Oh, the drama! Inside the feud of two GTA theatres

Plus, an opening for a snap election and calls for an aggressive rate cut [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Andy Takagi] By Andy Takagi Good morning. Here’s the latest on a lawsuit dividing the arts scene, an open door to a snap election and why economists are calling for an aggressive rate cut. DON’T MISS R.J. Johnston/The Star star exclusive [A lawsuit is tearing apart two beloved arts organizations]( It’s unfolding like a Shakespearean tragedy — two theatre houses, both alike in dignity. Amid ongoing financial struggles, the Factory Theatre, one of Canada’s most important incubators for new plays, is suing the North Huron-based Blyth Centre for the Arts for more than $115,000 over a cancelled theatre production. Joshua Chong has the scoop on [how two of the GTA’s most important cultural institutions ended up at each other’s throats]( and what it means for the theatre scene](. - Lose-lose: Blyth and Factory are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, with both organizations registering hundreds of thousands of dollars in deficits. Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld federal politics [The Tories will get a shot at forcing an election next week]( Pierre Poilievre has been promising to give it his all to force an election — and next week he’ll have his first opportunity to do just that. By giving Poilievre and co. a day to set the parliamentary agenda next Tuesday, the Liberals have opened the door to a non-confidence vote from the Tories, but remain confident that neither the Bloc nor the NDP want to go to polls. [Here’s how the news is being taken on the Hill](. - Still reeling: The Liberals made the call to plough through with the Tory vote even after a [devastating byelection loss in Montreal on Monday](. - Meanwhile: Mark Carney, Trudeau’s newly appointed economic adviser, is getting flack from Tories who say [the Brookfield exec’s work at the asset management giant conflicts with his new government gig](. - Tensions all around: Capping off a busy Tuesday, video surfaced of Jagmeet Singh confronting a heckler who called him a “corrupted bastard,” with the [NDP leader turning around and asking the men if they wanted to repeat the remark to his face](. Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld economy [Economists are calling for more aggressive rate cuts]( Canada’s annual inflation has finally fallen to its lowest point in more than three years, settling spot-on the Bank of Canada’s two-per-cent target. The big question now? Whether the drop is enough to force the Bank into a major rate cut at its October meeting. [Josh Rubin takes you through how — and why — it might happen](. - Deflation nation: Gas prices played a major factor in the dip in inflation for August, though clothing and footwear also saw their prices fall from July. WHAT ELSE [Hezbollah is blaming Israel for a wave of exploding pagers]( that killed at least nine people and injured thousands. Donald Trump wants to turn a “very large faucet” to get Canadian freshwater. [Here’s what he said](. CUPE executive Fred Hahn dismissed the [controversy over an “antisemitic” video he posted as “old news.”]( A plot of land in Vaughan should [remind Doug Ford that damaging democracy doesn’t “get it done.”]( [Two men are dead after daylight shooting]( in North York on Tuesday. A man is dead after an [industrial accident at Ontario Place](. A Toronto man was sentenced to three years in jail for [killing a retired CBC producer in a random incident](. What we know about Sean “Diddy” Combs’s [indictment on sex trafficking and racketeering charges](. Polaris Prize: [These 10 artists are in the running for best Canadian album of the year](. [What everybody is getting wrong]( about the year’s most controversial film. The Blue Jays and Rangers have been baseball’s biggest disappointments. [Only one of them has a good excuse](. The Maple Leafs open training camp this week. [Craig Berube has these roster decisions to make](. POV Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov [Believe the numbers, not the premier: Doug Ford’s unemployment numbers are worse than when he took over from Kathleen Wynne.]( CLOSE-UP Nick Lachance/The Star BLACK CREEK COMMUNITY FARM: It’s an eight-acre certified organic farm supplying restaurants and selling produce, but Black Creek Community Farm isn’t out in the suburbs — it’s in northwest Toronto, nestled up against York University and a large UPS building. [Take a look at the urban farm’s hopes of becoming a culinary hub](. 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_2363). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get [thestar.com]( + ePaper edition. Only $1 for 6 months! Save over $100. 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