Here's what you need to know before Bill 7 is a go

Plus, remembering Mikhail Gorbachev, and how a violent human trafficker's sentence was reduced [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on the legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev, Doug Ford’s controversial health care bill and how a violent human trafficker saw his sentence reduced. DON’T MISS David Longstreath/AP File Photo world [Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, “made the world a more peaceful place”]( During his short time in power, the Nobel Prize winner shifted the Soviet Union away from authoritarianism and helped end the Cold War. In the West, he was celebrated for lifting the Iron Curtain, but in Russia he was blamed for the chaos of the empire’s collapse, his legacy overshadowed by the rise of a new authoritarianism. He died Tuesday at age 91, drawing an outpouring of tributes from world leaders. [From his childhood to the legacy he leaves behind, this is Gorbachev’s story](. - More: “His leadership skills and his vision were such that the greatest challenge, the nuclear challenge to mankind, which was the Cold War, was ended without a shot being fired,” former prime minister Brian Mulroney told the Star. - The aftermath: Russia’s rising authoritarianism and expansionism culminated in Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, where [inspectors are now facing the difficult task of entering a nuclear plant occupied by Russian troops](. Canadian Press/Chris Young provincial politics [Doug Ford says he and Justin Trudeau agree there’s “urgent” need to reform the health-care system]( With his government’s controversial Bill 7 expected to pass today, the premier is assuring the public that he and the prime minister are on the same page. Meant to free up hospital beds ahead of a winter COVID and flu surge, the bill would send elderly patients into nursing homes that aren’t on their preferred list if their doctors say they’re well enough to be moved. Trudeau didn’t speak with the media after meeting with Ford, and sources told the Star the leaders did not discuss the Canada Health Act. [Here’s why critics are warning against Bill 7](. - More: The Canada Health Act ensures provinces and territories provide public services without direct charges in order to receive federal health-care payments. - By the numbers: Those refusing to leave hospital could face uninsured fees of $1,800 a day, critics say. - The aftermath: Ford is defending the speed with which his government will pass the “More Beds, Better Care Act” — just 13 days after it was introduced and without public hearings or detailed study by a legislative committee. - Word from Queen’s Park: [Here’s why some MPPs say the Ford government is ignoring elderly patients’ rights](. Toronto Police handout courts [A violent human trafficker got a year off his sentence due to “deplorable” conditions in Toronto jails]( Simon Ho-On, 24, violently forced two young women into sex work, gave them drugs and made them tattoo his nickname onto their bodies to prove their loyalty. A Toronto judge determined an eight-and-a-half-year sentence was suitable for degrading, dehumanizing and brutally beating them. But he has now cut that sentence to seven years and three months. Why? Because of the “deplorable” conditions Ho-On endured in two Toronto jails. [Here’s more on the decision — and the horrifying details of the case](. - More: The harsh conditions and lockdowns at the Toronto South Detention Centre “have been widely recognized and condemned by this Court on numerous prior occasions,” Superior Court Justice Michael Quigley said. - Go deeper: The treatment Ho-On had faced in custody was “unconscionable and beneath the standards we claim to uphold in this democracy,” the judge said, asking Ho-On be permitted to complete his sentence at a correctional facility outside Toronto. WHAT ELSE Justin Trudeau’s making a “small adjustment” to his cabinet today. [Here’s what we know](. With climate change causing natural disasters, [this is the toll it will take on the Canadian economy](. Friends are in shock after a [father was charged with fatally stabbing his daughter and her mother in North York](. The family of a [man killed in a mistaken identity shooting on Hwy. 410]( says lives have been shattered. How one legal clinic is [“levelling the playing field” for Black students in Ontario schools](. Why a human rights tribunal [dismissed claims of discrimination for post-secondary vaccine mandates](. What’s aconite? [Here’s what you need to know about the toxin that may have sickened diners in Markham](. Online betting in Ontario made $162 million in revenue in the first three months. [Here’s more on the newly-regulated market](. The Bank of Canada’s decisions are perpetuating inequality. [This is who benefits from rate hikes](. [Take a look inside this $6 million Malibu-style beach house]( Etobicoke’s waterfront. When will the Bank of Canada stop its interest rate hikes? [That depends on who you ask](. This “eel daddy” TikToker [built an eel pit inside his home](. POV Jeff Tribe/Metroland File Photo [“Systemic slavery.” “Treated like mules.” We need to end the abuse of temporary foreign workers.]( CLOSE-UP Asif Hassan/AFP SHIKARPUR: People gather outside their flooded houses in Sindh province on Tuesday as aid efforts ramped up across Pakistan. Relentless monsoon rains have submerged a third of the country and claimed more than 1,100 lives.  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_142290). 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. 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