There's a new layer of intrigue to the Greenbelt scandal

Plus, lost artist housing and the local toll of an international suicide probe [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on the Greenbelt land swap, the burden of soaring real estate costs on artists and the local toll of an international police probe on suicides. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Cole Burston greenbelt [Doug Ford is considering stopping the sale of Ajax land that his government removed from the Greenbelt]( A company led by a China-based investor has put more than 100 acres of former Greenbelt land up for sale. Premier Doug Ford is expressing outrage that a chunk of land reserved for building “at least 50,000 new homes” would be flipped for a profit — and he’s threatening to stop the sale. His intervention came after the Star started asking questions about the listing, Robert Benzie and Sheila Wang report. Notably, the Ajax properties are not the first to be removed from the Greenbelt and listed for sale. [Here’s what you need to know](. - Wait, what? An advertisement this month marketed the farmstead as “future development land for sale.” According to property records, a numbered company purchased the former Greenbelt land for $15.8 million less than two weeks after Ford’s government was elected. - Word from the landowner: It’s all a big misunderstanding and the owner never intended to flip the land, a representative said. Instead, the goal of the listing was to help find a “joint-venture partner” with the necessary experience in development, he said. Richard Lautens/The Star real estate [A Toronto non-profit arts space provider has been placed into receivership]( For the last 30 years, Artscape has worked with developers and the city to provide relatively affordable live-work spaces for artists, making it perhaps the most important provider of its kind in Toronto, May Warren reports. But the non-profit has announced it will be placed into receivership and “wind-down” the management of its spaces — a “profound loss to the arts and cultural landscape.” [Here’s what went wrong](. - By the numbers: Artscape owns four properties but mostly has long-term lease and operating agreements with the city. It has 265 affordable rental and ownership spaces for artists and their families, 125 commercial tenancy spots, hundreds of residencies at Gibraltar Point, and more than 500 event venue rentals a year. - Now what? The city will work with Artscape to find ways to “maintain most operations and reduce the impacts on local artists and arts organizations,” including developing an interim staffing plan so tenant services continue, a spokesperson said. Canadian Press/Arlyn McAdorey crime [Police are linking another 12 Ontario suicides to a toxic substance allegedly sold by a Mississauga man]( A Mississauga man at the centre of a global investigation is facing 12 new charges, for a total of 14 Canadian charges, in connection with a toxic substance he allegedly sold to people at risk of self-harm, Jason Miller reports. The charges are linked to deaths of people aged 16 to 36 — four in Toronto, three in Peel, three in York Region, and one each in Durham Region, London, Thunder Bay and Waterloo Region, police said. [The scope of the investigation has entered “unchartered waters,” one crime specialist said](. - Go deeper: As part of the ongoing international probe, British police said last week they are investigating the deaths of 88 people in connection to products bought on Canadian-based websites. Local police said Tuesday that overseas sales aren’t the focus on Canadian investigators. - More: If you are thinking of suicide or know someone who is, there is help. Resources are available online at www.crisisservicescanada.ca or you can connect to the national suicide prevention helpline at 1-833-456-4566, or the Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868. WHAT ELSE Justin Trudeau giving up on 24 Sussex is an excellent idea, [but it’s the worst possible timing, politically](. It was an 18-year-old boy who was seriously injured on a CNE ride. [This is the scene witnesses described](. Canada’s largest banks are reporting another [big jump in mortgages longer than 25 years](. It’s a “big sign of trouble” — [Scotiabank and BMO are bracing for a spike in bad loans](. Scientists are on alert about  COVID variant BA.2.86, [which has now been found in Canada](. Tenant protection must be part of the [government’s response to the housing crisis](. Are Canadians getting angrier? [Here’s what experts say is happening and how we can tame our temper](. A Black Montreal family removed from an Air Canada flight [says they were racially profiled](. Food insecurity among school-aged Canadians has jumped by nearly 30 per cent — [and what else is threatening children](. Cap international students? [International grads can play a role in easing the long-term housing market pressure](. It’s a once-in-a-decade affair — [Here’s how Canadians can catch the “supermoon” this week](. This COVID-detecting AI can play Sherlock Holmes for other conditions, too. [Here’s how](. GET THIS Andres Plana/Toronto Star [Where is Toronto’s income divide? Check our interactive map.]( CLOSE-UP Rob O’Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP KEY WEST: Waves crash against the shoreline at Higgs Beach on Tuesday as Hurricane Idalia passes the Florida Keys some 175 miles to the west. [Much of Florida was in disaster mode, with Idalia forecast to hit the state as a “catastrophic” Category 4 hurricane](. 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_197056). 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. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](