Welcome to the fastest warming town on Earth

Plus, Ontario's masking recommendations and the provincial deficit [Get access now!]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on ground zero of climate change, Ontario’s masking recommendations and the province’s deficit. DON’T MISS Lex Harvey/The Star cold truths [This Arctic town is the fastest warming place on Earth]( It’s long been known that the Arctic is warming about three times as fast as the rest of the world and, as Lex Harvey reports, Norway’s Svalbard archipelago is living proof. It’s heating two to two-and-a-half times as fast as the Arctic warming average and five to seven times as fast as the rest of the world. As rising temperatures make it warmer and wetter, the climate crisis is upending one of the world’s most important ecosystems and causing devastating avalanches. Meet the people of Longyearbyen facing the constant threat of disaster and [take a closer look at how greenhouse gas emissions are putting the town at risk](. - More: This is how a [“Doomsday vault” stows the seeds of our future against disaster](. - Meanwhile: In a Russian coal mining settlement on Svalbard, Russians and Ukrainians appear to get along. [Many don’t have a choice](. - On the home front: Carbon emissions in the GTHA are rising, according to a new report — [but the data points to a near future where far less fossil fuels are burned](. Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star provincial politics [Ontario’s chief medical officer is recommending indoor masking as pediatric hospitals overflow]( “What can be a cold to you can lead to a severe respiratory infection in someone four or under,” Dr. Kieran Moore told a news conference as he urged Ontarians to help curb the spread of respiratory viruses sickening young children and filling emergency rooms and ICUs to the brim. Critics say he and Premier Doug Ford’s government are late to address “the growing crisis” in pediatric critical care services, arguing they should have pushed for more masking, flu vaccination and COVID boosters with public awareness campaigns weeks ago, Rob Ferguson reports. [Here’s how else Moore says people can help tackle the “triple threat” to public health](. - Bruce Arthur’s take: [The province won’t make you mask — but you should do it anyway](. The wave of little kids getting sick is a failure of societal trust, of information, of communication, of governance, of public health, and of our willingness to sacrifice. - Edward Keenan’s take: More than just a rule-following culture, [are we a rule-requiring culture]( - Meanwhile: Health Canada says a foreign supply of children’s acetaminophen is arriving in the coming weeks. [Here’s what we know](. Canadian Press/Chris Young Ontario mini-budget [Ontario is on track for a budget deficit this year]( After a surprise surplus last year, Ontario is back in a deficit — of $12.9 billion, to be exact — Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in his fall economic statement Monday. “We’re not on an island here, we’re connected to the global economy,” he said, adding that “we are in a time of rising inflation that is straining household budgets by driving up the price of everything from gas to groceries.” [Robert Benzie reports on what Ontario is and isn’t spending money on](. - Good news for: About 200,000 of Ontario’s poorest senior citizens who will see a doubled Guaranteed Annual Income System payment; drivers benefiting from the 5.7-cent-per-litre gas tax cut being extended another year; and ODSP recipients who can now earn up to $1,000 without their benefits changing. - Bad news for: Public health care, education systems, food affordability and farmland, according to critics. - More: [There is also no bailout for cash-strapped Toronto]( after John Tory warned of a “massive” tax increase and “extreme” service cuts. [Matt Elliott explains three ways John Tory can fix the city’s money woes](. WHAT ELSE The Trudeau government feared “Freedom Convoy” violence but [Canada’s intelligence agency said it didn’t threaten the “security of Canada,”]( the inquiry heard. Three former mayors of Toronto explain why the [More Homes Built Faster Act disempowers municipalities — and needs a serious rethink before proceeding](. “The facts are now out. The stories are public.” [Why critics are urging Ottawa to remove migrant detainees from provincial jails](. Is your favourite salad unavailable? [Here’s what we know about the heat wave that has led to lettuce prices tripling](. [An eight-year-old Oshawa girl is dead]( in an apparent murder-suicide. [Why it’s getting harder to qualify for mortgages]( even as home prices decline. A surge in vehicle thefts shows no signs of slowing, according to a new report. [These are the most stolen cars](. A 17-year-old student has life-threatening injuries after a reported [stabbing at a Scarborough high school](. For over 80 years, this music was silenced by the Nazi regime. [It’s being revived at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music](. [Leafs legend Börje Salming is helping fans feel less alone]( by fighting ALS out in the open. POV Canadian Press File Photo [Canada spent millions to upgrade its systems. Why are immigration backlogs still so bad?]( CLOSE-UP Anthony Kwan/Getty Images HONG KONG: A general view shows the exterior of a residential building in one of the densest urban population centres in the world on October 24. According to the United Nations, the world’s population reached an estimated 8 billion people today 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_153906). 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