Inside the fight to even out Toronto's jagged skyline

Plus, one doctor's crusade against a controversial drug, and the hits and misses of Ford's new budget [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on Toronto’s uneven growth, a scientist’s fight against Toronto hospitals and Ontarios’ new budget. DON’T MISS Steve Russell/The Star housing [How Toronto became an uneven city – and the looming fight to change it]( Toronto is growing rapidly, but only a few neighbourhoods have sky-high buildings and limited greenspace. It’s no coincidence that a few blocks away from the crowded St. James Town there’s Rosedale, sitting low with its wide, tree-lined streets; it’s the result of deliberate policy choices. For decades, zoning rules have kept anything denser than detached or semi-detached houses from being built in huge parts of the city. But amid a housing crisis — and ahead of a municipal election — change may be on the way. Victoria Gibson and Nathan Pilla report on [the historic resistance to density and the new ideas emerging](. - Go deeper: City planning reflects the values of people with decision-making power, chief city planner Gregg Lintern said. By excluding some types of housing, he said decision-makers were essentially choosing to exclude people of a certain income bracket. - Wait, what? It’s not impossible to build something outside of zoning rules, but property owners who want to do so have to make their case at City Hall. Whether the building fits in the “existing physical character of a neighbourhood” can be factored into the decision. Susan Kao/Toronto Star Photo Illustration star investigation [A controversial blood drug, funding from Apotex and accusations of a whitewash. This scientist has spent decades fighting Toronto hospitals]( Dr. Nancy Olivieri first raised the alarm over deferiprone in the 1990s. As one of the first scientists to test the drug, she began to doubt its efficacy and safety. After speaking out, the drugmaker tried to silence her. She was demoted at work, pushed to the margins and ostracized. Eventually, the debate settled, and the drug wasn’t licensed in the U.S. or Canada. But decades later, Olivieri began to hear from patients that they were taking it. She brought her concerns to the University Health Network, but they didn’t stop using it. Rachel Mendleson reports on Olivieri’s fight and the uncomfortable questions it has [raised about the influence of funding from Big Pharma in trusted Toronto health institutions](. - Why it matters: Olivieri checked medical records of patients on deferiprone and found most of the 41 people whose records she could examine had suffered “significant toxicity,” including diabetes and liver dysfunction. - Go deeper: Olivieri has been searching for answers for 14 years. She uncovered that the hospital clinic giving the unlicensed drug to patients was receiving money from the drugmaker, Apotex. - Word from UHN: The network is standing by a review’s finding that patients were “receiving appropriate and safe care.” Officials are rejecting allegations that funding from Apotex influenced the treatment of its patients or its handling of the review. Canadian Press/Frank Gunn provincial politics [Doug Ford’s new budget has more money for health care, but little to help fight inflation]( Ontario health care is getting a funding boost this year — thanks in part to new financial support from the federal government — but opposition parties say the province’s new budget has failed to provide relief for Ontarians at a time when many are struggling with the rising costs of inflation. Robert Benzie reports on the record $204.7-billion spending plan and [how the deficit is projected to continue decreasing](. - More: Students, seniors, sick leave: [Here are 10 things you need to know about the Ontario budget](. - Go deeper: The hard-fought-for sick leave program is getting scrapped. [Critics are “frustrated and angry” about the decision](. - On the home front: There’s no big cash injection for Toronto in the province’s budget. [Here’s what that means for the city](. WHAT ELSE A group of Northern Ontario First Nations are [claiming up to $150 billion over the “flagrant disregard” of an 1850 treaty](. A Star reporter argued in court to unseal documents related to the Sherman murders. [Listen to how the process played out](. [A massive Toronto police drug case has collapsed]( amid allegations that officers misled the court with “fraudulent non-disclosure.” Interest rates are unexpectedly dropping on five-year mortgages — [and the global banking crisis is partly the cause](. The MP who left the Liberals over allegations of interference is [voting with the Tories for a public inquiry](. [TikTok’s CEO was grilled at a U.S. Congressional committee]( as Washington considers banning the app. Jill Biden at a curling match? [That’s Sophie Grégoire Trudeau’s plan](. [Poorer areas of Toronto will be hit hardest by TTC service cuts,]( a study has found. It’s the end of an era. The TTC is ending the sale of transit tokens for good — [but they’ll still accept them](. The Edmonton teen believed to have shot two officers [may have been involved in an earlier shooting](. Drake concert tickets are at the centre of a [new Canadian class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster](. Summer 2023 is expected to make a sizzling return. [Here’s what you need to know](. POV Canadian Press/Nathan Denette [An Ontario doctor’s wait-list database is saving patient lives — but he shouldn’t have to do it himself. ]( CLOSE-UP Christopher Katsarov/Justicia for Migrant Workers OTTAWA: In just over a decade spent in Canada, Gabriel Allahdua has transformed himself from a migrant farm worker to an advocate for worker’s rights, an activist-in-residence in university and now an author of a memoir. [After enduring back-breaking work and cruel comments, here’s how he learned to fight back](. 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_172927). Ashley 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. 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