Poilievre's losing points with Ukrainians

Plus, Nashville plane crash victims identified and Ford's "like-minded" judges [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on the plane crash that killed a Canadian family, Ukrainians’ criticism of Poilievre and reaction to Doug Ford’s push for “like-minded” judges. DON’T MISS George Walker IV/AP Photo Aviation [The Canadian family who died in a Nashville plane crash has been identified]( It was a family of five from King City, Ont., who died in a plane crash in Tennessee on Monday evening, Omar Mosleh reports. Sergey Rudetsky told the Star his daughter, Rimma Dotsenko, perished along with her husband Victor and their three children. The family is asking for privacy as they deal with their shock and grief. How did this happen? [Here’s what we know](. - Context: The flight originated in Ontario and made stops in Pennsylvania and Kentucky that were likely to gas up. Before the pilot radioed in the emergency, the plane had been on a normal flight track with no mechanical irregularities reported while it flew in from the Kentucky airport. - Watch for: The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick star exclusive [Ukrainians blasted Pierre Poilievre’s MPs at a Toronto townhall meeting]( During a February townhall in Etobicoke, three Tory MPs were warned their party leader’s approach to Ukraine and delivery of partisan talking points will cost them the support of the Ukrainian community, Stephanie Levitz reports. The Star obtained and independently verified an audio recording of a portion of the event. Here’s exactly what they had to say about Poilievre — [and a closer look at how Conservatives and Liberals are approaching Ukraine differently](. - More: MPs heard that the continued use of the word Nazi to describe a Ukrainian soldier honoured in Parliament last year is disparaging the entire Ukrainian community. The soldier, Yaroslav Hunka, had received a standing ovation when introduced as a man who fought for Ukraine’s freedom from Russia. [It later emerged that he fought with the 1st Galician Division, a military wing of the Nazi party](. - Meanwhile: A new Angus Reid poll recently suggested those who vote Conservative are becoming more likely than other Canadians to think Canada is giving too much support to Ukraine. Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov provincial politics [Ex-chief justices are sounding the alarm over Doug Ford’s push for “like-minded” judges]( Despite criticism, the premier has repeatedly declared that he wants to appoint “like-minded” judges who are “tough on crime,” Jacques Gallant reports. “We’re going to get judges that are actually going to keep these criminals in jail,” Ford said on Wednesday. Now, three former provincial court chief justices have issued a rare public rebuke: “Judges do not take orders from government.” [Here’s why they say the potential politicization of the provincial court could be detrimental to the court in the eyes of the public](. - Context: Former chief justices Sidney Linden, Brian Lennox and Annemarie Bonkalo do not name Ford in the statement they sent to the Star. - Go deeper: “We believe that the suggestion that judges and justices of the peace could be subject to political influence in the exercise of their duties represents a fundamental misrepresentation of our judicial system and is highly unfair to the outstanding women and men who make up the independent judiciary of the court,” the statement says. WHAT ELSE [Mayor Olivia Chow is promoting the hiring of crisis response team members]( saying they could have helped her family. St. Lawrence Market is filling empty stalls as [the city makes good on its vow to avoid it becoming a tourist trap](. The cost of Doug Ford’s failed wage restraint legislation has topped $4 billion. [Take a look at the numbers](. He’s outspoken and an outsider. [Is Naheed Nenshi what the Alberta NDP needs to make history?]( Canada should support the G20 billionaire tax plan, Linda McQuaig writes. [These would be the benefits of co-operating](. “Inflation is coming down,” but the Bank of Canada governor says [it’s still “too early” to cut the key interest rate.]( National pharmacare is not a sprint — [it’s a marathon we might not finish](. Want to boost your quality of life? It’s time to [put the capita back in GDP per capita](. A woman found dead in her Vaughan home was a Toronto school teacher. [Here’s what we know](. [The debate over serial killers and prison rinks is heavy on outrage and light on facts]( Bruce Arthur writes. The Raptors just suffered their worst home loss in franchise history. [It’s unlikely to get easier any time soon](. Toronto just had its warmest winter ever. [Here’s what we can expect in March](. GET THIS Cameron Tulk/The Star [Measles cases are rising as vaccinations fall. Just how vulnerable are we?]( CLOSE-UP Mohammed Dahman/AP Photo GAZA: Palestinians visit their destroyed homes in Khan Younis on Wednesday. Aid groups say all of Gaza is mired in a humanitarian crisis, but the situation in the north stands out. Many people there are surviving off animal fodder, with one in six children under age two suffering from acute malnutrition, according to the UN. [Here’s how pressure is mounting for Israel to open more aid routes](. 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_210091). 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