Endorsements and kickbacks and a psych report! Oh my!

Plus, John Tory's re-election hopes and a big boost to federal child-care spending [The Star] First Up [By Lex Harvey] By Lex Harvey Good morning. Here’s the latest on Jerry Dias’s psychiatric report, John Tory’s re-election plans and a big boost in federal child-care spending.  DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Cole Burston labour pains [Jerry Dias offered a $25k “kickback” to a friend he passed over]( The ex-Unifor leader was stressed and consuming heavy amounts of drugs and alcohol after being forced to choose between two “close friends” to endorse as his successor around the same time he allegedly accepted $50,000 from a COVID rapid test supplier, the Star has learned. Dias gave half the money to his national assistant, Chris MacDonald — who he didn’t endorse — who then blew the whistle on the “alleged kickback scandal,” landing Dias in hot water. [Here’s what Sara Mojtehedzadeh and Rosa Saba gleaned from Dias’ psychiatric report](. - Miss something? Dias went on health leave in February and announced his early retirement on March 11, days before the union announced it was investigating him for an ethics breach. - More: A psychiatric assessment says that Dias’ “wrongful conduct may have arisen at least in part due to his feelings of loyalty to the individual who was not chosen to succeed him.” It also said that Dias “has consumed alcohol on a daily basis for 20 years, with increased use over the last few years.” - Now what? On the advice of his psychiatrist, Dias didn’t participate in the investigation into his conduct, so Unifor said it could not speculate as to his motivations for giving MacDonald the money. Dias will be invited to present further evidence at a hearing in April. Dan Pearce/Metroland municipal elections [John Tory will seek a third term as Toronto’s mayor]( Ending months of speculation, Mayor Tory confirmed to the Star that he will register May 1 to run in the Oct. 14 civic election. If he wins a third four-year term, Tory will become Toronto’s longest serving mayor, surpassing Art Eggleton’s 11 years in office. Tory has always [enjoyed high public support]( his re-election plans will likely put the mayoral ambitions of some potential successors on ice and put pressure on council’s left-leaning wing to find a strong challenger. [David Rider has the latest on the mayor’s political ambitions](. - Context: Tory told the Star he’s made gains on transit, housing and city finances, among other things — but he’s faced criticism this term for clearing homeless encampments from parks and his [entanglement in the Rogers family feud](. - Have your say: [Are you satisfied with Tory’s performance as mayor?]( - ICYMI: If re-elected, will Tory’s “prudent” leadership be [tough enough to tackle Toronto’s big issues]( Canadian Press/Chris Young child care [Ottawa is eyeing a big funding boost to convince Ontario to get on board with national day care]( The federal government is looking at spending hundreds of millions more to create additional child-care spaces in order to secure Ontario’s signature on the national program, Tonda MacCharles and Robert Benzie report. The money — which  a top Ontario official called a “game changer” — would be given under a separate infrastructure fund, possibly spread over a number of years, tied to the creation of thousands of spaces and offered to all provinces based on their population. [Here’s what you need to know](. - Context: Ontario is the lone holdout after all other provinces and territories signed onto the $27-billion plan Ottawa unveiled last April. Premier Doug Ford has said he supports improving access to affordable child care but any funding arrangement has to be sustainable long-term. This could be the ticket. - Word from the Hill: “We’re on track” to reach a deal, likely next week, a senior federal official said Wednesday. “A one-off infrastructure fund could be part of this agreement. It could be spread over a couple of years — it’s just not landed yet.” - Word from Queen’s Park: Senior provincial officials are enthusiastic about the deal, which will come just in time for the June 2 election. “It means real $10-a-day child care is attainable and sustainable for the long term,” said one insider. WHAT ELSE Canada’s unbeaten dream is gone after its loss to Costa Rica, [but a World Cup berth can still be earned on home soil](. Photo radar caught city of Toronto vehicles speeding and running red lights. [This department was the worst offender](. [Inside the $11M renovations]( to the prime minister’s official country home. [Pay more or your purchase is cancelled]( a developer warned condo-buyers. The CTRC [conditionally approved part of the Rogers-Shaw deal](. [Here’s how “no sprawl” groups are defying]( Doug Ford’s Toronto area development plan. When it comes to Canada’s Ukraine war sanctions, [how much Russian is too much Russian?]( Ukraine says Moscow is [forcibly taking its civilians to Russia](. ICYMI Canadian Press/Nathan Denette [Why Doug Ford might be a big winner in the deal between Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh.]( CLOSE-UP Noel Celis/AFP WUZHOU, CHINA: Grieving relatives arrive at the site where China Eastern flight MU5375 crashed in southwestern China’s Guangxi province on Friday. [No survivors have been found since the Boeing 737-800 dove into a mountainous area Monday](. Thanks 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_114144). Andrew will see you back here tomorrow. [The Star]( If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. 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