Forgive the repost, but I wanted to share once more our story on the systemic, inhumane jail conditions occurring across Ontario, and the consequences of those conditions for inmates, staff and the entire judicial system. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Most of my reporting on jail conditions this year has focused on Maplehurst in Milton. But the dysfunction in Ontario's jails is system-wide. Today's story shows how the inhumane conditions across the province impact staff, inmates & the judicial system as a whole. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

This morning at 8 am, my child's teacher told me it was already 33 C inside the classroom. Members of the Ontario government have air conditioning in their offices, yet they're not doing basic repairs in Toronto schools, let alone protecting our kids from extreme heat. thelocal.to/ontario-educ...

"Since January alone, the organization said it has relocated to Canada 70 queer refugees who were originally bound for the United States." @thestar.com's Nathan Bawaan on Toronto-based Rainbow Railroad: www.thestar.com/news/gta/how...

Gabor Mate for the Star: www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Carney government clarifies Canadian border bill’s asylum changes as critics call for complete withdrawal

NEW: Ontario's government is facing a slew of lawsuits, including a proposed class-action, from former Maplehurst inmates subject to a brutal collective punishment in December 2023. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Ontario's Ombudsman is launching a new investigation into the Ministry of the Solicitor General's response to the December 2023 collective punishment incident at Maplehurst "due to significant public concerns about transparency, accountability and inmates’ rights." www.thestar.com/news/canada/...

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If you have some time today to spend on in-depth reporting, great writing & fantastic presentation, spend it with this Kate Allen & Nathan Pilla story about how more workers are critically injured as the temperature rises. www.thestar.com/interactives...

NEW: Hours of audio and video evidence is missing from Maplehurst's crackdown on inmates in December 2023. The missing footage, which some jail staff allege was purposely destroyed, has fueled calls for a public inquiry into the violent incident. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Our latest on the Maplehurst scandal focuses on the number of criminal prosecutions that have been compromised by the mass strip search and collective punishment of inmates, who are receiving reduced sentences or other judicial remedies because the jail violated their Charter rights.

NEW: We obtained the province's internal investigations into the Dec 2023 crackdown on inmates at Maplehurst jail. The reports show widespread institutional failure, from the supt to rank-and-file guards. Solicitor General Michael Kerzner didn't respond to questions. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

"Trump is welcoming white South Africans after suspending the program for everyone else, including other Africans who have waited in refugee camps for years and were vetted and cleared, and Afghans who supported the U.S. war in their country." www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/u...

I'm grateful to @spaikin.bsky.social & the folks at @tvotoday.bsky.social for having me on yesterday to talk about Maplehurst & provincial jail conditions broadly. The segment is streaming at TVO's website and on YouTube.

What's going on in Ontario's jails? @spaikin.bsky.social asks @bkstar.bsky.social (@thestar.com), Demar Kemar Hewitt (Black Legal Action Centre), Lee Chapelle (Canadian Prison Consulting), and Andrea Monteiro (Ethical Correctional Consulting) tonight at 8/11pm #onpoli

Spoke to music fans for their thoughts on Arcade Fire's attempted comeback, less than three years after Win Butler was accused by multiple people of sexual misconduct. Announcing a tour without addressing the allegations is "deeply cynical," one fan told me. www.thestar.com/entertainmen...

The Trillium reports that in response to appeal by the NDP, the Information & Privacy Commissioner has ordered the Ford govt to ask former premier's office staff to search personal accounts for Greenbelt records. Story references the Star's efforts to do same. www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...

Ontario Greenbelt’s controversial ‘Mr. X’ is banned from lobbying for two years. Story from The Star's @robertbenzie.bsky.social and @krushowy.bsky.social with a small assist from me: www.thestar.com/politics/pro...

NEW: The Information & Privacy Commissioner has ruled in our favour regarding our attempts to access a former Ford govt staffer's Greenbelt-related emails in his personal email account. The AG report noted he & others had conducted govt business on personal email. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

NEW: "Welcome to Wong-tanamo Bay" Maplehurst jail officials conspired to "cover up" the mass strip-search of inmates, according to allegations in court document www.thestar.com/news/investi...

“Political cowardice is spreading faster than COVID,” Green co-leader Elizabeth May tells @aballinga.bsky.social, adding her party supports carbon pricing as a “necessary but insufficient” part of serious climate action. www.thestar.com/politics/fed...

#Breaking: Ontario supervised consumption sites can remain open as judge grants reprieve, citing ‘significant harm’ of closures

Fidani-Diker worked alongside John Mutton, a.k.a. "Mr. X", for developer Peter Tanenbaum in an effort to get Tanenbaum's land removed from the Greenbelt. (Integrity Commish's findings today do not say for whom F-D was working when he broke lobbying rules in 2022.) www.thestar.com/news/investi...

BREAKING: A former aide to Premier Doug Ford "failed to comply" with lobbying rules when trying to get a client's land removed from the Greenbelt, says Ontario's ethics watchdog. #onpoli www.thestar.com/politics/pro...

Watch: Disturbing video shows jail guards carrying out violent, hours-long retribution at Maplehurst provincial jail in Milton. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Ontario's overcrowded jails are deadlier than ever, and the leading cause of death is accidental drug overdoses. We look at how drugs are getting into jails & the deteriorating conditions that have created such a deadly environment. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Canada's mass incarceration of Indigenous people is worsening and an insidious driver is the stickiness of Canada's carceral system - when people should get a shot at freedom, but often don't. www.reuters.com/world/americ...

Indigenous incarceration rates are probably not going to be an election issue, although they should be. Things got worse during Liberals' near-decade in power, despite Trudeau's promises to address the issue. @mehlerpaperny.bsky.social did the definitive reporting: www.reuters.com/world/americ...

While Ford & Poilievre tout bail-reform policies that would see more people incarcerated, Ontario's jails are deadlier & arguably more dysfunctional than ever. We have several stories coming on this topic. This one is about Maplehurst, the province's deadliest jail. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

The Hidden Motive Behind Trump’s Attack on Trans People www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/o... @mashagessen.bsky.social

The number of refugee claims filed in Canada dropped again last month, to the lowest point since April, 2023. As we wrote, this decline is happening as Canada issues fewer visas - especially to countries seen as sources of asylum-seekers: www.reuters.com/world/americ...

Great reporting by Omar Mosleh & @dmrider.bsky.social for @thestar.com on the people who use supervised consumption sites and what will be lost when they close in a couple weeks. www.thestar.com/news/ontario...

NEW: Under Trump, AI scientists are being told to remove “ideological bias” from models. New instructions from the NIST eliminate any mention of “AI safety,” “responsible AI,” and “AI fairness,” among other significant changes. Scoop from @willknight.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/ai-saf...

There's an outbreak of a life-threatening strain of strep at Maplehurst jail, amid unconfirmed reports that multiple inmates have died. Maplehurst is the most overcrowded jail in the province. Ministry officials did not respond to Qs. With @aobrien.bsky.social: www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Some stellar pics from last night by @thestar.com photogs @lachancephoto.bsky.social (Marit Stiles), Richard Lautens (despairing Liberal supporters) and @steverussell.bsky.social (Ford).

Canada is deporting more people and an overwhelming (and growing) majority of them are failed refugee claimants: www.reuters.com/world/americ...

Another Ontario judge has castigated provincial correctional authorities over an incident at a Milton jail in which nearly 200 inmates were strip-searched, zip-tied and left in their underwear for hours in an apparent act of collective punishment.

#StarInvestigation: Premier Doug Ford’s government is pushing for a controversial condo-tower development in Oakville that would benefit developers while disregarding the town’s vision for the land.

Great investigation by @sheilawang.bsky.social into Oakville condo development being pushed by the province despite opposition from Oakville's council. The developers are PC donors with ties to Doug Ford. www.thestar.com/news/investi...

NEW: Another Ontario judge has slammed correctional authorities over a Dec 2023 incident in which Maplehurst jail guards in full riot gear tormented nearly 200 inmates in apparent act of collective punishment. “Something like this should never happen in this country" www.thestar.com/news/judge-s...

“I think I was pretty clear. I said I was and then I wasn’t and then I went ahead and did it.” Ford’s handling of the Greenbelt scandal continues to dog the Progressive Conservatives, even as they’re eager to move on from it. thelocal.to/ontario-elec...

Refugee claims in Canada are dropping from historic highs as Canada clamps down on visas: www.reuters.com/world/americ...

Struggling to follow the Ontario election? Thank Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg I wrote about how big social media platforms and their mysterious, unregulated algorithms are manipulating public discourse, suppressing voter engagement and degrading democracy for @thestar.com 👇

As first reported by @jessiecatherine.bsky.social, @charliepinkerton.bsky.social & @jackhauen.bsky.social at The Trillium, two former Ford government staffers have been accused in a lawsuit of promising to help a developer get land rezoned for money. Full story 👇 www.thestar.com/news/the-for...

Ontario was supposed to be fully accessible by the beginning of this year. Omar Mosleh reports on the lack of progress towards that goal. www.thestar.com/news/gta/ont...

Big update for the new year!!! Our big ol list of how the Doug Ford government has changed environmental rules now has a table of contents to make it easier to navigate! (we also added new info on Highway 413, bike lanes and more)

Canada's top 100 CEOs made 210 times more than the average worker in 2023, according to a new CCPA report. Story by Marisa Coulton: www.thestar.com/business/can...

Exactly a year ago inmates at Maplehurst endured what they described as a brutal act of collective punishment from guards. On Friday, one of those inmates was given a shorter sentence because of what the judge called "shocking" & "disgraceful" treatment at the jail. www.thestar.com/news/investi...