Mass immunity, meet BA.5

Plus, Patrick Brown's downfall and holding a hit-and-run cop accountable [The Star] First Up [By Ashley Okwuosa] By Ashley Okwuosa Good morning. Here’s the latest on the BA.5 variant’s rise in Ontario, Patrick Brown’s disqualification from the leadership race, and one man’s fight to hold a hit-and-run police officer accountable. DON’T MISS R.J. Johnston/The Star the summer wave [Omicron infected millions of Canadians, but they can still catch the BA.5 variant]( A new report from the Federal government’s COVID-19 immunity task force shows more than 17 million Canadians have been infected with some version of Omicron over the past five months. But experts say mass infections shouldn’t have Canadians breathing a sigh of relief, as reinfection is possible from the new BA.5 variant. “People should not assume they have good protection because they just got infected,” said one doctor. “This is not the case, and that’s because it’s not the same virus coming back that they’re being exposed to, it’s different enough.” [Here’s how you can protect yourself from what health care professions are calling COVID’s Omicron “tsunami.”]( - Now what? Ontario’s top doc is [calling for more people to get their booster shots]( as COVID hospitalization rates have risen 29 per cent in the last week and BA.5 now accounts for 65 per cent of cases. - Go deeper: [Here’s what you need to know about the variant at the centre of Ontario’s summer wave](. - Another angle: What does it even mean to be fully vaccinated? [Raisa Patel explains]( Paige Taylor White/The Star federal politics [Brown’s out. What comes next?]( Oh how quickly things have changed for Conservative Party leadership candidate Patrick Brown. The party’s election organizing committee announced late Tuesday it disqualified Brown in light of “serious allegations of wrongdoing.” Brown says the party was scant on details, leaving his team chasing a “phantom allegation” made by the competition that “an individual working for a corporation was being paid to help us.” But three provincial and federal Conservative sources told the Star the allegation didn’t come from another campaign, but from Brown’s own. As the Conservative leadership race enters its final weeks, [here’s how Brown’s campaign went down and what other leadership hopefuls have to say about it](. - Now what? Brown has retained prominent lawyer Marie Henein to appeal the party’s decision. Henein previously defended former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant and ex-CBC host Jian Ghomeshi. - Susan Delacourt’s take: Dumping Patrick Brown comes with big risks for Conservatives. [Who’s going to bother to cast a ballot in a race that’s already decided?]( Richard Lautens/The Star crime [This man lost his leg after a 2019 traffic accident — and he wants the police officer who hit him held accountable ]( In September 2019, Stuart Sweeney was hit by a car while driving his motorcycle on a rural stretch of road between Pickering and Markham. As he waited in a grassy ditch for the ambulance to arrive, off-duty York Regional Police officer Nathan Coates was being arrested and charged with offences including impaired driving and failure to stop and render assistance. Almost three years later, the case is before a court and Sweeney’s lawyer is arguing that Coates fled the scene to “evade liability,” while Coates’s lawyer argues the officer left because he was experiencing a concussion. [Here’s more about the case and what Sweeney’s life has been like since the accident](. - What we know: Coates’ baseball teammates told the court they had all been drinking after losing a game. The off-duty tow-truck driver who located Coates’ broken down vehicle 4 km away from the scene of the accident called the police, saying “this guy’s hammered.” [But Coates’s impaired driving charge was dropped after a Superior Court justice excluded breath sample evidence]( that indicated Coates’ blood-alcohol level was “well above” the legal limit. - Why this matters: Coates has been suspended with pay since 2019, collecting his annual salary of just under $110,000 in 2020 and 2021, according to Ontario’s Sunshine List. By law, police officers in Ontario must be paid while suspended unless they are convicted of a crime and sentenced to jail time. WHAT ELSE After 57 MPs resigned, [U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to step down today](. Ottawa is being called on to [lead efforts to oust Russia from the G20](. For four days running, Air Canada and Pearson [ranked No. 1 in delays worldwide](. ... and strikes, work action and labour shortages [could disrupt travel for months, unions warn](. [Here’s what buyers can expect as Toronto-area home prices drop for a fourth consecutive month]( and real estate sales decline 41 per cent. Uh oh. Rising insurance rates mean some [real estate investors who purchased pre-construction homes may have to sell at a loss](. Canadian doctors are being warned they could face [criminal charges or lawsuits if they treat Americans coming to Canada for an abortion](. Here’s how a lack of interprovincial billing agreements for physician fees [saw a Quebec man denied surgery in B.C.]( Is your Indigenous art legit? [Ottawa is being urged to crack down on fakes](. In Yukon, lightning strikes have caused [136 wildfires over seven days](. [Beijing has started requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination]( for access to public spaces like gyms, museums and libraries. [Quebec is defending police powers to make random traffic stops]( while lawyers call it a “discriminatory use of state power.” ICYMI Gary Nylander for The Star [“It’s absolutely beyond alarming.” Teens are being sold illegal drugs on social media — and many are dying. ]( CLOSE-UP Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images KARACHI: Mohammad Hasan Narejo shows off the ears of his kid goat Simba on July 6, 2022. Simba and his extraordinarily long ears has become something of a media star in Pakistan, with its owner claiming a world record that may or may not exist. 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_133263). 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. [Unsubscribe From This Newsletter]( [Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts]( [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](