Inflation and the death of the Canadian dream

Plus, how far have we come in the three years since Ontario declared a state of emergency for COVID? [The Star] First Up [By Ben Cohen] By Ben Cohen Top o’ the mornin’ to ya. I'm filling in for Ashley this weekend. [Yesterday marked 1,558 years since St. Patrick is said to have died](. We hope you reflected on the occasion with the sober solemnity it deserves. Here’s the latest. MUST READS Lance McMillan/Toronto Star immigration [As Canada ramps up immigration, unsuspecting newcomers are running into inflation shock from soaring prices]( What happens when the highest inflation rate in four decades meets historic labour shortages? Economists warn Ghada Alsharif this union could create an “underclass” of immigrants trapped in precarious work. The federal government is targeting an unprecedented 1.5 million immigrants over the next three years and issuing work permits to non-Canadians at record highs. Here’s how the government’s gambit risks [ensnaring newcomers in low-skill, low-paying jobs, while often lacking the same basic rights and protections granted to Canadian workers](. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press COVID-19 [Here’s where we stand three years after Ontario declared a state of emergency for COVID]( COVID forced schools and borders to close and pushed much of life and work online. Nearly seven million have died globally, and the virus is still spreading, mutating, and killing. But for many, life has returned to normal, or something similar to it. Mahdis Habibinia and Aisling Murphy do a deep dive into the state of the virus, and its lingering effects, today. [Here’s how COVID crushed our healthcare system, small businesses, education, mental health, and climate research](. Justin Tang/AFP via Getty Images THE DEAL [The inside story of how the Liberals and NDP faced a crisis that shook their alliance — and why Justin Trudeau’s government survived it]( One year into the deal that is keeping the 44th parliament alive, the alliance between the governing Liberals and the NDP is functioning fairly well, even if the political opponents sometimes make uneasy bedfellows. Raisa Patel and Alex Ballingall look at the points of tension over the past year, how the parties built trust with each other, and [what risks lay ahead for the agreement propping up the Trudeau government](. Alejandro A. Alvarez/TNS File Photo TRANSIT [Crime is up, ridership is down. Has this U.S. city’s public transit found a better way?]( To better understand how other transit systems are dealing with the TTC's complex challenges, such as rising crime, homelessness and rider wariness, Lex Harvey decided to travel and experience what they’re like first-hand. Her first stop is in Philadelphia, a city she says has “[taken a more humane approach to its transit problems” than Toronto has](. Paige Taylor White/Toronto Star file photo GTA [New data shows more than three homeless people died on average every week last year in Toronto]( If you are homeless in Toronto, your life expectancy is decades less than the general population — just 55 and 42 for men and women, respectively. And just like the general population, Toronto’s unhoused die of cancers and cardiovascular diseases, pneumonia, and accidents. According to data from Public Health, nearly half of known deaths among the homeless population were due to toxic drug supply. [Read about why public health, medical experts and  harm reduction activists are calling for Health Canada to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs](. POV Chantal Hébert: [Justin Trudeau is failing a test of leadership](. Heather Scoffield: A green economy budget by Chrystia Freeland [needs to go beyond the fear of missing out](. Navneet Alang: Silicon Valley Bank has gone bust. [Here’s why some feel the bank had it coming](. Neil Seeman: [Why Canadian companies must deal with “moral injury” in the workplace](. Fay Martin: [We are abysmally unprepared for the future that awaits people with dementia and their caregivers](. Liisa Galea and Victoria Gay: Why are we not prioritizing [women’s health research]( READ THIS Beacon Press Is there a more maligned, infantilized art form than the comic book? Set aside your biases for a moment and come take a look at [four revelatory examples of the heights graphic novels can reach]( selected by reviewer Mike Donachie. Thanks 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_172198), and I will 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. [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](