Is life under smoke our suffocating new reality?

Plus, the homes easing pressure on the electrical grid and Pride in the TDSB [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on Canadian wildfires, homes helping the electrical grid and tensions over Pride at TDSB.  DON’T MISS Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star climate crisis [“The new reality”? Canadian wildfires become the global face of unfolding ecological disaster]( The air is orange and hazy in Canada and New York. Events are being cancelled, people are feeling sick and residents are being urged to stay inside or evacuate. In Quebec, fires have threatened more than half a dozen towns and Indigenous communities, resulting in the evacuation of more than 11,000 people. The blazes are putting Canada on track to experience its worst wildfire season since 1995, worse than the fires in the Northwest Territories in 2014 and B.C. in 2021. The United States, France, South Africa and other countries are sending fire crews to help. [Allan Woods describes the impact the fires are having on different communities and how some leaders are responding](. - Word from Ottawa: As wildfires rage across Canada, [debates about anything but dominate Parliament](. - Word from Queen’s Park: Doug Ford is urging Ontarians to avoid campfires — [but stops short of a fire ban](. - Go deeper: This is shaping up to be Canada’s worst fire season on record. [Welcome to life under smoke, Toronto](. - Watch for: Toronto will see its worst air quality levels so far today. [Here’s how long it’s expected to last](. Steve Russell/The Star climate solutions [The Annex homes storing energy, saving money and helping the grid]( A pilot project is signalling the future of a carbon free electrical grid. Ten homes in Harbord Village have signed up for the “Powerwall” — a giant home battery that charges up on ultra low overnight electricity rates, when the province produces surplus renewable energy, to provide electricity for the entire house. For Andreas Souvaliotis and Joe Gisini, it means never paying peak hydro rates (and never suffering from blackouts), while freeing up electricity for their neighbours in a part of the city where aging wires and transformers are under daily strain. [As Ontario faces an electricity crunch and potential blackouts this summer, Marco Chown Oved reports on the battery’s potential future](. - Why it matters: “It’s a beautiful blend of selfish and unselfish,” said Souvaliotis. “It gives us unbelievable resilience, savings on our bills and it’s also something we can do for our city.” - Go deeper: “Peak demand is so much higher than what we normally consume. If we can shave the peak, we’ll never need to build another nuclear plant again,” he said. “Little creative solutions like this are the way forward.” - Do it yourself: [These are some ways experts say you can act right now to help fight the climate crisis](. Susie Kockerscheidt/Metroland education [TDSB is turning the page on a drag queen storytime event policy after parent outcry]( Why did Toronto’s public school board seek parental permission usually reserved for field trips, for a drag queen storytime on campus? After parents raised concerns that the policy implied the activity posed some sort of risk to the kids, the board has backtracked and is no longer seeking parental approval. A spokesperson says, however, that parents who wish to have their child participate in alternative activities can contact the school. [Janet Hurley breaks down the controversial decisions and the parent reactions](. - Context: Drag queen storytime has become a flashpoint for the far-right in Canada and in the U.S., with protests targeting library events where drag queens share books and songs with 2SLGBTQIA+ themes. - Word from a parent: “If we are committed to equity in all measures but we think that parents should be able to pull out of drag queen storytime — with its vetted, age-appropriate materials — that doesn’t track to me,” one parent said. “By making it opt-out instead of opt-in, the optics are the same.” - More: “The fact that, in that environment, the kid who’s not out yet gets to see someone like them, well I think there’s probably more benefit from that then there is risk, frankly,” another parent said. [Next Up] There’s a new way to end your day with the Star. Our new nightly newsletter, Next Up, is your can’t-miss way to keep up with all of the latest developments everywhere from city hall to the Greenbelt. Every evening, it’ll give you the newest updates on the day’s top stories — plus what to expect tomorrow. [Sign up for free here](. WHAT ELSE [These are the best ways to protect yourself and your family as air quality worsens from wildfire smoke](. Ontario is warning doctors to look out for invasive group A strep. [Here’s what you need to know](. Can this city hold onto anything good? [We are slowly but surely killing CaféTO](. The Bank of Canada has raised the key interest rate to 4.75 per cent — [the highest since 2001](. Explaining Paul Bernardo: [This is what he did, the difference between maximum and medium security and how federal corrections make inmate decisions](. A parliamentary committee is urging the CBSA to stop deporting Indian students caught in a fake admission letter scandal. [Here’s what it had to say](. Ontario provided $1.7 million to a nursing home for care of an obese resident. [Now, the home is looking to have him moved](. The stakes in the $3 trillion electric vehicle game couldn’t be higher. [Here’s why Canada needs to ante up](. [A Brampton man is facing murder charge]( in the death of the daughter-in-law of a late Montreal mob boss. Should people have access to their partner’s violent history? [Ontario is one step closer to making it happen](. With the 2023 Luminato Festival kicking off, [here’s everything you need to know about Toronto’s eclectic art festival](. How Frank Gehry — the Toronto-born 94-year-old star architect — is [hoping his condo project will give back to his home city](. POV Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick [The attack by Pierre Poilievre and others on safe supply will cost us lives.]( CLOSE-UP Aleksey Filippov/AFP via Getty Images KHERSON: Ukrainian security forces carry a local resident on a boat during an evacuation from a flooded area on Wednesday. Ukraine evacuated thousands of people after an attack on a major Russian-held dam unleashed a torrent of water, inundating two dozen villages and sparking fears of a humanitarian disaster. 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_185695). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get unlimited access to the Star Best offer of the year: $3.33/month for 12 months [Get This Offer]( 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. 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