Why Canadians are being urged to leave Lebanon

Plus, Ontario classrooms are torture for some kids and a senior's long wait for help [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning, and happy All Hallows’ Eve. Here’s the latest on Canadians urged to evacuate Lebanon, how schools are failing kids with ADHD and why a 99-year-old waited hours for an ambulance. DON’T MISS Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images middle east [Canadians are being told to flee Lebanon as clashes between Israel and Hezbollah intensify]( Ottawa is urging the over 17,000 Canadians currently residing in Lebanon to find their way out of the country, as skirmishes between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah militants intensify along the Israel-Lebanon border and threaten to push deeper into the country. “Canadians should not rely on the Government of Canada for assisted departure or evacuation,” read a statement from Global Affairs Canada late Sunday night, which added that Canadians should leave by commercial means now if it’s safe to do so, Raisa Patel reports. [Here’s what you need to know](. - By the numbers: More than 17,000 Canadians registered with Global Affairs that they’re in Lebanon, although the real number is likely higher — far exceeding the 5,763 registered in Israel and the 452 in Gaza and the West Bank. - Context: The escalating clashes come after senior Hamas and Palestinian Jihad figures met with the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah last week, during which they [discussed achieving “a real victory for the resistance in Gaza and Palestine.”]( - Meanwhile: As Canada sticks to its calls for a humanitarian truce, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a ceasefire. [“Calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas,” he told a news conference. “That will not happen.”]( Steve Russell/The Star the kids aren't all right [In class she feels anxious and “completely lost.” How Ontario schools are failing kids like her]( In elementary school, she was a happy kid. Now, Grade 11 student Izabella has been jaded by a school system that seems inflexible and indifferent — and years of pandemic disruptions certainly didn’t help. Izabella has ADHD but, like many Canadian adults, she wasn’t diagnosed until the pandemic, when it manifested as difficulties in keeping up with online learning. It felt like two years of learning had evaporated, she told the Star’s Katie Daubs. [Here’s why experts say Ontario classrooms seem “designed to torture” kids with ADHD](. - Go deeper: Although grades and graduation rates actually rose during COVID-19, TDSB students with special education needs — which make up 17 per cent of the student body — [were deemed “relatively worse off.”]( - Miss something? The revolving door of Ontario’s child and youth mental health system has led to confusion, frustration and scars for the tens of thousands of children trapped in the system. [Take a closer look at one young woman’s experience](. Wendy Gunn/The Star health care [Why did this 99-year-old have to wait four hours for an ambulance?]( No one knows for sure how long 99-year-old Muriel Pattee had been on the floor. All her family can say is that she collapsed sometime during the night at her Oakville retirement home — and remained on the floor until a staff member found her around 7:45 a.m. But while staff were then quick to dial 9-1-1, help wouldn’t arrive for hours — even after numerous calls back to the dispatcher. After more than four hours, an ambulance finally arrived. Pattee was in so much pain by then, paramedics had to dose her with narcotics before she could be moved, Kenyon Wallace reports. [How did Ontario’s health care system get to this point?]( - Wait, what? Once she arrived at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, Pattee had to wait another seven hours to see a doctor. She was admitted when it became clear she couldn’t stand up on her own due to intense pain; an X-ray revealed a cracked vertebrae in her lower back. - More: Halton Region Paramedic Services confirmed it’s reviewing Pattee’s case with the Ministry of Health. It says its average response time for high-priority calls is less than 10 minutes and less than 90 minutes for lower-priority calls. [Smart Money newsletter launch] Get expert help with your money. If you’re looking for advice you can trust when it comes to managing your finances, you might like the Star’s new Smart Money newsletter, [sponsored by Fidelity](. Every week, Smart Money will break down what you need to know to make, save and manage your money. [Sign up for free here](. WHAT ELSE In a secret meeting last week, the TTC board approved an [investigation into the CEO’s alleged workplace misconduct](. Doug Ford has [fired a Progressive Conservative veteran from the Metrolinx board after she criticized him](. Olivia Chow and Doug Ford are ramping up [pressure on Ottawa to join them in fixing Toronto’s ruined finances](. Documents reveal the stress behind the scenes as [Ford’s government ignored experts to change municipal boundaries](. A poll found that most Canadians want denser housing — [so long as that triplex isn’t next door](. Unifor inked tentative deals for St. Lawrence Seaway and Stellantis workers. [Its next target? Loblaws](. Ontario is lowering the age for breast cancer screening by ten years — [here’s why](. [Caste-based discrimination is now recognized]( by the Ontario Human Rights Commission. “I had to fight back some tears.” [Centennial Park’s batting cages and go-kart track are disappearing despite thousands trying to save them](. Panera’s Charged Lemonade has over double Canada’s caffeine limit for energy drinks — [should it be allowed here?]( [Midterm season has University of Toronto students screaming for a minute straight]( — literally. The Blue Jays aren’t about to give up on Alek Manoah, [but they have to figure out how to plan around him](. POV Canadian Press/Todd Korol [Ontario has weighed in on the Alberta Pension Plan — thank goodness.]( CLOSE-UP Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star TORONTO: This Toronto home has been spookified for trick-or-treaters tonight. Make sure to bundle up if your family’s going out for candy — [temperatures could hit a low of -2 C in the evening](. 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_202935). Manuela will 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. 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