There's a lot of labour turmoil ahead

Plus, Palestinians trapped in Gaza and scrapping licence plate renewals [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Time to bundle up; snow is coming for Toronto this week. [Here’s how much to expect](. And here’s the latest on another year of labour turmoil, Palestinian families trapped in Gaza and the end of licence plate renewals in Ontario. DON’T MISS R.J. Johnston/The Star labour [“Workers are fed up.” Unions warn of labour turmoil ahead as thousands of contracts are due to expire]( Unions are warning the nation to brace for another year of work stoppages and turmoil as one million workers in Ontario alone — almost 15 per cent of the workforce — will have their collective bargaining agreements expire between 2024 and 2026. This is arriving on the heels of a year full of high-profile labour movements and strikes. Unionized workers have demonstrated more eagerness to strike post-pandemic on account of a combination of “high inflation, low unemployment and the cost-of-living crisis,” one expert told Ghada Alsharif. With tensions already rising among health care workers, Air Canada staff and Via Rail workers, [here’s what you can expect](. - Silver lining: In a major victory for nurses, teachers and more, the Ford government announced it is scrapping Bill 124 — which would cap the salaries of public sector workers to one per cent annually for three years — [after the province’s top court upheld a ruling that the bill was unconstitutional](. - Another angle: A group representing Canada’s major retailers claims that [finding workers “has never been more difficult,”]( especially after Ottawa clamped down on issuing work permits for international students.  Hatem Ali/AP Photo israel-hamas war [“Where will we go? Where will we run?” Canada can’t find a way out for Palestinians caught in Gaza]( Farah Abu Khamash had dreams for her future. Before the Israel-Hamas war laid siege to Gaza, the 19-year-old was studying English at Gaza City’s Al-Aqsa University. Now, she can only think of survival, Abu Khamash told the Star over the phone. As she and her family shelter at a Rafah school, her aunt and uncle, who have lived in Canada for 25 years, have desperately tried to apply for their temporary residence here — but Abu Khamash says they’ve yet to hear any news. The Star spoke with terrified civilians trapped in Gaza and their families in Canada fighting to get them out — [here’s what they have to say](. - More: Rafah, the city where Abu Khamash and her family, as well as 1.4 million other Palestinians, have fled to escape violence in other parts of Gaza, came under heavy Israeli airstrikes earlier this week. [One raid killed at least 74 Palestinians and rescued two Israeli hostages](. - Context: Israel mounted its assault on Gaza after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostage. [The Palestinian death toll has now surpassed 28,000, and a quarter of Gaza’s people are starving](. Richard Lautens/The Star ontario politics [Doug Ford is scrapping licence plate renewals for good]( Days after the Star revealed there are more than a million expired plates driving on Ontario roads, Premier Doug Ford announced it he’s scrapping the need to renew licence plates in general. Instead, vehicles will “be automatically reregistered so people won’t have to worry about that at all,” Ford explained, adding that details will be revealed later this week. A spokesperson for the transportation minister said this would only apply to drivers “in good standing;” motorists who owe traffic fines or unpaid tolls would not be renewed until they pay, and will be informed of this via mail, email or text message. [Here’s what we know so far](. - Miss something? On Monday, the Star reported there were exactly [1,015,139 drivers with expired plates in Ontario]( as of January. That’s roughly seven per cent of all active licence plates in Ontario, with each driver risking fines of up to $1,000. - Why it matters: After the Ford government scrapped renewal stickers and removed the $120 annual licence plate renewal fee in 2022, [some motorists mistakenly believed there was no need to renew at all](. WHAT ELSE Trudeau’s Liberals continue to trail Poilievre’s Conservatives. [Check their performance in our polling tracker](. Toronto Conservatives are accusing the federal party of [“undemocratic” meddling in the nomination of Karen Stintz](. Pro-Palestinian protesters outside Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto [sparked backlash for their choice of location](. Canada has a car theft epidemic. [Here are simple ways to protect your vehicle from being stolen](. The Ford government is facing a lawsuit over the [expansion of a Pickering care home where dozens died during COVID](. The Ontario college with the most international students [comes out swinging against Ottawa’s reforms](. She survived being shot 13 times in a November home invasion. [Now she wants her parents’ killers to be caught](. An LCBO plan to scan customer photo IDs at stores in northern Ontario is [being called a sweeping privacy violation](. [The evolving “Freedom” movement is fighting perceptions of “government overreach,”]( a CSIS report found. [The Republican-led House has impeached U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas]( — by one vote — over border management. A modest proposal: [Millennials say “I do” to micro weddings to beat the high cost of loving](. Ben Shulman is taking over as Sportsnet radio’s [play-by-play broadcaster for the Blue Jays](. POV Canadian Press/Arlyn McAdorey [Alberta’s move to restrict the freedoms of trans kids should be a wake-up call for all Canadians.]( CLOSE-UP R.J. Johnston/The Star ASHBRIDGES BAY PARK: Workers assemble an art installation by David Stein titled “Nimbus,” as part of the tenth anniversary of the Winter Stations art exhibit at Toronto’s east end beaches. The event will arrive in time for the Family Day long weekend — [take a look at the details](. 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_208873). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get unlimited access to the Star 50% off sale: Only $1.20/week for 52 weeks! 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