How fast will fire services respond to your neighbourhood?

Plus, hate on Canadian campuses and the new green investment guidelines [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on Toronto Fire Services response times, hate incidents at post-secondary schools and Canada’s new green investment guidelines. DON’T MISS Lance McMillan/The Star star exclusive [Fire crews are slower to respond to Toronto’s low-income neighbourhoods, data shows]( A Star analysis has found that Toronto Fire Services is slower to respond to emergency calls in areas of the city designated as struggling with inequity. These marginalized communities generally have higher proportions of newcomers, as well as low-income and racialized people, Ben Spurr reports. [Use our interactive map to see how fire response times vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood](. - By the numbers: The data shows the fire department met its response time target in about 70 per cent of incidents in the city’s disadvantaged communities, and 80 per cent of incidents in other communities. The National Fire Protection Association benchmark is 90 per cent. - Go deeper: While the executive director of one progressive think tank said it’s well documented that marginalized communities lack access to services like public health care and community spaces, she said this is the first analysis she’s seen that indicates they also receive worse fire response times. - Word from the fire chief: In an email to the Star, fire Chief Matthew Pegg said TFS typically measures response time by ward and cautioned the smaller sample size of neighbourhood data could make the statistics unreliable. Toronto Star Photo Illustration Star/ijb investigation [Hidden hate on campus: We tracked incidents at colleges and universities and found a growing problem]( Anti-Semitic graffiti. Indigenous cultural symbols vandalized. Racist threats. Since 2014, colleges and universities across Canada have seen more than 500 incidents of hate-motivated vandalism, harassment or violence, according to data collected by the Star and the Investigative Journalism Bureau. That figure indicates the scope of the problem is even greater than was previously known, as Statistics Canada only counted 236 such incidents. What’s more is that the incidents are largely going unpunished, Robert Cribb and Charles Buckley report. [Here’s what we know about the normalization of hate on campus and why it’s not being properly addressed](. - By the numbers: The investigation found that at large universities and colleges, which had more than 100 hate-motivated incidents, only six cases resulted in discipline against perpetrators. - Go deeper: Canada doesn’t require centralized data collection or transparency about the scope of hate-related incidents at post-secondary institutions. This investigation aims to bridge that gap. Canadian Press File Photo climate crisis [Why are Canada’s big banks writing the country’s new green investment guidelines?]( In a move meant to funnel billions of dollars into climate-friendly investments needed to shift the economy into a net-zero future, Canada has proposed a rule book around what qualifies as a “green” investment. But environmental groups are questioning why the proposal comprises only banks and other financial institutions and sounding the alarm over it giving the world’s biggest polluters a “helping hand.” Kate Allen and Christine Dobby report on [the implications of the setup and why critics say the process needs to change](. - What we know: Experts say the government needs help from the private sector to invest in green projects in order to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, as we have committed to do under the Paris Agreement. - Why it matters: But without set standards on what qualifies as a green investment, investors lack the confidence to support the right kinds of projects or risk investing in projects that “greenwash” or are simply posing as climate-friendly. - Wait, what? These oilsands companies raked in $35 billion last year. [Now, they’re asking for public money to help fight climate change](. WHAT ELSE What might Sherman friends and family be trying to hide? [Find out on this bonus episode of the Billionaire Murders podcast](. “Southbounder”? [Here’s why more and more people are making the dangerous journey from Central America to Canada and then the U.S.]( [Ottawa should brace for a “public relations nightmare”]( if the online bill passes, a senator says. Doug Ford has followed Justin Trudeau’s lead and [banned TikTok from government phones](. TDSB wants to ban caste-based discrimination. [Here’s why people are divided](. Seven Brampton schools have [increased security following an online shooting threat](. Governments have their own responsibilities. [But here’s how private landlords are partly to blame for the housing crisis](. [Long COVID could impact the economy and be a “mass disabling event”]( in Canada, a new report says. These five cities have seen home prices fall by almost 30 per cent — [nearly double Toronto’s drop](. [Canadians aren’t spending more on groceries, but we are getting less]( according to a new report. [Toronto health inspectors have found major infractions]( at these restaurants, cafés, bakeries, bars and grocery stores this past week. Where to go in Ontario this spring and summer? [Travel experts recommend local family-friendly destinations](. POV Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld [The fight between Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre is taking Canadian politics to a dark place.]( CLOSE-UP Markus Schreiber/AP Photo GERMANY: A forensic expert stands by police outside a Jehovah’s Witness building in Hamburg on Friday. A shooting in the building killed eight people, including the alleged perpetrator, police said. [Here’s the latest](. 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_170789). Ashley will see you back here tomorrow. 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