Things are going from bad to worse for Ford's housing minister

Plus, delayed condo projects and Black Canadian representation in education [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on the integrity commissioner’s Greenbelt findings, delayed condo projects and Black Canadian representation in education. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Cole Burston greenbelt [Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark violated the Integrity Act]( Ontario’s ethics watchdog has ruled that Steve Clark violated the Integrity Act by “failing to oversee the process by which lands in the Greenbelt were selected for development” and allowing his chief of staff to personally select 14 of 15 plots of land removed from protection. While the integrity commissioner recommended “Clark be reprimanded for his failure to comply with the act,” Premier Doug Ford is refusing to fire him, Robert Benzie and Rob Ferguson report. [Take a look at the controversy surrounding the deals with developers and what the commissioner had to say about it](. - Word from the Opposition: NDP leader Marit Stiles, whose complaint sparked the investigation, called for Clark to resign or be fired. “At best what we see here is gross incompetence; at worst it’s corruption and colluding with developers,” she said. - Martin Regg Cohn’s take: [After a devastating report, why is Ford still protecting Clark?]( - Meanwhile: To mitigate the controversy, the Tories have begun the process to [return two Ajax properties to the Greenbelt](. Canadian Press/Chris Young housing [Thousands of condo units in the GTHA are delayed and “it’s only going to get worse”]( Thanks to higher interest rates and a lack of confidence in the market, the construction of three dozen condo buildings in the GTHA — totalling more than 8,000 units — has been delayed, May Warren reports. When developers can’t sell units, they put off the projects altogether, one expert said, but the wait comes as the market is in need of more affordable supply. [Here’s where building is stalled — and why the location is cause for concern](. - More: “I would say outside of a very brief period at the onset of the financial crisis in late 2008 early 2009 there hasn’t been this much hesitation and market uncertainty since the 1990s, and I think it’s directly tied to interest rates,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation. - Watch for: The Bank of Canada is making its next interest rate announcement on Sept. 6. - Now what? “We think about there being a housing supply gap right now, it’s only going to get worse, given the current dynamics in terms of presale launch activity and sales,” Hildebrand said. Rene Johnston/The Star education [Black Canadian representation is lacking from school curriculum nationwide]( Black people have a rich, 400-year history in Canada and more than 700 people on the list of Persons of National Historic Significance in Canada are of African descent. Still, while there have been some strides towards Black Canadian representation in education — Ontario and Nova Scotia are ahead of the rest of the country, for instance — a new study has found that there’s a lot of work to be done, Janiece Campbell reports. [Here’s where curricula across the country fall short and how they can be improved](. - Go deeper: Provincial and territorial governments are responsible for all levels of education, so Canada does not have national standards for what should be taught in schools. The review also found that it’s up to individual teachers to include Black representation in their classes — a task that depends on the knowledge, willingness, interest, race literacy and comfort of each. - More: [Revisit this 2021 story for a look at efforts made in Hamilton to preserve and pass on the rich local Black history](. WHAT ELSE RCMP say dozens of vehicles are reportedly planning to return to Yellowknife and ignore police checkpoints. [Here’s what we know](. [Toronto is backtracking on a rule banning home runs]( at a west-end softball diamond after some players cried foul over the restriction. Metro and Unifor have reached a second tentative deal for striking grocery workers. [Here’s what we know ahead of today’s vote](. Tropical Storm Idalia is heading to North Carolina after leaving a [trail of flooding and destruction in several other states](. A new study suggests Canadians are co-owning their homes with families or friends — [and it’s opening up more opportunities](. On rate hikes, it’s hawks vs. the doves, David Olive writes — [and the hawks appear to be winning](. A teen who died last week in a storm drain has been [identified as a student at Upper Canada College](. Toronto didn’t hit 30 C even once this August. [What does that mean for September weather?]( A source says Róisín Murphy’s record label is [ceasing promotion of her new record following transphobic social media comments](. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell [appears to have frozen up just weeks after a similar episode](. POV Chris Pizzello/AP File Photo [Thousands of performing artists went on strike over automation nearly a century ago. What’s different this time? ]( CLOSE-UP Canadian Press/Carlos Osorio BURLINGTON: Beekeepers Terri Faloney and Tyler Troute remove bees from a car Wednesday morning after a truck carrying hives swerved, causing the hives to fall and release millions of bees. [But there’s another catastrophe facing bees right now](. 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_197221). 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]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](