A Long-Brewing Crisis in Special Education
Parents and teachers say schools are underfunded and understaffed, kids are being “abandoned” in mainstream classrooms in the name of inclusion, and neither the TDSB nor the province will take responsibility.
The Killing of the Science Centre
The 55-year old museum shuttered without warning one Friday in June. Then devastated staff were given four months to dismantle it. A former employee on the last days of a beloved institution.
Rachel Chernos Lin Wins Don Valley West By-Election
The Toronto District School Board chair beat out former right-wing columnist Anthony Furey in a fiercely partisan battle.
Live Results From the Don Valley West By-Election
Real-time results from election night, starting at 8 p.m. on November 4, 2024.
How a By-Election in Don Valley West Became a Contentious, Partisan Fight
Voting in Ward 15 is usually a sleepy affair. But with accusations of bigotry, legal threats, and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, the by-election has narrowed into a heated race between right-wing commentator Anthony Furey and TDSB chair Rachel Chernos Lin.
In the Annex and Crescent Town, Two Sides to Toronto’s Density Dilemma
The Annex had fewer residents in 2021 than 1971. The towers of Crescent Town had far more. How the uneven, illogical densification pattern of the last 50 years created today’s Toronto.
The Geography of Complaint
From wealthy neighbours griping about shrubbery to low-income tenants requesting winter heat—a map of 311 requests charts a certain kind of civic engagement, and privilege.
Toronto’s Encampments, By the Numbers
Recent analysis by The Local shows just how widespread encampments have become, and how the City’s clearing efforts simply pushed unhoused Torontonians from one park to another.
Another Year, Another Encampment, Another Eviction
For years, unhoused people like Davit Sesisheili have gone from park to park, moving when the City evicts them. With new data, and reporting and photography that spans years, this is the most comprehensive, intimate portrait of Toronto’s failing encampments strategy.
Life Expectancy Varies by Almost 12 Years Across Toronto Neighbourhoods
A joint project by The Local and St. Michael’s Hospital, the first-ever neighbourhood-level analysis of life expectancy in Toronto, reveals stark disparities across the city.
Moss Park’s Lost Years
Grief, and hope, in the downtown eastside neighbourhood with the lowest life-expectancy in the city.
Why a Two-Kilometre Strip of Yonge Street Has the Highest Life Expectancy in Toronto
This North York neighbourhood has plenty of public amenities and walkable streets. But the secret to residents’ good health may have a less expected explanation: immigration.
The Creeping Threat to Trans Rights in Toronto
Toronto is seen by many as a progressive bastion, but as anti-trans sentiment grips right-wing politics abroad and in Canada—including here in Ontario’s biggest city—local advocates are bracing themselves.
Trouble in the Principal’s Office
The problems in Toronto schools end up in the office, where principals and vice-principals say they’re overwhelmed and struggling to keep up.
Fewer Caretakers, Dirtier Schools
Sticky floors, rodent infestations, uncleared ice, overflowing toilets—Toronto schools are showing the effects of years of slashing caretaker jobs.
How Decades of Underfunding Eroded Toronto’s Schools
In the largest city in one of the richest countries, Toronto's public school system should be world class. So why are students heading back to school in crumbling buildings without enough staff to meet their needs?
Failing Our Students
Toronto’s public education system has been underfunded for decades. Kids are paying the price.
When Environmentalism is Weaponized Against the Unhoused
From a proposed pollinator garden at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields to tree trimmings and ‘grass remediation’—how the city uses green rhetoric to displace the homeless.
Making Space for Queer Community, Between Banquet Tables and Dim Sum Carts
For many queer, racialized Torontonians, Church and Wellesley doesn’t feel welcoming. As they push for inclusion, they’re also building their own spaces far from the Village.
Excluded: The Legal Loophole Barring Hundreds of Ontario Students From School
A little-known provision gives school principals blanket authority to exclude “detrimental” students from class. Advocates say it’s being abused, and the province isn't paying enough attention.