What Belleville’s struggles say about Ontario

Plus, our governments keep falling for scams, a local Hot Wheels king and whether an RRSP contribution is right for you [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Andrew Joe Potter] By Andrew Joe Potter Good morning and happy holidays — to much of Canada, anyway. In Ontario, B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, today is Family Day. A hearty thanks for being an extended member of the First Up family. Here’s the latest. MUST READS Jilly MacIver for The Star housing [On the edge of cottage country, Belleville faces a mounting drug and homelessness crisis]( Belleville is the very picture of a small Ontario city — right down to the growing homelessness and drug crisis. After 17 overdoses were reported in the span of 24 hours earlier this month, the city of 55,000 declared a state of emergency. But Mayor Neil Ellis says this isn’t just a Belleville issue. “We don’t have the resources in our city and no city has it,” he tells Omar Mosleh. [Here’s a closer look at what’s happening in Belleville and how it’s a reflection of a province-wide reality](. Al Rosen/The Star crime [Canadian governments are increasingly targeted by online scammers and some never even tell the public]( Over the past five years, six Canadian cities and two First Nations have been duped out of more than $10 million in public funds, Sheila Wang reports. The process is often exceedingly simple: using fake emails and websites, the fraudsters impersonate a service provider such as a contractor; that was what led Kelowna, B.C., to wire $4 million to an Ontario bank account in 2019. [Experts say our municipalities’ susceptibility to fraud speaks to a lack of basic safeguards](. courts [A Toronto businessman refuses to let his widely reviled war memorial proposal rest in peace]( Eight years after the cancellation of a much-ridiculed attempt to build a 24-metre-tall statue of a cloaked woman on the pristine Cape Breton coastline, the Toronto executive behind the proposed war memorial is suing Parks Canada. Tony Trigiani is seeking $3 million in costs and “sweat equity,” plus an additional $3 million in punitive damages over the failed project, Amy Dempsey reports. [Despite critics calling the “Mother Canada” project “monstrous” and “offensively tasteless,” Trigiani refuses to let it die](. Supplied Photo health [In the spotlight, she scored a major bargaining table victory for teachers; behind the scenes, Karen Brown was on the ropes]( As president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, Karen Brown tirelessly fought for a better deal with the Ontario government. Until recently, the 55-year-old mom was also privately fighting the battle of her life: polycystic kidney disease. “As someone accustomed to advocating for others, this experience has been a humbling journey of self-advocacy,” she told Kristin Rushowy. [With a deal now clinched for the teachers, Brown is going public with her health situation in hopes of finding a living organ donor](. Dreamstime Photo Personal finance [It’s the final countdown for RRSP contributions — but there may be a better option for your tax-saving needs]( The deadline to make RRSP contributions for the 2023 tax year is Feb. 29. As well-known as this tax-saving manoeuvre is, is it the best option for your financial situation? Experts tell Srivindhya Kolluru that there are a few factors to take into account. For starters, RRSPs are more generally advantageous to those with moderate-to-high income. [If you brought in $60,000 or less in 2023, you may want to prioritize this alternative financial tool](. UP CLOSE Steve Russell/The Star Doug Woods is certainly driven. With over 25,000 Hot Wheels cars adorning display cases at his home an hour northeast of Toronto, Woods is one of the local faces of a booming hobby, Briony Smith writes. [You can scope the highlights of his collection today at the Canadian International Autoshow](. EAT THIS Steve Russell/The Star With Black History Month in full swing, Toronto food influencers Melissa Ayisi and Andrew Boateng saw an opportunity to bring foodies together and shine a light on hidden gems, writes Reanna Julien. [These six Black-owned restaurants made the cut on their latest food crawl](. Thanks for reading. Please send questions, comments and artistic renderings of 24-metre-tall lawn ornaments to 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_209145). Manuela will see you back here tomorrow. Get unlimited access to the Star 50% off sale: Only $1.20/week for 52 weeks! [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](