Get to class, kids. The strike's back off.

Plus, a political finale to the Emergencies Act inquiry and an NDP leader in Germany [The Star] First Up [By Ashley Okwuosa] By Ashley Okwuosa Good morning. Here’s the latest on the tentative deal struck to avoid school closures, a political week at the Emergencies Act inquiry, and Jagmeet Singh’s trip to Germany. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Chris Young provincial politics [The strike is off and school is on, as CUPE reaches a tentative deal with the province]( After a weekend of negotiation, a deal was struck to avoid job action by support staff that would have seen hundreds of thousands of children across the province out of class and learning virtually, reports Kristin Rushowy and Robert Benzie. The union was unsuccessful in its push for $100 million for additional support staff, which left Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Boards Council of Unions, dissatisfied. “As a mom, I don’t like this deal. As a worker, I don’t like this deal. As the president of the (bargaining unit), I understand what this deal is on the table. I think it falls short,” Walton said. [Here’s everything you need to know about the tentative agreement](. - Word from Queen’s Park: “What I can confirm is all parties — the government union, trustees (associations) — all of us leave this tentative agreement with positive outcomes from what we were trying to advance. I think all parties have been able to receive some incremental wins,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce told reporters. - Now What? Walton will take the tentative deal to 55,000 early childhood educators, educational assistants and custodians for a vote. School support staff will begin voting on Thursday, and Walton said she hoped to wrap things up by the end of next weekend. Should members reject the deal, CUPE would have to provide five days notice before any job action. Steve Russell/Toronto Star File Photo emergencies act inquiry [The Emergencies Act inquiry nears its grand finale this week]( This will be the most political week of the inquiry, as lawyers for the convoy protesters get to put questions to ministers and, of course, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself. Trudeau will be the final witness to go before Justice Paul Rouleau, appearing Friday after the inquiry hears from some of the most senior political people around the PM — everyone from his Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and chief of staff Katie Telford. [Susan Delacourt breaks down what questions we may get answers to this week](. - Wait, what? One thing we learned over six weeks of testimony is that negotiation with the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protesters was an option for the federal and provincial governments. This point may come up again when Trudeau and his ministers get a chance to explain why they decided not to speak with protesters. - More: We can expect Trudeau and co. to “speak fairly freely,” said a government source speaking on condition of anonymity. But their testimony will be subject to the same limits that lawyers have already encountered throughout the inquiry, the Canadian Press reports. [Here’s a full list of who will be called to testify this week and the order they]( to appear](. Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld politics [Jagmeet Singh went to Germany to find out how to become prime minister]( The NDP leader recently returned from a weeklong trip, during which he met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. One of the main reasons for the visit, reports Raisa Patel, was so Singh could learn how the NDP’s sister party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), went from lagging far behind in the polls to emerging victorious in Germany’s 2021 federal election. [Here’s what Singh learned from Scholz about winning elections and courting disillusioned Canadians](. - Go deeper: The SPD spent much of the 2021 campaign hovering at a distant third until it surged late in the game. The SPD wound up securing its best election result since 2005, a notable achievement considering that one election earlier, it had recorded its worst showing since the Second World War. - What we don’t know yet: Can the SPD’s success be replicated in Canada? One expert said the party was able to capitalize on former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to leave office, which may not be mirrored in Canada given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s intent to stick around. WHAT ELSE Former mayors of Toronto wrote a letter to Mayor John Tory, [urging him to reject strong-mayor powers](. Toronto’s 2SLGBTQ+ community held a [candlelight vigil to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance](. [Here’s how Canada stacks up against other countries]( when it comes to high inflation. [Elizabeth May returns to Green Party leadership]( with co-leader Jonathan Pedneault. Advocates are preparing to challenge Ontario’s More Beds Better Care Act, [which they say is “fundamentally discriminatory” against the frail and elderly.]( The prime suspect in the 2018 disappearance of snowbird Malcom Madsen is now [willing to cut a deal with prosecutors in exchange for the location of the Ontario man’s body](. A sperm whale that washed ashore in Nova Scotia this month [died after consuming 150 kilograms of fishing gear](. An earthquake shook Indonesia’s main island of Java this morning, [killing at least 14 people](. A 22-year-old gunman killed five at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs Saturday. [Here’s what we know so far]( [The shooter previously evaded Colorado’s “red flag“ law]( which would have let authorities seize his weapons. What was Morgan Freeman doing at the World Cup? [Here’s everything you need to know about the lavish half-hour opening ceremony](. Here are some [places to watch the World Cup in Toronto](. ICYMI Paige Taylor White/The Star [They recently bought undevelopable Greenbelt land. Now the Ford government is poised to remove protections — and these developers stand to profit.]( CLOSE-UP Lance McMillan/The Star TORONTO: Thousands of people lined the streets of downtown Toronto in frigid temperatures Sunday to witness [the first in-person Santa Claus parade since 2019](. Pictured is Mrs. Claus as her float made its way along the parade route. 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_154839). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. 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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