Childcare is an Essential Service and a Dysfunctional Business
With ECEs fleeing the industry and a federal childcare deal on the horizon, now is the time to fix a long-broken system.
Tracking COVID-19 in Toronto Schools
A data blog about the pandemic's effects on the city’s 800 public schools.
A Week After Launching RAT Tracker, We’re Still in the Dark
What we learned from our participatory data project asking Torontonians to share rapid antigen test results.
RAT Tracker
A citizen-powered tool for anonymous reporting of rapid antigen test results in Toronto public schools.
How to Keep Schools Open
None of it’s easy. All of it’s urgent.
Kids Vaccines Aren’t Reaching the Toronto Neighbourhoods That Need Them Most
Data from the first weeks of the rollout reveals low vaccine uptake in areas with the largest school outbreaks.
Fighting Vaccine Hesitancy at Alternative Schools
High vaccine exemption rates have long been a feature at Toronto alternative schools, but as COVID vaccines roll out to kids, there’s a new urgency to reach these hesitant parents.
Inside the Push to Bring Vaccines to the Schools That Need Them Most
As shots for kids roll out, a small group of exhausted vaccine veterans build what they hope will be their final pop-up clinics.
The Labour of Immigrant Women
During the pandemic, immigrant women briefly came into the spotlight as the hardest hit faction of Canada’s workforce. Those numbers don’t tell nearly enough of the story.
Trapped in the Ivory Basement
In Toronto's booming public community colleges, part-time educators get none of the privileges of cushy academic jobs. Instead, they are overworked, underpaid, and even pushed out of their union.
The Real Cost of a Manicure
In Toronto’s ubiquitous nail salons, immigrant nail technicians are underpaid, precarious, and often exploited.
Rebuilding the Restaurant Business, One Argument at a Time
The pandemic created a window of opportunity to change a broken industry. The challenge now is getting restaurant workers to agree on what that change should be.
How the Laws Make Sex Work Less Safe
Canada's prostitution laws are supposed to protect sex workers. Advocates say they're doing the opposite.
Three Black Farmers on Making it in the GTA
These farmers are trying to fight food insecurity in their communities while making farming a sustainable job. Their biggest challenge? Getting access to arable land.
Is EI Broken?
Our employment insurance system was built before the rise of temp work, gig work, and foreign labour. It’s time for an overhaul.
The Way We Work
How decent jobs became precarious labour, and what we can do about it.
“Somebody Is Going to Get Hurt”
Inspections at industrial workplaces in Ontario fell nearly 30 percent in the last decade, according to analysis by The Local. In the same period, critical injuries more than doubled.
One Year, Fifty Cover Letters, Three Interviews, Zero Jobs
A report from the debt-ridden, desperate, increasingly despairing graduating class of 2020.
The Gigification of Health Care
During the pandemic, health care workers have flocked to apps like Staffy for temp work. What happens when nurses are hired like Uber drivers?
Different Schools, Different Risks
A one-size-fits-all-approach hasn’t worked at any stage of the pandemic. Why do we think it will work in schools this year?