Reacting to Ford's controversial plans for the Science Centre

Plus, 155,000 public servants on strike and a joint operation for joint operations [The Star] First Up [By Ashley Okwuosa] By Ashley Okwuosa Good morning. Here’s the latest on the province’s controversial plans for the Science Centre, the 155,000 government workers going on strike and addressing Ontario’s surgical backlog. DON’T MISS Lance McMillan/The Star provincial politics [Ford unveiled his plan to move the Science Centre to Ontario Place]( In a controversial move denounced by many at Toronto city hall, Premier Doug Ford has announced that a smaller Ontario Science Centre will be relocated to a revamped Ontario Place while the existing Don Mills facilities will be demolished to make room for new housing. While the future of Ontario Place has become a hot topic in the June 26 Toronto mayoral byelection, Ford said the province would be forging ahead regardless of which candidate wins. Robert Benzie breaks down [Ford’s plans for the Science Centre and what local politicians say will be lost if he moves forward](. - Word from City Hall: Mayoral candidate Ana Bailão wants Science Centre programming moved but the Don Mills building made into a community hub. Brad Bradford, Olivia Chow, Mitzie Hunter and Josh Matlow each said they would fight to keep Science Centre where it is — and preserve Ontario Place as a park. Mark Saunders, whose candidacy Ford tacitly supports, said he agrees with the premier that the building should be demolished to make way for housing. - The aftermath: [Here’s how residents are reacting to Ford’s Science Centre announcement](. Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle labour [PSAC has announced more than 155,000 public servants are on strike]( Minutes after a union-imposed 9 p.m. deadline Tuesday, Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) national president Chris Aylward walked up to media waiting outside an Ottawa hotel and delivered the news that some 155,000 federal government workers would be on strike as of midnight. A work stoppage of this magnitude — one of the largest in Canadian history — is likely to delay passport applications and tax returns, and exacerbate supply chain issues, reports Ben Mussett and Jim Rankin. [Here’s what federal workers are asking for and how the government has countered so far](. - More: According to the government, 28 different departments and agencies will be impacted, including Transport Canada, Veterans Affairs, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. - Watch for: Aylward said the union would remain at the bargaining table so long as the Canadian government did. “We are still a ways apart but we’re staying at the table because we’re still hopeful, and our goal is still to get to a tentative agreement,” he said. - Now what? Immigration and passport applicants can [expect delays and lineups](. Here’s what else will be [affected by the strike](. Peter Power/Sunnybrook health care [Waiting for a hip or knee replacement? These hospitals are joining forces to offer weekend surgeries]( Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Michael Garron Hospital have partnered to open operating rooms on weekends for joint replacement surgeries, reports Megan Ogilvie. The move is the latest attempt to address a surgical backlog that soared during the pandemic. Surgeons from the participating hospitals plan to do an additional 1,300 hip and knee replacements over the next year by operating on Saturdays and Sundays — days ORs are typically vacant. [Here’s how experts say the move will improve access for patients across the region](. - Why it matters: In the Toronto region, about 4,200 patients are waiting for hip and knee replacements, with 775 patients waiting beyond provincial benchmarks for their surgeries. Hospital leaders say this initiative will cut the number of people waiting for joint replacement surgeries in Toronto by 25 per cent by April 2024. - Wait, what? Recent figures from the Canadian Institute for Health Information show that about 424,000 fewer surgeries were performed in Ontario during the first two and half years of the pandemic. The data also shows that only 68 per cent of patients received their knee replacement within the recommended clinical window, compared with 80 per cent in 2019. [Sherman Investigation Alerts] What really happened to Honey and Barry Sherman? Get breaking updates in your inbox from the Star’s investigation as it keeps unfolding, including new episodes of our #1-rated podcast “The Billionaire Murders.” [Sign up for our free alerts here](. WHAT ELSE [Here’s what’s happening in Toronto and across the GTA for Eid al-Fitr](. Mask rules are changing at Ontario hospitals. [Here’s where you will still have to mask up](. Inflation fell for a fifth straight month to 4.3 per cent — but economists are warning [it’s going to be a lot harder to get it down further](. Twitter is being criticized by LGBTQ rights groups after quietly [removing a line in its hate speech policy that protected transgender users](. The home of former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion up for sale. [Here’s a look inside](. [“Ontario is bringing a glass of water to put out a house on fire.”]( judge rejected youths’ climate suit, but rebuked Ford. [Fox News has reached a $787-million settlement with Dominion]( over false 2020 election claims. A parking garage partially collapsed in New York City yesterday. [Here’s what we know so far](. The mother of one of the Canadian women missing in Syria [heard from her daughter.]( Toronto has opened a quarter of its [seasonal park washrooms early](. ICYMI Lance McMillan/The Star [The greying of Toronto Islands: The curious case of one of the city’s most coveted communities.]( CLOSE-UP Michal Dyjuk/AP Photo WARSAW: Thousands of people gathered Tuesday to participate in the annual March of the Living, a trek between two former Nazi-run death camps to mourn victims of the Holocaust and celebrate the existence of the Jewish state in Oswiecim, Poland. 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_177275). 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. [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](