Rebecca Gao

The Globe reports today that online pharmacies offering easy access to weight loss drugs may be violating Canada's ad regulations for pharmaceuticals. Revisit last week's deep-dive on this booming industry in our Cost of Care issue: thelocal.to/online-pharm...

The Cost of Care | The Local Stories about where money and medicine collide in 2026. Throughout January and February, we’ll publish pieces from the corners of Ontario’s health care system where entrepreneurs and corporate Canada ...

Great reporting (as per usual) on Ontario's healthcare system by the team over at @thelocal.to, with some stellar pieces by @royinori.bsky.social, @rebeccaga0.bsky.social and @wencyleung.bsky.social, among others.

thelocal.to/winter-2026/

<3 thank you for sharing, your kind words, and letting me spiral when i write <3

When Your Dermatologist Becomes a Salesperson | The Local Getting a mole checked can takes months, but Botox appointments are readily available. Why dermatologists say their practice is the canary in the coal mine for privatized care.

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-...

On top of derms hoping to sell their patients on a pricy procedure, Ontarians are waiting far too long for lifesaving care while those seeking cosmetic dermatology get pushed up the queue. thelocal.to/dermatology-...

When Your Dermatologist Becomes a Salesperson | The Local Getting a mole checked can takes months, but Botox appointments are readily available. Why dermatologists say their practice is the canary in the coal mine for privatized care.

For @thelocal.to i wrote about dermatologists upselling their patients. It’s a trend that critics warn is creating a two-tier system for dermatological care, and may foreshadow what’s to come in Ontario’s health care system more broadly: thelocal.to/dermatology-...

When Your Dermatologist Becomes a Salesperson | The Local Getting a mole checked can takes months, but Botox appointments are readily available. Why dermatologists say their practice is the canary in the coal mine for privatized care.

Getting a mole checked can takes months, but Botox appointments are readily available. @rebeccaga0.bsky.social on why dermatologists say their practice is the canary in the coal mine for privatized care. thelocal.to/dermatology-...

Rhea Seegobin Can’t Afford Terminal Cancer | The Local For the growing number of Canadians who will get cancer in their lifetimes, the financial stress can be profound. But despite her terminal diagnosis, with the support of her community, Rhea is determi...

So much going on, but make time for this piece by @wencyleung.bsky.social. A gorgeous, surprisingly uplifting story that tackles an enormous subject, really the biggest subject, and tells is with such careful intimacy. thelocal.to/cost-of-canc... #longreads

‘Fantastic news’: Ford welcomes ICE plan to order Ontario armoured vehicles | Globalnews.ca Reports emerged this week of U.S. government procurement plans to order 20 Senator vehicles for its ICE officers, a move worth roughly $10 million.

before we go cheering about canada, just as we do for the IDF, we’re providing ICE with its weapons

Big year in film for the name Agnes

Inside the Ratpocalypse — West End Phoenix Toronto has been named one of North America’s rattiest cities. Why is the rodent population skyrocketing – and what can be done?

Toronto has once again been named one of North America’s rattiest cities. Why is the population skyrocketing - and what can be done?

Step inside the RATPOCALYPSE, from the June issue of WEpP, story by @rebeccaga0.bsky.social w illustrations by Jacqui Oakley

www.westendphoenix.com/stories/insi...

📣SOURCE CALL OUT📣 Has your dermatologist tried upselling you? (Like, trying to sell a cosmetic procedure when you're in for a mole). Or, have you struggled to land an OHIP-covered appt but was able to get in fast for something not covered? I'd love to chat for a story in @thelocal.to DMs are open!

📣SOURCE CALL OUT📣 Has your dermatologist tried upselling you? (Like, trying to sell a cosmetic procedure when you're in for a mole). Or, have you struggled to land an OHIP-covered appt but was able to get in fast for something not covered? I'd love to chat for a story in @thelocal.to DMs are open!

An important story by @rebeccaga0.bsky.social in @thenarwhal.ca today

Disasters like Hurricane Melissa put pressure on immigrants | The Narwhal Immigrants in Canada send billions home every year. Climate disasters like Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Jamaica, add to the pressure

For @thenarwhal.ca I wrote about Hurricane Melissa, how immigrants in Canada organize aid for their motherlands when disaster strikes, what that means as climate change makes disasters more common and the way that diasporic communities look after each other 💜
thenarwhal.ca/hurricane-me...

Disasters like Hurricane Melissa put pressure on immigrants | The Narwhal Immigrants in Canada send billions home every year. Climate disasters like Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Jamaica, add to the pressure

Hurricane Melissa's destruction has the Jamaican diaspora mobilizing to send money and aid. The effects of climate change are hitting developing countries hardest, putting pressure on immigrants in Canada to increase the billions they already send home every year. thenarwhal.ca/hurricane-me...

Hello! The Narwhal is looking to talk to people in Canada who regularly send money home to Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti or the Bahamas and might increase it in the wake of Melissa. I am at denise@thenarwhal.ca 💚

Here Are the Scarborough–Rouge Park By-Election Candidates | The Local The only place to find fact-checked biographies and election platform summaries for every candidate running for Ward 25—Scarborough–Rouge Park in the September 29, 2025 by-election.

It's election day in Scarborough-Rouge Park. Our Candidate Tracker is the only place for fact-checked bios and platform summaries of every candidate. #TOpoli 🗳️ thelocal.to/srp2025/

In the Scarborough–Rouge Park By-Election, Candidates Promise to Put Scarborough First | The Local In a crowded by-election in Toronto’s most eastern ward, is focusing on hyper-local issues the way into City Hall?

In today's Scarborough-Rouge Park by-election, leading candidates run on putting Scarborough first. #TOpoli thelocal.to/scarborough-...

In the Scarborough–Rouge Park By-Election, Candidates Promise to Put Scarborough First | The Local In a crowded by-election in Toronto’s most eastern ward, is focussing on hyper-local issues the way into City Hall?

🧵Then head over to read @rebeccaga0.bsky.social spotlight of the frontrunners in the race! thelocal.to/scarborough-...

In the Scarborough–Rouge Park By-Election, Candidates Promise to Put Scarborough First | The Local In a crowded by-election in Toronto’s most eastern ward, is focusing on hyper-local issues the way into City Hall?

My latest for @thelocal.to about Scarborough-Rouge Park’s upcoming byelection. They’re looking for a candidate who, while balancing obligations to the ward and city as a whole, can finally put Scarborough first. thelocal.to/scarborough-...

In the Scarborough–Rouge Park By-Election, Candidates Promise to Put Scarborough First | The Local In a crowded by-election in Toronto’s most eastern ward, is focussing on hyper-local issues the way into City Hall?

And here's @rebeccaga0.bsky.social with an in-depth look at the ward. (These ward profiles always offer a better understanding of a corner of the GTA. Worth reading even if you don't live there!) thelocal.to/scarborough-...

Local Journalism Matters | The Local Support a new kind of local journalism—in-depth, non-profit, from corners of Toronto too often overlooked.

We believe local journalism is essential to local democracy. Candidate Tracker 2025 is thanks to the work of @aliceboyle.bsky.social, @rebeccaga0.bsky.social, @filipouris.bsky.social, @emmapaling.bsky.social. If you like our work and want to see it continue, consider donating! thelocal.to/support/

In the Scarborough–Rouge Park By-Election, Candidates Promise to Put Scarborough First | The Local In a crowded by-election in Toronto’s most eastern ward, is focussing on hyper-local issues the way into City Hall?

It's a crowded field for Scarborough-Rouge Park's upcoming by-election. In a ward that feels distant from City Hall and left out of some of its decisions, many of the candidates are campaigning on a platform of putting Scarborough first, writes @rebeccaga0.bsky.social. thelocal.to/scarborough-...

Southern Ontario's primarily hardwood forest doesn't offer great fuel for wildfires, but the density of the population and all the infrastructure that comes with it means fires that do spark are closely watched. Here's @rebeccaga0.bsky.social's look at how fires here compare to the boreal's blazes:

Why southern Ontario wildfires are burning more often | The Narwhal Southern Ontario wildfires are becoming less rare due to hotter, drier weather. Here’s what you need to know

All summer, Ontarians experienced the impact of wildfires from the west. But now, with fires blazing closer to home (in areas that don't often experience wildfires), we're wondering: how are wildfires in southern Ontario different? My latest for
@thenarwhal.ca here: thenarwhal.ca/southern-ont...

Why southern Ontario wildfires are burning more often | The Narwhal Southern Ontario wildfires are becoming less rare due to hotter, drier weather. Here’s what you need to know

A wildfire burning in southern Ontario — as many did this summer — is a far different beast than a blaze in the boreal forest, but it’s still something to take seriously. Here’s @rebeccaga0.bsky.social with the reasons. thenarwhal.ca/southern-ont...

Construction starting on Highway 413: what you need to know | The Narwhal Construction is starting on Ontario’s Highway 413 as the federal government sets its sights on fast-tracking development through Bill C-5

With Premier Doug Ford announcing today that construction is set to start on Ontario’s Highway 413, here's a look at our story on where the controversial project stands in light of Bill 5 and a federal government also set on fast-tracking development: thenarwhal.ca/ontario-high...

As many of you know, I’m a member of Canadian Journalists for Justice in Palestine.

We have a new call to action for the Canadian government.

To go with this call to action, I’ve got new details to share with you about Canada’s complicity in arming this genocide.

Please listen:

a spongebob squarepants scene with a mailbox and a flower ALT: a spongebob squarepants scene with a mailbox and a flower

SOURCE CALLOUT: looking for voters in Scarborough-Rouge Park that have thoughts on the upcoming byelection. Would loooove to speak with you for a story I’m working on!