A broader, general strike could be in the works

Plus, GO bus drivers strike, and the challenges of caring for three aging family members [Get access now!]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on the CUPE strike, a GO Transit strike and the challenges of aging in Ontario. DON’T MISS Lance McMillan/The Star provincial politics [CUPE is expected to threaten a broader, general strike]( With plans to demonstrate at more than 120 locations across the province, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says parents should prepare to keep their kids home from school today. And they’re only expected to up the ante. The union and its labour partners are expected to announce a massive rally at Queen’s Park on Saturday — with the threat of launching a broader, general strike on Nov. 14, sources told the Star. [Here’s a close-up look at the range of support CUPE is receiving, and why it says this is also a fight to protect charter rights against future threats](. - Wait, what? Some 55,000 school support staff walked off the job Friday after the Ontario government passed controversial legislation that eliminated the right to strike and imposed a collective agreement on workers. - Word from Queen’s Park: [The Ontario government says it won’t return to the negotiating table](. - More: With the hearing into the legality of the CUPE strikes ending Sunday, the labour board is set to make a ruling. [Here’s what we know](. - Chantal Hébert’s take: [The collateral damage from Ontario’s decision to suspend the rights of education workers could extend beyond the province](. Canadian Press/Evan Buhler transportation [GO bus workers begin striking today]( Approximately 2,200 GO Transit workers are withdrawing their labour today, suspending GO bus service after a deal couldn’t be reached between Metrolinx and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1587 Sunday. Trains and the Union Pearson Express will continue to operate, Kelly Skjerven reports. [With ATU calling safety and job security their top priorities, here’s what we know about negotiations](. - Wait, what? The union represents GO Transit workers, including station attendants, bus operators, maintenance workers, transit safety officers and office professionals. - By the numbers: In 2021, GO Transit annual ridership was 13,579,400. Bus service accounted for just over a third of that. Supplied Photo the third act [One woman struggling to help three aging relatives ran into repeated roadblocks from Ontario’s system]( Exhaustion, grief and guilt are feelings all too familiar to Ontarians seeking to support aging relatives or friends. The system is more focused on building big-box nursing homes than helping people live and thrive in their community, Moira Welsh reports. Kathy Pettit had to learn that the hard way — and three times over — as her grandparents and mother-in-law struggled with their health. Between hospitals, home care and long term care, [here’s how one person repeatedly experienced the system falling short — and sometimes making life more difficult](. - This: When Kathy’s grandmother was hospitalized for a stroke, her dementia spiralled, prompting staff to put her in a chair with a tray to lock her in place. - And that: It’s a far cry from the warm treatment her mother-in-law received at a “Multispecialty Interprofessional Team,” where staff were trained to work with people living with dementia. That plan, however, relied on government-funded home care, which came with its own set of issues. - Word from the Editor: Here’s why the Star, in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University and the National Institute on Ageing is [pushing for Canada to do better for its aging population](. WHAT ELSE Justin Trudeau won’t be at COP27 — and he’s not alone. [Has the heyday for global climate conferences come and gone?]( “It’s about the commitment and love for the country.” [Inside the Afghan diplomatic missions in Canada with no government to report to](. Voters in [Mississauga-Lakeshore will cast byelection ballots on Dec. 12](. Buy, sell, or wait? [How to navigate Toronto’s cooling — and confusing — market](. Your mortgage payments are approaching your trigger rate. [Here’s how it will affect your mortgage and what you can do](. Kanye West and Elon Musk’s Twitter perfectly demonstrate the [consequences of hate disguised as “free speech.”]( Shireen, 30, wants to save enough money to quit her $72,000-per-year job and go to grad school. [This is what she can do](. Waterloo researchers made a device to locate your smartphone or laptop. [Here are the challenges in preventing its use for “dark purposes.”]( Why Ontario is considering letting pharmacists [prescribe Paxlovid for COVID-19](. From Meryl Streep to Daniel Radcliffe: [Why Hollywood loves this Toronto barista](. There’s got to be an easier way to make friends as an adult, right? [This may be the answer](. A B.C. diver shook a leg with a giant Pacific octopus. [Watch the “mind-blowing” encounter](. ICYMI R.J. Johnston/The Star [Ontario is backtracking on its pledge not to touch the Greenbelt. Here’s what that could mean for other environmental protections.]( CLOSE-UP Gareth Fuller/AP Photo ENGLAND: People thought to be migrants inside a prison-like centre are seen in Thanet on Thursday. [Details about overcrowding and inhumane conditions at the migrant processing centre]( have shocked Britain and reignited a heated debate about how the Conservative government is handling a sharp increase in asylum-seekers. 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_152783). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get unlimited access to all articles Only $0.50/week for a limited time [Subscribe Now!]( 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]( [View in Browser]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5E 1E6. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](