Ontario hospitals have some “very, very tough things to solve”

Plus, Iranians whose Canadian dreams were quashed and a group welcoming women into skilled trades [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Apologies for First Up’s late arrival in your inbox. [Today’s horoscope]( warned “the skies are still turbulent,” and that seems to have translated into a slew of tech troubles in our case. Here’s the latest on the dashed dreams of a group of Iranians, Ontario’s hospital crisis as told by the CEO of Ontario Health, and a group dedicated to making women feel welcome in skilled trades. DON’T MISS Supplied Photo immigration [Ottawa cheated 107 Iranians out of a fair shot at their Canadian dream]( The senior management at Canada’s immigration department made a “deliberate and calculated decision” that “reduced the rights” and fairness for a group of Iranian immigration applicants, a Federal Court judge has found. Now, he’s ordering the department to reconsider their cases and to pay the litigants $50,000 in costs — one the highest amounts ever awarded in an immigration case. [Here’s the list of problematic procedural issues the applicants faced — and why the judge was sympathetic to their cause](. - Context: The applicants’ files were moved from a backlogged visa post in Ankara, Turkey, in March 2018 to another post in Warsaw, Poland. At issue in the case was whether that a backlog was cleared “at the cost of violation of legal principles.” [Here’s what happened](. - More: “We were treated unfairly and the court understood what happened,” said one applicant, a Persian carpet designer and maker. “It restored our faith in the Canadian judicial system.” Richard Lautens/The Star star exclusive [Ontario Health’s CEO admits the system is under “tremendous strain”]( Record ER wait times, excruciating surgical delays and burnt out staff heading for the door in droves are just some of the pandemic-fuelled challenges facing the province’s health-care system. In a rare candid interview, Ontario Health president and CEO Matthew Anderson outlines five ways the crisis is playing out in the health care sector and how the agency is addressing it. [Here’s what you need to know about the state of Ontario health care](. - Go deeper: “Whatever is going wrong in the health-care system, it’s going to manifest itself in the ER ultimately,” Anderson told the Star’s Megan Ogilvie. “We watch that intake to give us information on where we might be having problems somewhere else in the system, to shore something up there.” - By the numbers: While ER wait times averaged 14 hours in 2012, patients waited an estimated 20 hours in May. Some hospitals have been forced to scale back or shut their doors temporarily. - More: They say they’re “tired,” “under appreciated” and “broken.” [Here’s why Ontario nurses are leaving a profession they love](. Tara Walton for The Star labour [Women have long felt unwelcome in skilled trades — these Ontarians want to change that]( Many women who work in skilled trades have faced micro-aggressions, harassment and violence on the job — and the provincial trades council is taking notice. Now, a new committee aims to make changes within the industry to ensure female workers “feel inspired, welcomed, motivated, challenged, and empowered.” [Here are some of the challenges faced by tradeswomen and how the committee aims to address them](. - Context: With concerns about labour shortages persisting, the province faces even more urgency to attract women to skilled trades — and retain them. - By the numbers: While 80 per cent of women in trades say they have good relations with co-workers, 70 per cent report on-the-job harassment, a committee survey found. - More: “I’ve been physically threatened on the job site — both sexually and otherwise violently — and I’ve been told probably thousands of times over the course of my career that I don’t belong in the industry,” said one worker, who is also project manager for the committee. WHAT ELSE Where has the so-called “Freedom Convoy” gone? [Don’t look at us — but let’s talk about it, says this new Ottawa group](. On Aug. 1, 1834, hundreds of enslaved people in Halifax were freed — [and more you need to know about Emancipation Day in Canada](. Hundreds of residential school photos have been found in Rome archives. [Here’s what we know about them](. Pandemic stress has business leaders considering leaving their jobs — [which also spells disaster for workers](. Police have identified the man [accused of setting off fireworks at a Dua Lipa concert](. Canada’s Wonderland was evacuated after a water park fire. [Take a look at the footage](. Exiled Afghan journalists living in Toronto have [launched this independent news platform](. Here’s how this 30-year-old [paid off nearly $50,000 in debt in less than two years](. Delayed or cancelled flight? [Here’s how your credit card can help cover the cost](. If your pandemic pet is getting too expensive to care for, [here are some options](. A U.S. drone strike killed an al-Qaida leader behind 9/11. [Here’s what we know](. Here’s why Sprite is [ditching its familiar green plastic bottle](. ICYMI Toronto Star Photo Illustration [Experts predict Toronto’s housing market is leaning toward its biggest slump in 40 years. Here’s what that will mean for you.]( CLOSE-UP Oli Scarff/AFP ENGLAND: Canada’s Summer McIntosh won gold in the women’s 200-metre individual medley swimming final on day four of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Monday.  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_137697). 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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