The kids aren’t alright

Plus, what Canada needs to do to pave a way to World Cup glory [Get access now!]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Dreading another winter shoveling through snow and ice before the morning commute? [More homeowners are opting for heated driveways](. Here’s the latest. MUST READS Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press OPINION [Why Justin Trudeau can survive the inquiry, and Pierre Poilievre has stayed silent]( Canadians have already — for the most part — made up their minds, showing majority support for the federal government’s decision to use the Emergencies Act, according to an October Abacus poll. Whether or not the federal inquiry finds that Justin Trudeau failed to meet the legal threshold to invoke the Act is unlikely to deal a heavy blow to the governing Liberals, Chantal Hébert writes. [From the transparency of the inquiry to the interest a future Conservative government may have in the arguments of the Liberals, here’s what else we can take away](. Richard Lautens/Toronto Star YOUTH [Gun deaths are highlighting simmering traumas inside Toronto schools]( It shouldn’t have taken the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old student at Woburn Collegiate Institute this past Halloween for people to realize that kids at Toronto-area schools need help, youth advocates say. Although school violence is still relatively rare in Toronto, there were signs that youth violence was rising before the pandemic, Jennifer Pagliaro reports. [Here’s why the discrepancies between the services available for kids after a traumatic incident and the supports needed to prevent youth violence in the long-term demand renewed focus](. Ariel Schalit/AP Photo world cup [Can Canada defeat Croatia to claim victory in Qatar?]( Despite Canada’s painful loss to Belgium, the men’s national team proved that after 36 years out of the globe’s greatest soccer event, they do belong at the World Cup, Joe Callaghan writes. But the stakes will be much higher at today’s game; Canada must at least tie with Croatia to make it to Thursday’s final group game. Joe breaks down who Canadians have to watch out for, what Croatian weaknesses to exploit, and where they must step up [to do even better and claim their first-ever World Cup victory](. Jeremy Fokkens/Toronto Star WHAT’S IN OUR WHEAT? [Alberta wheat farmers who prepare fields with glyphosate say their durum isn’t sprayed — and worry about alternatives if the controversial product is banned]( Some Italian growers are accusing Canadians of the unsafe use of glyphosate herbicide in grain growing. It’s the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup product and a suspected carcinogen. But some farmers in the Prairies are pushing back on the idea that they’re using the product dangerously. One farmer tells reporter Marie-Claude Lortie that he doesn’t spray the pesticide just before harvest as accused, only in the spring to prep the fields. Another says glyphosate helps farmers from needing to plow the fields, which is terrible for the soil. [In the second of a three-part series, here’s what we know about the pesticide and how much farmers disclose about their use](. Susan Kao/Toronto Star Illustration OPINION [The final resting place of your parents’ ashes may not have to be so final]( Although T’s parents are interred in a Mount Pleasant Cemetery niche in midtown Toronto, she recently thought to scatter some of their ashes in Venice, where her family had once lived together. The idea came to mind when her sister planned a trip there, and a manager at the cemetery told her it would be possible. What’s more, it would be possible, too, for writer Cathrin Bradbury to scatter her parents’ ashes, which are buried. [Knowing she has options, Cathrin reflects on the importance of being thoughtful in deciding on final resting places](. UP CLOSE Lidija Jerant Since 2003, self-taught artist Lidija Jerant and “super, super handy” husband Nathan Buckwalter have slowly transformed their Leslieville house. Their home decor is “80 per cent thrifted, found on the curb or DIYed,” Jerant said. With her husband contributing his labour to a second renovation in 2009, the two kept costs for the seven-month project below $200,000. [Carola Vyhnak takes a closer look at their family home and the creative tactics they’ve used to personalize it](. WATCH THIS McKenna Deighton Two-Spirit people, who carry both a masculine and feminine spirit, have long been esteemed members of Indigenous communities, often as mediators, caretakers, teachers, and medicine people, Madison Wong reports. But colonization, homophobia, transphobia, and patriarchy have suppressed their teachings and traditions. [Here’s how three Two-Spirit creators are reclaiming their space and building community through TikTok](. Thank you for reading. You can reach 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_155938), and I will see you back here Monday. Get unlimited access to the Star Subscribe for our best offer of the year: $12 for 12 months [Get Access 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. 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