Today's Star Headlines

Including: It’s likely too late for Ontario to avoid the milestone of 150 COVID patients in ICU. What does that mean for hospitals? [The Star]( Morning Headlines [It’s likely too late for Ontario to avoid the milestone of 150 COVID patients in ICU. What does that mean for hospitals?]( Doctors and hospital officials say elective surgeries — and life-saving procedures will be affected, and staffing more than space may become a concern. [Read more »]( [Toronto needed to avert a health crisis over soaring COVID-19. Fighting Doug Ford wasn’t an option. Here’s what John Tory did instead]( Toronto’s mayor showed his political smarts this week — backing the premier one moment, while supporting his health chief the next. [Read more »]( [Toronto would be amazing if only we had more money to invest in our future — here’s how we could get it]( How can a city the size of Toronto raise the money it needs to accomplish its 2030 goals — affordable housing, technology infrastructure, safe streets, clean and efficient transit — when it has limited ability to raise money through taxes? Highway tolls, shopping mall parking meters, taxes on deliveries and a dedicated slice of the provincial income tax, to name a few, economists say. [Read more »]( [On the cusp of a national daycare strategy]( This time — with business and big banks onside — advocates believe it could actually happen. [Read more »]( OPINION [Chantal Hébert: Justin Trudeau doesn’t need to push premiers aside. Voters will hold them accountable for their COVID-19 responses]( The notion of the federal government overriding the provinces to impose a unified approach to the pandemic remains little more than a bad idea, Chantal Hébert writes. [Read more »]( [‘I’m always going to think this could have been prevented’: Muluba Habanyama speaks out after being sexually assaulted by a massage therapist]( Muluba Habanyama was sexually assaulted in 2016. She would later learn that the College of Massage Therapists dealt with her abuser behind closed doors two years earlier, when an undercover investigator said she was “inappropriately” touched. [Read more »]( [Workers are ‘terrified,’ families feel helpless as COVID-19 deaths begin to spike again in long-term-care homes]( Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, said staffing remains at critically low levels. In some places, she said, the ratio is at one PSW for 30 residents. [Read more »]( [The cult of Q? How QAnon is rallying Trump supporters and frightening experts in extremism]( Internet conspiracies take decades-old tactics for radicalization and cult recruitment, and turn them to the masses online. [Read more »]( [COVID-19 vaccine news: Is Canada hogging doses? A Canadian-made vaccine ramps up testing. And a CEO cashes out. Here’s what you need to know this week]( Our recap of important vaccine news this week, from what Pfizer’s results could mean for Canada to why Canada has enough doses to vaccinate everyone five times. [Read more »]( OPINION [Heather Mallick: Are businesses worth more than human lives? In Doug Ford’s Ontario, the answer is yes]( The obvious answer is to pay businesses to stay closed in a lockdown that lasts long enough to hack away at COVID-19’s terrible surge, Heather Mallick writes. [Read more »]( [‘This gives us a bigger stick.’ Peel to fine employers $5,000 a day for failing to act to stop COVID-19 spread]( Employers are also being urged to pay workers who need to book off sick because people going to work ill so they can meet their expenses is driving transmission of the virus. [Read more »]( [Makeshift memorial set up for 11-year-old boy who died after falling through North York school skylight]( The boy died Friday after falling about 30 feet, or about three storeys, through a gymnasium skylight at Victoria Park Collegiate Institute. [Read more »]( OPINION [Susan Delacourt: Joe Biden is taking a low-key approach to Donald Trump. It worked for Canada]( No formal instruction manual exists for Joe Biden as he contends with Donald Trump’s refusal to concede defeat. But the president-elect appears to be using a tactical playbook that has worked for Canada in its standoffs with Trump over the past four years, Susan Delacourt writes. [Read more »]( [The Star]( 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]( [Manage Your Email Preferences]( [Become a Star Subscriber]( [View in Browser]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5E 1E6. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY]( - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -