What does the truth reveal about Canada?

Plus, the motivation behind Canada's plastics ban and one man's traumatic treatment at Pearson airport [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day — and first day of summer. We’re kicking off the season with a [heat wave](. Here’s the latest on Canadians’ understanding of history, the forthcoming plastic ban and the airport search that triggered a human rights complaint. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION [Canadians still don’t know with the history of residential schools]( One year after more than 1,000 unmarked graves were found on the grounds of former residential schools, thrusting Canada’s legacy of assimilating and abusing Indigenous children into the spotlight, Canadians are hardly any more familiar with that aspect of the country’s recent history, according to research shared with the Star. [Here’s more on the findings and what they say about Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples](. - More: Just up from 60 per cent in 2021, 62 per cent of Canadians surveyed say they feel very or somewhat familiar with the history of residential schools. - Go deeper: Education materials — such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry — exist, but Canadian education doesn’t incorporate them at all levels, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout said. - By the numbers: While 71 per cent of Indigenous respondents felt that governments had not gone far enough to advance reconciliation, only 44 per cent of non-Indigenous respondents felt the same. Olivier Morin/AFP via Getty Images climate crisis [Canada’s plastics ban is about more than litter]( A ban on the production and import of plastic bags and takeout containers will take effect by the end of the year, the federal government confirmed. Selling them will be prohibited by the end of next year. Why? Beyond pollution, the move is meant to limit the demand for oil, academics and researchers say. Here’s why, as we curb fossil fuels through transportation, electricity generation and heating, [plastics have become “the Plan B for the fossil fuel industry.”]( - By the numbers: Use of plastics is skyrocketing. They alone will account for a third of the growth in demand for oil by 2030, and almost half by 2050, the International Energy Agency projects. - Go deeper: Is the ban enough? It covers less than five per cent of the plastics we use, according to one advocate. - Context: [Here’s what single-use plastics are being banned and when](. - Aftermath: “You can’t put soup in a cardboard box.” [Some restaurants are slamming the ban](. - Another angle: Canada is set to release a climate plan — [without public input](. Steve Russell/The Star border patrol [He was detained, searched for drugs and X-rayed — all he had were apples and milk]( Three years later, Royland Boothe is still haunted by the sound of the metal gate closing behind him. Recalling what border agents ordered him to do prompts the same humiliation and anger he felt that day. Was it discrimination that subjected the Rastafarian Newmarket man, returning from a funeral in Jamaica, to searches and detention upon arrival at Pearson airport? A human rights complaint takes aim at the “red flags” that border agents referred to. [Here’s what we know](. - More: “It’s a traumatic experience. It’s torture,” said 37-year-old father of two, sobbing. - Go deeper: “The challenge of the experience of many Black people and any racial minority is, things happen that you know don’t make sense that appear to be discriminatory but you don’t have any overt evidence of that,” his lawyer said. - Watch for: The Canadian Human Rights Commission recently completed an investigation into the complaint but recommended against referring it to the tribunal. The commissioner can accept the recommendation or overrule it. If it decides to dismiss the complaint, Boothe can appeal that decision in Federal Court. WHAT ELSE [Unvaccinated Metrolinx employees are filing $2.09 million in lawsuits]( over the mandatory vaccine policy. The Toronto man accused of [lighting a woman on fire in a “hate-motivated” attack]( made a brief court appearance. Edward Lake, [the father of three children killed in crash by impaired driver Marco Muzzo]( has died by suicide. [Michelle Rempel Garner may need a waiver]( from party rules to seek Alberta UCP leadership, the Star has learned. [How early should I renew my passport?]( Here’s what you need to know about travel right now. Canada dropped COVID-19 vaccine travel restrictions Monday. [Here’s what changed](. Former NDP leader Andrea Horwath sent her strongest signal yet that [she’ll run for mayor of Hamilton](. Two baby hawks died after a developer moved their nest. As construction booms, [nature lovers want more protections](. What are the odds the TTC can [convince riders it’s actually the safer way to travel?]( Have your say: [Do you feel safe riding the TTC?]( Ontario’s big [education unions have filed bargaining notices]( as their contracts are set to expire in August. Immigrants are facing a crisis: [the withering Canadian dream](. ICYMI David Jackson/The Star [She confided in a doctor about her depression. The next thing she knew, the government had taken away her driver’s licence.]( CLOSE-UP Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP Photo BANGLADESH: A house is marooned by flood waters in Sylhet on Monday. Floods in Bangladesh continued to wreak havoc with authorities struggling to ferry drinking water and dry food to flood shelters across the country’s vast northern and northeastern regions. 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_130437). I’ll 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. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. 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