What's Ford's plan to solve the health care crisis?

Plus, massive layoffs in the tech industry and a lawsuit against Brampton councillors [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on Ford’s response to Ontario’s health care crisis, widespread layoffs in the tech industry and a lawsuit from Brampton’s former integrity commissioner. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Nathan Denette health care crisis [Doug Ford says Ontario is working to fix the health crisis as problems grow in key Toronto hospitals]( Nurses are quitting or retiring at higher rates than usual, with many saying they feel burned out and underappreciated. Those vacancies, coupled with the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, have emergency rooms feeling the pressure or closing altogether. In his first public comments on the crisis, Ford said Ontario will speed up the accreditation of foreign-trained nurses in an effort to alleviate the worsening staffing shortage. [Here’s what we know about the premier’s plan](. - On the home front: SickKids and Toronto General have issued alerts over staffing issues. [Here’s where things stand in those hospitals](. - Go deeper: We need standards, we need beds, and we need staff. [Unless immediate action is taken, here’s the reality one emergency physician says we’re facing](. - Another angle: [The biggest insult to retention of nurses and advancement of the profession is Bill 124]( which one emergency department nurse says limits nurses’ fundamental right to bargain for their wages. Richard Lautens/The Star employment [Thousands of workers were laid off from tech companies this summer]( The past few months have seen major shakeups at the likes of Wealthsimple, Thinkific Labs Inc and Shopify, with hundreds laid off at each company and one data tracker tallying more than 60,000 people let go from 448 startups. The Star spoke with some of those recently laid off as well as students poised to enter the workforce. [Here’s why they’re expecting a difficult year ahead, but are optimistic about the long-term future of the industry](. - Context: Amid talk of a recession, a sharp downturn in online shopping and inflation, technology sales have fallen and stock prices have decreased. - More: Victor Escobedo worked in the industry for eight years before being laid off. As he sends out his resume “thousands of times,” he’s bracing for challenges ahead. - Go deeper: One expert predicts the tech sector will continue to grow in the future, adding that hiring surges and layoffs were done in response to circumstances of the pandemic. Melissa Renwick/The Star municipal politics [Brampton’s former integrity commissioner is suing city councillors for millions in damages — and the mayor backs her claims]( Brampton city councillors voted in March to fire the city’s integrity commissioner. Now, Muneeza Sheikh is firing back with a $20 million lawsuit that is just the latest instance of political turbulence rocking the GTA municipality where the grievances and disputes of its city council have regularly been on full display. [Here’s what we know about Sheikh’s claims and the response from individual councillors](. - More: Sheikh is arguing that her dismissal was part of a conspiracy by several councillors who were upset about previous or ongoing ethics investigations. - Go deeper: “She was egregiously targeted for removal because of a decision she made with respect to a serious allegation of sexual assault against a councillor,” Sheikh’s lawyer said. - The aftermath: The lawsuit appears to have support from Mayor Patrick Brown, who called the move to fire Sheikh “illegal,” while the city of Brampton said it intends to defend itself. WHAT ELSE Is A/C for tenants a human rights issue? [Take a look at the struggles in St. James Town](. [Here’s why these empty chairs at AIDS 2022 have Canada under fire](. The foreign affairs minister denies abandoning Ukrainian embassy staff. [What duty of care does Canada have?]( Ontario bureaucrats fired after alleged $11M COVID-19 fraud have [spent $1.1M on legal defence, and now want more](. Detached homes in Toronto are seeing an annual price decline for the first time in over two years — [but the trend is different for homes overall](. A conspiracy theorist says he now believes the Sandy Hook massacre was real. [These were the consequences of the lies he pushed on social media](. A Mississauga man denies killing his housemate in 2017, [but admits to covering up her death](. The Bank of Canada governor should [stay in his lane and not undermine collective bargaining](. Clayton Ruby, one of Canada’s best known criminal lawyers, has [died at the age of 80](. Air Canada saw a fivefold revenue increase — [but it’s still losing money](. Three sisters [infuse childhood memories into Caribbean dishes at Danforth’s popular SugarKane](. An Air Canada Express flight unexpectedly[returned to Pearson after its windshield cracked](. POV Canadian Press/Justin Tang [In the race against Pierre Poilievre, did Jean Charest’s cri de coeur make a difference to undecided party members?]( CLOSE-UP Marco Di Marco/AP ICELAND: People watch the lava flow from a new fissure eruption on the Fagradalsfjall volcano, which is located 32 kilometers southwest of the capital of Reykjavík. [Here’s how the country responded when the eruption began Wednesday](. 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_137889). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. 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