its tradition and faith.
Thanks for studying First Up. You may attain me and the First Up staff at [email protected]
Enroll right here to get this text in your inbox.
