Manuela Vega

The old Toronto Star building at 1 Yonge will live for a little while longer — as a luxury hotel Pinnacle is holding off demolishing the Star’s home base for 51 years, which is set to be part of a planned community including Canada’s tallest skyscraper.

Canadian developer Pinnacle International is holding off on plans to demolish the Toronto Star’s old office building at 1 Yonge St. in fresh hopes of converting the existing building into a luxury hotel. @thestar.com www.thestar.com/real-estate/...

Fixed mortgage rates are likely at their ‘lowest point this year,’ experts say “We’re seeing the weaker economy, paradoxically, is allowing more people into the real estate market,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage.

Fixed mortgage rates are likely at their “lowest point this year,” experts say @thestar.com www.thestar.com/business/fix...

Ford government’s Bill 60 would ‘whittle down’ tenant rights at the Landlord and Tenant Board, advocates say The province, which walked back a proposal to allow eviction when leases end, is still pushing ahead with Landlord and Tenant Board changes that housing advocates say favour landlords.

Despite the Ford government’s decision not to change security of tenure rules for now, Bill 60 would still “whittle down” tenant rights at the Landlord and Tenant Board, advocates say

My latest for @thestar.com www.thestar.com/real-estate/...

Doug Ford ending automatic tenancy extensions would be ‘devastating’ for Ontario renters, advocates warn The province's bill 60 proposes to 'consult on alternative options on lease agreement expiry' to open up more rentals.

Doug Ford ending automatic tenancy extensions would be ‘devastating’ for Ontario renters, advocates warn

My latest @thestar.com
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Yes, the city placed the blocks and fencing the next day

The city dropped concrete blocks, fencing at the site of a Kensington encampment. The nearby church wants them gone The city says they’re temporary, but the church, which supported the encampment, says more blocks and fencing remain from a clearing two years ago.

The move has sparked more frustration for members of the Church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields, who see the blocks and fencing as an “aggressive” move that makes the church look uninviting and bars it from using the courtyard at all. www.thestar.com/news/gta/the...

The city dropped concrete blocks, fencing at the site of a Kensington encampment. The nearby church wants them gone The city says they’re temporary, but the church, which supported the encampment, says more blocks and fencing remain from a clearing two years ago.

After tearing down an encampment outside a church last week, the City of Toronto dropped large concrete blocks and erected metal fencing on the site — next to blocks and fencing it had placed there two years prior. @thestar.com www.thestar.com/news/gta/the...

City clears Kensington-area church encampment after Toronto Fire order City workers offered shelter spaces and “homelessness supports” to the 12 occupants ahead of Thursday’s 1 p.m. deadline from Toronto Fire.

The City of Toronto, accompanied by police and security guards, cleared an encampment outside the Church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields near College and Augusta streets on Thursday, after a fire hazard order from the fire department. @thestar.com www.thestar.com/news/gta/cit...

Canadian charities complicit in helping fund Israeli settlement movement in West Bank, critics say | CBC News Tax deductible donations made by Canadians to groups that financially support West Bank settlements that are illegal under international law are continuing in the face of escalating attacks on Palesti...

A new CBC investigation reveals that Canadian charities continue to fund organizations, including the Israeli military, that support the ever-expanding settlements in the West Bank.

“We are financing war criminality through our charitable system."

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Six people arrested at second Dufferin Grove encampment clearing ‘Every effort has been made’ to care for encampment residents, ensure the public’s use of the park and to avoid enforcement, says the city’s head of shelter services.

Days after the City of Toronto brought in heavy machinery to clear a homeless encampment at Dufferin Grove Park, city staff and private security on Wednesday cleared the park again after people had promptly returned.

Six people were arrested @thestar.com
www.thestar.com/news/gta/six...

Ontario’s public servants have been ordered back to the office. So why will Landlord and Tenant Board hearings stay virtual? Doug Ford told Ontario public servants to go back to work. So why isn’t the Landlord and Tenant Board?

Ontario’s public servants have been ordered back to the office. So why will Landlord and Tenant Board hearings stay virtual?

Legal clinics have been expressing their concerns for years.

My latest @thestar.com
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Nearly a third of people who have been homeless were evicted at some point, CMHC says A series of studies on evictions found Black and Indigenous renters are overrepresented in eviction cases, and people who have experienced eviction report the lowest levels of physical and mental

Key findings include that Black renters are overrepresented in eviction cases — making up 15% of the racialized population but 25% of evictions among racialized people — and that people who have been evicted report the lowest levels of physical and mental health. www.thestar.com/news/gta/nea...

Nearly a third of people who have been homeless were evicted at some point, CMHC says A series of studies on evictions found Black and Indigenous renters are overrepresented in eviction cases, and people who have experienced eviction report the lowest levels of physical and mental

Nearly a third of people who have been homeless were evicted at some point, a series of CMHC reports on eviction found www.thestar.com/news/gta/nea...

Independent UN commission finds that’s Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza *since* October 7.

The report was limited to Gaza, but raises the “serious concern” that Israel intends “to destroy the Palestinians as a whole.”

Human rights experts join rising chorus that accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza A team of experts commissioned by the U.N.'s Human Rights Council has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

BREAKING: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a team of independent experts commissioned by the U.N.’s Human Rights Council concludes.

Are REITs good for housing? CMHC says we need more, raising concerns among some housing experts Critics say the national housing agency has drifted from its affordability mandate, while CMHC says it wants to increase housing supply while protecting tenants.

Are REITs good for housing? CMHC says we need more, raising concerns among some housing experts

My latest @thestar.com www.thestar.com/real-estate/...

Around 100 households on rent strike and facing mass eviction reach ‘amicable agreement’ with landlord Tenants at 71, 75 and 79 Thorncliffe Park Dr. began withholding rent from landlord Starlight in May 2023.

About 100 Thorncliffe Park households have reached an agreement with Starlight Investments, seemingly ending a lengthy public battle that saw the working-class tenants withhold rent from Canada’s largest private landlord for two years.

My latest @thestar.com
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Leading genocide scholars organization says Israeli action in Gaza is genocide THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide said Monday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide said Monday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Trump administration restrictions on Palestinian visa applicants means nearly all would be refused Palestinian applicants who hold non-Palestinian Authority passports may also face difficulties should they need a U.S. visa.

Trump administration restrictions on Palestinian visa applicants means nearly all would be refused

iPro scandal: Groups representing 90,000 realtors call on province to reform RECO RECO said it's working with the insurer to expedite deposit and commission claims, with payments beginning Friday.

Groups representing about 90,000 Ontario realtors are calling on the province to reform the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) after the government said Thursday it would intervene in an “extensive review” of the regulator. www.thestar.com/real-estate/...

Canada’s largest private landlord often dramatically increases eviction applications after acquiring buildings, study finds Starlight Investments filed 15 eviction applications per 100 units each year, while chain owned and managed properties filed seven applications per 100 units, a recent study found.

Starlight investments, Canada‘s largest private landlord, often dramatically increases eviction applications after acquiring buildings, study finds

My latest @thestar.com
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Financial firms file for eviction more than any other Toronto landlord, new research finds The research looked at more than 200,000 evictions and found financial firms pursue evictions at a rate 1.5 times higher than chain landlords and 2.5 times more than single-building landlords.

Researchers examined more than 232,000 eviction applications in Toronto from 2010 to 2019 across purpose-built rental apartments with 20 or more units. www.thestar.com/real-estate/...

Financial firms file for eviction more than any other Toronto landlord, new research finds The research looked at more than 200,000 evictions and found financial firms pursue evictions at a rate 1.5 times higher than chain landlords and 2.5 times more than single-building landlords.

Financial firms in Toronto pursue evictions more often than any other type of landlord in the city, a groundbreaking new study has found

My latest for @thestar.com www.thestar.com/real-estate/...

A Palestinian engineering student was accepted to U of T in 2024. He’s still stuck in Gaza awaiting a visa Dozens of students are left waiting in limbo in Gaza and neighbouring countries for Canada to approve their visa applications.

A Palestinian engineering student was accepted to U of T in 2024. He’s still stuck in Gaza awaiting a visa

By Nathan Bawaan for @thestar.com
www.thestar.com/news/gta/a-p...

Toronto’s ‘renoviction’ bylaw takes effect Thursday. Here’s what you need to know Toronto’s new renoviction bylaw aims to prevent landlords from evicting tenants for renovations in bad faith. Here’s what you need to know.

Toronto’s renoviction bylaw takes effect Thursday.

Here’s how the city aims to prevent landlords from evicting tenants in bad faith @thestar.com
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‘We faced hunger before, but never like this’: skeletal children fill hospital wards as starvation grips Gaza For months Israel kept food shipments to Gaza far below starvation rations. Now the death toll is rising rapidly * Starvation in Gaza is destroying communities – and will leave generational scars Mohammed’s skeletal arms stick out of a romper with a grinning emoji-face and the slogan “smiley boy”, which in a Gaza hospital reads as a cruel joke. He spends much of the day crying from hunger, or gnawing at his own emaciated fingers. At seven months old, he weighs barely 4kg (9lbs) and this is the second time he has been admitted for treatment. His face is gaunt, his limbs little more than bones covered in baggy skin and his ribs protrude painfully from his chest. Continue reading...

‘We faced hunger before, but never like this’: skeletal children fill hospital wards as starvation grips Gaza

Tenants facing mass eviction say negotiations broke down over clause meant to ‘silence’ them Landlord Starlight Investments says it "has never sought to prevent residents from raising concerns."

About 100 Thorncliffe Park households awaiting an eviction decision over a two-year rent strike say they rejected their landlord’s final settlement offer because it would “silence” them if future issues were to arise.

My latest for @thestar.com www.thestar.com/news/gta/ten...

‘Not just a housing crisis downtown.’ How Toronto’s sixplex vote pushed more density in the same areas Council is allowing sixplexes in only nine wards after a motion to legalize them citywide failed to get suburban support.

‘Not just a housing crisis downtown.’ How Toronto’s sixplex vote pushed more density in the same areas

From Victoria Gibson and me for @thestar.com: www.thestar.com/real-estate/...

More than 100 households on rent strike await their fate after four-day eviction hearing ends Thorncliffe Park tenants have withheld rent from landlord Starlight Investments since 2023.

The fate of more than 100 East York households on rent strike now rests with the Landlord and Tenant Board after eviction hearings for the unusual case came to a close last week.

Here’s what each side had to say @thestar.com www.thestar.com/news/gta/mor...

Despite lower rents, many tenants report spending less on food and taking on credit card debt to make ends meet A new Royal LePage report found rent prices in Canada have still outpaced wages despite prices softening in recent months.

Even though rent prices in Toronto and across Canada have declined in recent months, many renters are spending less on food and accumulating debt to make their monthly payments, a new report says. www.thestar.com/real-estate/...