On April 4, TPS entered the lobby of Comedy Bar moments before the start of a fundraising event for Gaza.
That same night, cops entered a theatre at TIFF Lightbox midway through a screening of 'Palestine 36.'
I dug into this concerning trend for @thegrindto.bsky.social.
Yes, love this, the stories are so good in conversation with one another! The power of local journalism (during a very grim time 🫠)
Gabe, you're killing it, thanks for all your fantastic reporting!
NEW: The Giller Prize boycott has ended. The embattled literary prize confirmed that it is no longer sponsored by groups with ties to Israeli occupation and genocide.
I spoke to previous Giller winners and nominees about the news for @thegrindto.bsky.social.
www.thegrindmag.ca/organizers-e...
Final days to apply for this amazing opportunity!
@torontotoday.ca now reporting that the TDSB plans to cut 600 teaching roles next year; meanwhile, @wencyleung.bsky.social revealed new data last week showing that in some parts of the city, students are already being taught by non-teachers hundreds of times a year. Such a grim state of affairs.
Event poster for Civic Tech Toronto Meetup #537, Tuesday April 7 at 7pm, in person and online. Speaker: Wency Leung. Talk title: "Digging into data: How local journalism counters eroding government transparency." Teal-to-green gradient background with the Civic Tech Toronto logo in the upper left, and a headshot of the speaker in the upper right corner.
👉 Tue Apr 7 → 7pm • in-person & online
@thelocal.to's @wencyleung.bsky.social on how local journalism digs into the data — Ontario sold Health811 as a great service, but wait times of up to 11 hours tell a different story.
✚ discussions & breakouts!
guild.host/events/civic...
@karmicangel.bsky.social with an excellent story on how your local crossing guard is probably underpaid and more at risk than ever before, despite the increasing tax dollars paid to their employers. How much would you accept to step in front of (often speeding) cars dozens of times a day?
So we removed speed cameras, have zero reckless driving enforcement, and privatized crossing guards so that we now rely on a group of poorly paid contract workers to get people safely across the street. It's not going well! thelocal.to/crossing-gua...
Big news at The Local! Come work with us.
Last call to apply for The Local Fellowship 2026! Applications are due tomorrow. thelocal.to/local-fellow...
Come join us this summer+fall, and report on the 2026 municipal election. It's a chance to develop your skills as a magazine writer while also being responsive to a fast-paced election season. There's nothing else like it and I will always be grateful for the incredible time I had as a 2020 fellow!
Got to make an audio version of my @thelocal.to AI journalism scammer story for one of my favourite podcasts, Question Everything.
Show: www.kcrw.com/shows/questi...
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/q...
The killing of 165+ students at a girls' school in Iran has also been largely ignored in Canadian media.
As far as I can tell, neither the Toronto Star nor the Globe and Mail has run a standalone story on Saturday's attack.
Wency's newest reporting in the School Board Takeover series illuminates vital details about the how provincial funding breaks down from board to board, revealing an imbalance that's been ongoing in some form for nearly 25 years.
No one covers education as thoroughly as @wencyleung.bsky.social
A must-read on the discrepancies between the ford govts stated aims in its board takeover —reining in spending —and the historic crisis of chronic underfunding that aim obscures
thelocal.to/ontario-scho...
When the province took over some of the largest school boards last June, it vowed to restore financial stability & rein in out-of-control spending. More than 8 months in, there’s little evidence its supervisors have put these boards on firmer footing, @thelocal.to finds. thelocal.to/ontario-scho...
Gorgeous words from my friend @filipouris.bsky.social on finding meaning, catharsis, and queer joy in Heated Rivalry! 💗
It's all part of the ✨creative process✨!
“I think a lot of working people in Canada who are contributors to the CPP would be concerned to learn that the entity that invests their pension … is investing in this company that has been responsible for such an egregious treatment of women and minors.” www.thestar.com/business/why...
“Skinner said the aim of the site was to create an atmosphere like that of Chicago in the 1920s, when the public naming of Ku Klux Klan members led many of them to be publicly shunned.”
Fascinating new data findings from @wencyleung.bsky.social in today's final story of the Cost of Care issue, on the failures of Health811, Ontario's health hotline: thelocal.to/health811-te...
"Canada has largely been shielded from this specific flavour of anti-trans rhetoric simply because mass shootings on this level rarely happen here. But this incident shows that the toxic sludge of anti-trans discourse has a firm hold in our political and online sphere here too." #cdnpoli
Vital reporting from @emmapaling.bsky.social: Feds required a Parkdale safe consumption site to create a “community safety plan” approved by police that took responsibility for crime across the entire neighbourhood (!?) The ask led the site to close a year early: www.thegrindmag.ca/exclusive-ca...
The always excellent @rebeccaga0.bsky.social tackles the blurring line between medical and commercial in the world of dermatology. What happens when your health care practition turns a medically-necessary appointment turns into a sales pitch for cosmetic procedures? thelocal.to/dermatology-...
Important read.
I fear that the rhetoric around this is going to get very ugly very quickly because of the age we're living in.
NEW from me today:
Tumbler Ridge is mourning a horrific loss. But how the shooter's identity is being talked about online, and the dangerous links being made to trans people at large, will have resounding and dangerous impacts in the months and weeks to come.
xtramagazine.com/power/tumble...
Maybe I'm biased, but this one-of-a-kind visual guide brought to life by @wencyleung.bsky.social and Michael DeForge might be the most entertaining thing you read this weekend. Don't miss it:
