Developers purchase the “crown jewel” of the Greenbelt

Plus, the Star learns about Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle and a Leslieville supervised consumption site faces anger [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on development of the Greenbelt, Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle today and the Leslieville community’s anger after the death of a bystander. DON’T MISS Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images STAR/THE NARWHAL [Developers are scooping up land after Doug Ford backtracked on his promise to protect it]( Once known as the “crown jewel” of the Greenbelt, the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve in Pickering is home to prime farmland and sensitive waterways. Now, over 500 acres of its land have been purchased by developers, Noor Javed, Sheila Wang and Emma McIntosh report. The land was meant to remain untouched in perpetuity, but Doug Ford’s government backtracked months ago on the promise to protect the environmentally sensitive land. [Here’s what we know about the developers and their purchases](. - Word from a developer: Among the buyers is developer Silvio De Gasperis of TACC Group. A company spokesperson said it plans to develop the land “to assist the province with its goal to improve housing supply and affordability.” - Go deeper: The loss of the preserve would destroy the habitat within its boundaries and harm the land around it, like the Rouge National Urban Park, said the Ontario environment program manager at the charity Environmental Defence. - Meanwhile: Ontario’s auditor general and integrity commissioner are [investigating the government’s decision to open the Greenbelt for development](. The Canadian Press/Toronto Star file photos FEDERAL POLITICS [A major cabinet shuffle is expected today]( Seven new ministers will be promoted to cabinet, including three from the GTA, the Star has learned. Additionally, sources who spoke on the condition that they not be identified said cabinet veterans are expected to move. Defence Minister Anita Anand, for one, is headed for Treasury Board and will be replaced by former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, Tonda MacCharles and Alex Ballingall report. [Here’s why the shuffle may be the most significant of the Trudeau era](. - Go deeper: With the war in Ukraine and a national defence policy review still in the works, a source told the Star that Anand’s move is a surprise. - More: In B.C., Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray will not be running in the next election. In the GTA, Omar Alghabra, Helena Jaczek and Carolyn Bennett will also opt out. - Susan Delacourt’s take: [Here’s why Justin Trudeau always had time for veteran Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett](. R.J. Johnston/Toronto Star GTA [Leslieville health centre is responding to anger following the death of bystander Karolina Huebner-Makurat ]( Medical staff from the South Riverdale Community Health Centre were the first responders to the shooting that killed 44-year-old mother Karolina Huebner-Makurat. But in the days and weeks since her death, local outrage has focused squarely on the health facility, which provides a broad range of services, including supervised injection sites, Jennifer Pagliaro reports. The police have not made any public connection between the shooting, the suspects and the centre, but the anger has threatened the site’s place in the community. [Here’s what’s next and why experts say the services “help keep people alive]( - Word from Queen’s Park: Premier Doug Ford has called for an audit of the centre’s supervised consumption services. - Go deeper: The renewed debate about the sites comes at a time when an ongoing drug overdose epidemic fuelled by poisoned street supply and lack of affordable necessities have combined to create one of the worst crises in recent memory, public health experts told the Star. - Meanwhile: Toronto Public Health is expecting public health cuts to resume since the pandemic. [Here’s what it stands to lose](. WHAT ELSE Ontario’s solution to the health care crisis is to hire nurses through agencies — [and the cost has now quadrupled](. A climate watchdog report is slamming Canada’s big banks for lack of transparency on “sustainable financing.” [What counts as a green investment]( Here’s why [Doug Ford really wants to beat the Liberals in Toronto’s Scarborough-Guildwood riding](. The Canadian federal bank regulator is imposing a cap on home equity lines of credit. [Here’s why — and how the change will play out](. Canadian researchers trawling the sea found hundreds of microplastics. [These are the unsettling places they found them](. Stephen Lecce is reviewing the TDSB anti-racism training in the wake of a former principal’s suicide. [Here’s what we know](. [Here’s how Toronto has added more than 200 shelter spaces to help house asylum seekers]( and how it plans to shelter more. A swath of southern Ontario is under heat warning this week. [Here’s when temperatures are expected to peak](. [Shoppers Drug Mart is testing a new type of clinic at two locations]( — with an eye on expanding them across Ontario. [Canada pays to search for submerged billionaires, but not for the remains of Indigenous women]( a Star reader notes in a letter to the editor. Canadians will soon need a permit to enter Europe. [Here’s what you need to know](. Water at the tip of Florida has hit hot tub temperature, [and may have set a world record for warmest seawater](. POV Dan Pearce/Metroland [Cheaping out on Toronto’s public transit might seem like good politics — until a train derails](. CLOSE-UP Thibault Camus, Pool/AP Photo FRANCE: The first panda born in France, pictured at four months, attends its naming ceremony on Dec. 4, 2017. [Here’s why the panda, Yuan Meng, bid farewell to the French zoo where it grew up to set off Tuesday for its new home in China](. 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_192759). 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. 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