How a $100-million lawsuit targets a defunct immigration policy

Plus, Trudeau's housing crisis response and Poilievre's petition prowess [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on a class-action lawsuit against a former immigration policy, Trudeau’s response to the housing crisis and Pierre Poilievre’s love of online petitions. DON’T MISS Lance McMillan/The Star immigration [A lawsuit claims Canada’s now defunct safe country rules “marginalize, prejudice, and stereotype” refugees]( Piotr Marek Kaczor, a gay man from Poland, and Aniko Horvathne Serban, a Roma minority from Hungary, thought arriving in Canada would mean leaving behind discriminatory experiences. But upon arriving, the Canadian government barred them from obtaining work permits and pre-removal risk assessments based on their country of origin. Although the federal government got rid of the so-called designated country of origin list behind the policy in 2019, Kaczor and  Serban say the damage has already been done and they want justice. They’re filing a $100 million class-action suit on behalf of 20,000 current and former refugee claimants, Nicholas Keung reports. [Here’s more on what they faced under the previous system](. - Word from Ottawa: The Immigration Department declined to comment, saying the matter is before the court. None of the claims have been proven in court. - Go deeper: “The class action seeks to right the wrongs committed by the Canadian government in knowingly allowing these unconstitutional provisions to remain active and harmful for 5 years,” said the co-counsel for the plaintiff. Cathie Coward/Hamilton Spectator housing [Justin Trudeau is under fire for Ottawa’s lacklustre response to the housing crisis]( At a recent housing announcement in Hamilton, the prime minister caused a stir when he said housing prices aren’t primarily a federal responsibility, Alex Ballingall reports. And while housing advocates, business groups and opposition parties call for more action to reduce costs, inflation is only making construction more expensive. Altogether, the Liberals have a “toxic” political dilemma on their hands — one it’s not doing enough to address, according to a former senior economic adviser in Trudeau’s office. [This is what’s going so wrong](. - Case in point: In Scarborough, a pastor and his congregation want to build an apartment complex where St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church stands. About one-third of the units would be below market rate and the main floor would hold a new church space. But their hopes have turned to frustration — a federal program designed to support projects like this has fallen far short of what they need. - More: [Why Sean Fraser, the new housing minister, is wrong about the federal role in housing](. Canadian Press/Justin Tang federal politics [Pierre Poilievre is a big fan of online petitions — here’s how he has used them to his advantage]( When Poilievre entered last year’s Conservative leadership race, he had more than 190,000 contacts to draw on, records obtained by the Star show. That network came solely from petitions he hosted over several years on his MP website, Stephanie Levitz reports. [Here’s how it worked — and how it gave him a leg up in the race](. - Go deeper: Poilievre’s campaign had asked Elections Canada about how it could use the data in compliance with election financing rules. Could they use the contact list for his leadership run? Would doing so amount to a donation from his electoral district association? - The aftermath: Poilievre’s leadership campaign turned to the databases it had during the race to encourage people to buy memberships, donate, attend events and vote. WHAT ELSE Hundreds of people rallied in Pickering Sunday to protest changes to the Greenbelt. [Here’s why, for one woman, “it feels personal.”]( “This is probably the most terrifying thing that’s ever happened to them.” [Wildlife is at peril after chemical runoff  from a fire in Etobicoke](. Toronto’s housing market is so expensive, families earning $100,000 are now eligible for Habitat for Humanity help. [The CEO explains why](. Gardens have become battlegrounds in the climate crisis. [Planting a garden that supports biodiversity renders you vulnerable to bad bylaws](. Why are African international students rejected so often for Canadian visas? [The reasons given for rejection are illogical](. Your home equity line of credit limit is about to be throttled back. [Experts advise on how to handle the new cash cap](. How did this Toronto home sell for $600K more than its 2022 purchase price? [Here’s what we know about the home and how it fits into today’s market](. Taylor Swift’s Toronto concerts reveal how bad of a deal Toronto made with MLSE to host the World Cup. [Let's compare the numbers](. Camille, 24, has been saving big and would love to buy a condo in Toronto. [Can she afford it?]( More bang for your buck? [These are 11 expenses that you should never cheap out on](. POV Canadian Press/Cole Burston [Ford has coasted to two election victories — but the Greenbelt’s unravelling could come back to haunt him.]( CLOSE-UP Samuel Long/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP PENNSYLVANIA: Police and emergency services search the wreckage of three houses that exploded in a borough east of Pittsburgh Saturday. [Five people were found dead after the explosion, authorities said]( 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_194951). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. 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