The Liberals' carbon rebate branding challenge

Plus, a win for Ford's Highway 413 project and colleges bracing for change [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Chrystia Freeland will deliver the federal budget today, revealing how Ottawa plans to pay for its recent spending spree. [Here’s what we might see](. And here’s the latest on Ottawa’s carbon rebate, Ontario’s plans for Highway 413 and the limit on international students. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick star exclusive [Ottawa wants banks to say “carbon rebate” — but one is flat out refusing]( Earlier this year, the Liberals rebranded their carbon refund payments from “climate action incentive payments” to the “Canada carbon rebate.” The name change is meant to clearly link the funds to the carbon price in an effort to tackle the controversy surrounding the carbon pricing scheme, Alex Ballingall and Mark Ramzy report. However, a senior official told the Star Ottawa is having a hard time getting banks to adopt the preferred name, adding that “one of the big banks also says they aren’t willing to make these changes at all.” [These are the other challenges the Liberals face in light of aggressive opposition campaigns](. - Context: The rebates are meant to offset increased costs of heat, fuel and other goods by returning proceeds of the carbon levy directly to households four times a year, while preserving the incentive to reduce emissions that cause climate change. - ICYMI: Canadians began receiving their carbon rebate on Monday. [Here’s how much you can expect after the increase](. Karen Martin-Robbins/Metroland ontario politics [In a win for Doug Ford, Ontario and Ottawa have struck a deal on Highway 413]( A major roadblock has been cleared in the construction of the proposed Highway 413 from Milton to Vaughan, Robert Benzie and Kristin Rushowy write. The provincial and federal governments agreed Monday to a memorandum of understanding to establish a “joint working group” in which officials from both levels of government would recommend “appropriate measures to minimize environmental impacts in areas of federal environmental jurisdiction.” [Here’s what we know about Ontario’s plans to get “shovels in the ground.”]( - Context: The provincial Tories made Highway 413 the cornerstone pledge of their 2022 re-election campaign, winning every riding along the proposed route. Three years ago, Ottawa ordered an environmental assessment for the site, but the Supreme Court ultimately found Ottawa overstepped its constitutional authority. - Go deeper: The proposed highway has faced opposition from groups like Environmental Defence, as it would cut through the Greenbelt of protected lands, paving over thousands of acres of farmland and cutting across various streams and rivers more than 100 times. Dreamstime Photo education [Colleges are bracing for a drop in international students]( With the new federal limit on international students taking effect, public and private colleges are bracing for what’s to come — programs shutting down, construction projects being stopped halfway and thousands of jobs on the line, Kristin Rushowy and Nicholas Keung report. Some 13 public colleges in Ontario are expecting to see a decline in foreign students; Sault College alone is preparing to lose $40 million in revenue from its partnership with private college triOS. [Here’s how colleges plan to shift their focus](. - Wait, what? Following Ottawa’s introduction of a two-year cap on international students in each province, Ontario will allocate about 96 per cent of Ontario’s foreign student applications to public post-secondary institutions, with the remaining four per cent for language schools and private universities. Private career colleges get none. - Go deeper: A large part of the explosion in international enrolment is attributed to growing partnerships between public and private colleges, which let taxpayer-funded colleges provide curriculum at a fee to private career college partners. [Calendar icon] Are our messages a little late for you lately? Emails from the Star are taking longer than normal to arrive to Gmail and Hotmail inboxes after we send them. That's a problem we're solving now, but we're sorry for keeping you waiting. WHAT ELSE Jagmeet Singh says the Liberals and Conservatives are controlled by corporate lobbyists. [How true is that?]( Few want war between Israel and Iran. [Here are three reasons it may happen anyway, Allan Woods writes](. Toronto police arrested and charged activist Desmond Cole in connection with a January pro-Palestinian protest. [Here’s what we know](. Should Canada have its own missile defence system? [Justin Trudeau’s defence minister won’t rule it out](. [The body of a 14-year-old boy has been found]( after he went missing while swimming at Ashbridges Bay on Sunday. A 32-year-old Toronto man has been [identified as the victim of a fatal weekend shooting in Weston](. An Ontario police watchdog upheld the firing of a Toronto cop who [launched an online campaign about workplace sexual harassment and racism](. Toronto UP Express riders who regularly use two inner-city stops are [upset over the province’s plan to reduce service](. Donald Trump dresses like a human American flag. [Here’s what he’s saying with his court wardrobe](. The WNBA is in talks on a Toronto expansion with a 16-team league on horizon. [Here’s what we know](. POV Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick [Danielle Smith is building walls to keep Ottawa out — and she may have the political capital to do it.]( CLOSE-UP Richard Lautens/The Star UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO: Cherry blossoms are blooming early this season, but they’ll only be around for a few days. [Take a look at the lush pink florets so far — and where else you can see them now](. 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_212305). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get full digital and ePaper access Limited time sale: Only 17¢/day — save 50% your first year [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. [Unsubscribe From This Newsletter]( [Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts]( [View in Browser]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](