What police said about Monday's wrong-way 401 crash

Plus, Ontario's student housing situation and Caledon's not so strong mayor [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on the deadly Highway 401 crash, a lack of student housing and a thwarted “strong mayor” plan. DON’T MISS Colin Williamson Photo policing [Police chasing the suspect before the deadly Highway 401 crash had been called off — but the pursuit continued]( Four people were killed in a fiery crash in Whitby on Monday: a baby, its grandparents and a male suspect police had been chasing. At least six vehicles were involved. Just minutes before the collision, a supervisor had called off Durham Regional Police’s pursuit, but the officers continued the wrong-way chase, an internal police document reveals. [Here’s how officers explained their decisions and the questions that remain](. - Context: The crash occurred when a man driving a U-Haul cube van hit an oncoming car. The 20-minute chase preceding the crash was set off by a robbery at an LCBO, where police said a man “pulled a knife on an off-duty officer.” - Watch for: The collision has led to questions about why police would launch a high-speed pursuit the wrong way down for the 401. It’s now under review by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU). Nick Lachance/The Star star analysis [Why some Ontario schools won’t be able to house students this fall]( For the first time in five years, despite double-digit enrolment growth, Huron University is able to offer a guaranteed residence to every first-year student who wants it. But that’s not the case at every Ontario university, Janet Hurley writes. A Toronto Star analysis of campus housing at 22 of the province’s publicly funded institutions found that six don’t have the space to guarantee and two don’t have housing at all. Three-quarters of the schools are in construction mode or are actively seeking housing solutions. The current number of university-built beds in the province covers only about 11 per cent of the student population. [Use our tool to compare residence options at 22 of Ontario’s public universities](. - Go deeper: Critics have blamed the national housing crisis partly on post-secondary institutions. With a government freeze on funding and tuition, some schools dramatically increased the enrolment of international students, without making plans to house them. - Meanwhile: A new study found the Bank of Mom and Dad is a key source of funds for many Toronto homeowners. [Take a look at the numbers](. Graeme Frisque/Metroland municipal politics [Caledon’s mayor tried to fast-track a massive development — then the province stepped in]( Annette Groves wanted to use her “strong mayor” powers to force council to vote to immediately rezone 12 parcels of land along the interchanges of Hwy. 413. The move — which faced widespread protest — would have converted agricultural and environmentally sensitive land to open-ended zoning for uses like supermarkets, shopping centres or highrises, Noor Javed and Diana Zlomislic report. However, the province thwarted the plan, warning that half the proposed rezoning approvals lay along the future route of the highway. [Take a look at the conversations that took place](. - More: A day after hundreds of residents attended a heated town hall meeting to voice their concerns, Groves announced on social media that the rezoning items had been removed from the agenda because the residents’ voices had “been heard and concerns respected.” - Wait, what? In a letter shared with the Star, Ontario’s housing minister said six of Groves’ proposed developments conflicted with the town and region’s official plan — both of which require the large corridor where the highway will run “to be protected” for further study. WHAT ELSE The Speaker is rejecting calls to resign after [ejecting Pierre Poilievre from the House of Commons](. [Netanyahu can free the Israeli hostages or save his political skin]( — but likely not both, Allan Woods writes. [Pierre Poilievre is flirting with the far right while the media looks away]( Linda McQuaig writes. [If the war stopped today, it would take until 2040 to rebuild all homes destroyed in Gaza]( a UN report says. This old factory in Toronto was converted to become net-zero. [Here’s how it was done while turning a profit](. Ottawa is committing another $187 million to “shed colonial habits” and [help more First Nations assume control of land](. [Loblaw announced profits grew by nearly 10 per cent]( as a high-profile boycott protesting high prices and profits was set to begin. The death toll in the southern China highway collapse has jumped to at least 48 as the search effort continues. [Here’s what we know](. [Here’s what TTC riders complained about the most last year]( according to records obtained by the Star. [This is what a second Donald Trump presidency would look like for the Canadian economy]( David Olive writes. 70 million people follow these Toronto content creators. [Here’s how they’re shaping how we eat, shop and live](. The Celine Dion musical parody [“Titanique” is coming to Toronto for a Mirvish run](. POV Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz [How the much-needed push to bring our pension money home could go terribly wrong.]( CLOSE-UP Nick Lachance/The Star CHRISTIE PITS: Nicky Young skates on the completed concrete quarter pipe that he and community members built. Skateboarders thought the park’s ramps were unsafe, so they built their own. [Now the city wants to tear them down]( 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_213142). 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. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](