Ottawa will stop arming Israel

Plus, Toronto's secret World Cup deals and a dropped engineering lecturer [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on Ottawa’s arms exports to Israel, Toronto’s secret World Cup agreements and why Waterloo dropped an engineering lecturer. DON’T MISS Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo federal politics [Ottawa will stop sending arms to Israel once the details are ironed out]( Justin Trudeau’s government confirmed it will cease future arms exports to Israel, after MPs backed a non-binding NDP motion that called for such action on Monday night. “It is a real thing,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told the Star’s Tonda MacCharles. But while a weapons ban will be policy, there are many questions surrounding how it might look in practice. The majority of Canada’s recent military exports to Israel are modified in that country and shipped back for use by the Canadian Forces or moved onward to Canada’s military allies abroad; any weapon sales ban is not expected to include those shipments. [Take a closer look at the details](. - Word from Israel: Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed said Ottawa’s actions would hurt Israel’s ability to defend itself against Hamas: “We feel the whole motivation behind the motion was to increase pressure on Israel,” he said. “It’s not about releasing the hostages. It’s not about Hamas laying down their weapons.” - Miss something? The original NDP motion called for Canada to recognize Palestinian statehood, but was amended after this was deemed unacceptable. The MP behind the motion told the Star: [“I still can never understand why Palestinian human rights are always minimized, always seen as less than other people’s rights.”]( - Meanwhile: [Gazans are mourning 28 people killed in three airstrikes on urban refugee camps Tuesday night](. The city’s health ministry reports 31,819 Palestinians killed in the war so far, with women and children comprising two-thirds of the dead. David Rider/The Star toronto [Tax breaks, free transit, ad inspectors: Inside the secret deals Toronto signed to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup]( Tax exemptions, free advertising space, covering up unsightly construction and even policing the skies to protect FIFA’s brand: these are all commitments Toronto made in order to host the 2026 World Cup, Ben Spurr reports. For six years, the city’s dealings with FIFA have been a tightly guarded secret. But the Star managed to source the agreements through a freedom of information request, painting the clearest picture yet of Toronto’s obligations as host of six World Cup Games. During the more than five weeks of the tournament, the city is required to change everything from its transportation network and public spaces, to its tax policy and who it does business with. [Take an inside look into Toronto’s secret soccer deals](. - Wait, what? The projected costs of the project continue to swell, from initial estimates of $45 million to $380 million today. Toronto expects the tournament to bring in $393 million in local GDP, and create more than 3,600 jobs. [Will it be worth it?]( - Edward Keenan’s take: Why did it take a Toronto Star report to unveil the details of a public deal to host a public event, which commits public resources and spends public dollars? [Secrecy shouldn’t be common practice — it should be a scandal](. Canadian Press/Nicole Osborne academia [An lecturer was dropped by Waterloo after allegedly writing that professors should be able to date students]( A sessional engineering instructor has been dropped by the University of Waterloo — but not Guelph — after a misogynistic paper was published in his name, Janet Hurley reports. Formatted like an academic study, the manuscript suggested “girls” enjoyed rejecting “boys,” feminism is out of control and — under the subsection “Difficulties of Hunting at Work” — posited that professors should be able to date their students. One student in his class said she was “horrified” after reading the paper: “A man who thinks that he should be allowed to date his female students should not be teaching. I was uncomfortable with that,” she said, adding she was “concerned with bias in grading.” [Here’s how the situation is unravelling](. - More: In an email to the Star, the lecturer denied having written the paper, asserted his commitment to “equality and equity” and repeatedly indicated he is experiencing a mental health crisis. The Star has decided not to name him. - Even more: While Waterloo wouldn’t confirm whether the lecturer continues to be employed by the university, his students were alerted he’d been replaced. He continues to teach at Guelph; the university says it’s “aware of this matter and are looking into it further.” WHAT ELSE Doug Ford’s government says it has a plan to fight teacher shortages — [but the teachers’ unions wants it blocked](. Roy McMurtry, the [former Ontario attorney general who helped legalize same-sex marriage, has died at 91](. Bonnie Crombie is [distancing her Liberals from Justin Trudeau’s carbon levy](. He protected Brian Mulroney’s family — [and was first in line to offer them his condolences](. Cottage country prices set to rise again as [boomers look to swap family homes for country retirement living](. [This common trait could be an early warning sign of dementia]( Toronto researchers have discovered. [Canada is more polluted than the U.S. for the first time]( a World Air Quality Report found. [“Stunning” police work solved the murder of this innocent Toronto man]( a judge said. The Raptors are giving their young players a good look — [and early assessments are in](. “Almost ready.” [The Blue Jays have releases a new video of Rogers Centre renovations](. Here’s why Canada’s Wonderland is [retiring and removing this ride after 26 years](. [Another photo by Kate Middleton was digitally manipulated]( a photo agency says. POV Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld [Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre reveal their hidden hopes in their tributes to Brian Mulroney.]( CLOSE-UP Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star TORONTO: A shopper battles against the wind and snow on Tuesday. [Expect more of the same today]( with Environment Canada forecasting flurries and temperatures that feel like minus seven with wind chill this morning. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_210787). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get unlimited digital and ePaper access Spring Sale: Only $1.25/week for 52 weeks! [Get This Offer]( 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. 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