Ford's new MZOs got Chow's approval

Plus, a look at the lives of Toronto renters and a top Trudeau adviser's use of crude language online [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on Doug Ford quietly issuing more MZOs, how slowing rental inflation could impact renters and why a senior advisor to Justin Trudeau is defending her explicit language online. DON’T MISS Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star provincial politics [Doug Ford’s government quietly approved three MZOs — with Olivia Chow’s blessing]( Premier Doug Ford’s government has quietly issued three minister’s zoning orders (MZOs) for key Toronto projects, the Star has learned. In contrast to the controversial MZOs approved during Ford’s now-imploded Greenbelt project, the three were issued in lockstep with mayor Olivia Chow, Robert Benzie reports. The new orders will help clear the air flight paths of Ornge emergency helicopters, expand the University Health Network’s Toronto Western Hospital and relocate popular grocery store Iqbal Halal Foods, which was displaced by Metrolinx. MZOs have garnered a controversial reputation after municipalities, opposition parties, community groups and more grew concerned the government was issuing too many of them. [Here’s what you can expect going forward](. - Context: Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra recently announced the government was scaling back its use of MZOs, [including amending or revoking previous orders should they not yield results](. At the time, he promised to protect Ornge’s flight corridors and relocate the 30-year-old Halal supermarket. - Go deeper: The Ford government’s use of MZOs became heavily scrutinized when the province [applied them to remove protected lands from Ontario’s Greenbelt](. Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star housing [Rent hikes are slowing but tenants must still compete in an “utterly unaffordable” market]( Every day, Justine Goodchild scans the same listing websites for a new rental where she, her partner and their dog could live. Even on good days, few listings fit the criteria she’d been searching for the last two years — and when they did, the rentals would be snapped up faster than she could visit, or applicants would offer to pay a higher price, leaving Goodchild’s family in a home they’d long since outgrown. Though rent inflation slowed in recent months, experts tell reporter Victoria Gibson prices are expected to rise by year’s end. [Here’s what Toronto’s tenants are living through](. - Wait, what? Most buildings in the GTA are subject to Ontario rent control, which limits the amount landlords could raise rents annually. The exceptions are buildings not occupied before Nov. 15, 2018. These landlords can change rent however they like — [leading some to see their rent grow by the thousands of dollars month-to-month](. - Silver lining: [Temporary rent relief could be on the way after Ottawa put a limit on international student visas]( taking some pressure off of the housing system. But experts warn the underlying factors leading to high rents must still be addressed. Rene Johnston/The Star FEDERAL POLITICS [Justin Trudeau’s senior adviser is defending her crude language on X]( The PMO’s newly-hired adviser Supriya Dwivedi is standing behind her use of crude, sexual language in an online scuffle with right-wing influence group Canada Proud, which she claims subjected her to a “co-ordinated harassment campaign.” The exchange, carried out on X (formerly Twitter), saw Dwivedi deriding Canada Proud for having a “raging boner” for a female journalist covering the far right, Alex Ballingall reports. When Canada Proud asked when Dwivedi would be prohibited from posting online, the former radio host and political commentator shot back with another choice turn of phrase. [Take a closer look at the incident](. - The aftermath: [In a series of X posts]( Dwivedi said the exchange demonstrated “in real time how a co-ordinated harassment campaign works and how closely the various players of the (right wing) online ecosystem — and (Conservative Party) operatives — all work together, boosted and amplified by bots.” - Miss something? Dwivedi recently wrote in the Star that she joined Trudeau’s team in part to combat online disinformation and hate, after her husband, who died from stage 4 lung cancer, [became targeted by anti-vaxxers claiming the COVID-19 vaccine was somehow at fault](. [PoliceAlerts] Want to keep an eye on law enforcement? With our new alerts, you’ll get an email as soon as there are updates in our ongoing investigation of policing and policy across the GTA or other breaking news about police accountability. [Sign up for free here](. WHAT ELSE Doug Ford’s government is facing renewed questions from the opposition over [placing more ServiceOntario service points in Staples stores](. The National Council of Canadian Muslims [cancelled a meeting with Trudeau over the Liberals’ stance on hate crimes and Gaza](. Mayor Olivia Chow has announced a plan to help [soften the tax blow for renters in the 2024 budget](. [The provinces knew the deal when they signed on to $10-a-day child care]( a Liberal minister said. [A member of the Canadian Hells Angels was hired to murder an Iranian defector]( a U.S. indictment charges. A judge tossed gun charges after ruling a GTA cop had “no grounds” for a [“racially infected” confrontation](. Here’s why Toronto quietly [stopped offering loans for “affordable” laneway homes](. Leon’s Furniture is planning a new [4,000-home development on a site near Hwy. 401](. Israeli undercover forces dressed as women and medics [stormed a West Bank hospital, killing three militants](. “The goal is to starve Parisians. Voila.” [Here’s why French farmers are laying siege to Paris](. In case you were wondering, [here’s what would happen in the event of King Charles’s death](. What will the Year of the Dragon hold for you? [Here’s your Lunar New Year horoscope](. POV Canadian Press/Todd Korol [Why is Danielle Smith shilling for Shoppers Drug Mart?]( CLOSE-UP Nasser Nasser/AP Photo WEST BANK: Mourners carry the body of Abdel Rahman Hamed, 18, during his funeral in the West Bank town of Silwad on Monday. Palestinian authorities say five Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in separate shootings that day, including Hamed, who was killed during clashes with Israeli border police. 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_208024). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get unlimited access to the Star Sale: Only $2 every four weeks. Cancel anytime. [Get This Offer]( 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](