One man's shocking 20 years in isolation

Plus, a $560,000 loss shows the scale of the suburban crash  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

First Up By Sima Shakeri Good morning.   From Raptors, Blue Jays and Toronto FC games to a Khalsa Day parade, Toronto will be busy. On top of that, part of the Gardiner is closed from Friday night until Monday morning, and signal work is halting subway service on a stretch of Line 2 on Saturday. There will also be plenty of streetcar and bus detours and service adjustments. Here’s what to know if you’re travelling in the city.  Here are today’s top stories. DON'T MISS Sophie Bouquillon/Toronto Star STAR INVESTIGATION Camelott Hamblett has spent 20 years in isolation at an Ontario hospital. Here’s his story  Camelott Hamblett may be the person who has spent the most time in psychiatric seclusion in any Ontario hospital. Found not criminally responsible for a sexual assault two decades ago, the man living with treatment-resistant schizophrenia has spent the years since almost entirely in “seclusion.” In that time Hamblett’s mental health, his mother says, has only seemed to get worse. Jacques Gallant investigates how isolation is used by one Ontario hospital, practices some experts call egregious and inconsistent with recovery.   Andres Valenzuela/Toronto Star ISLAND AIRPORT Doug Ford framed jets at Billy Bishop as essential. Not everyone agrees When Premier Doug Ford revived plans to allow jets at Billy Bishop Airport, he framed the move as essential to Toronto’s economic future: jobs, lower airfares and relief for an overburdened Pearson Airport. But some experts say the province has offered little evidence the expansion will boost the economy, and the announcement is on course to pit downtown residents against private business and government. ICYMI: Mayor Olivia Chow is urging Torontonians to “make some noise” and fight Ontario’s plan to seize city land for the island airport expansion plan.   Lance McMillan/Toronto Star REAL ESTATE  The GTA housing crash hits suburbia, with one Milton home selling for a $560,000 loss  At five-bedrooms and over 4,000 square feet, this home in Milton, Ont. is certainly not the shoebox condo that’s come to symbolize the Toronto-area real estate crash. The boom and bust of the real estate market has had devastating consequences for buyers who purchased homes here; the drop in home values, along with rising interest rates, has led to a spike in food bank use in the town once known for the rapid development of new neighbourhoods. May Warren takes a close look at the 905 downturn. Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press file photo IMMIGRATION Canada’s cancelling thousands of asylum claims, leaving many migrants stuck in limbo The case of a 33-year-old Haitian man who crossed into Canada from the U.S. highlights new obstacles for migrants. His asylum claim has been terminated under Canada’s new eligibility rules, designed to reduce pressure on the refugee system. About 30,000 of the 300,000 refugee claimants have been advised they may now be ineligible under the new guidelines. Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press EDUCATION  Ontario is introducing a new financial literacy curriculum for high schoolers  While finances are covered in math class from Grades 1 to 9, starting this fall, Grade 10 students will also study financial literacy in career studies and must earn at least a 70 per cent in the subject. The lessons and tests will cover interest rates, taxes, credit and debt and consumer awareness, and will count for five per cent of the class’s final grade. A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR WHAT ELSE Doug Ford is capping ticket resale prices. Here’s why Ticketmaster is already removing listings. The search for the Maple Leafs’ new GM is reportedly down to  two candidates. Hank Idsinga says he won’t do an interview with Toronto police after the explosive allegations in his memoir. “Trinity Bollwoods”? The city installed way-finding signs with a typo and a theatre that no longer exists. POV Doug Ford’s jet fiasco is a lesson in how he is governing with a ‘long leash’ BOOKMARK THIS Sophie Bouquillon/Toronto Star  To mark Canadian Independent Bookstore Day, we’ve highlighted the city’s best stacks and the people who make these spaces sanctuaries for readers. These are the five indie bookshops that keep Toronto staying up late to read just one more chapter.  CLOSE UP Peter Edwards/Toronto Star TORONTO: Louise Russo looks for slivers of light on the darkest of days. Russo was paralyzed from the waist down on April 21, 2004, an innocent bystander shot in a botched mob hit. She has since become an anti-violence and accessibility advocate while continuing to care for her disabled daughter. She describes how she finds inspiration today.   Before you go, a U.S. special forces soldier was charged with using classified information about the mission to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to win more than $400,000 on the prediction market, Polymarket. The charges are part of a growing trend. Thanks for reading today’s First Up. The Star’s Paige Oldfield and Nikhil Kanekal contributed to today’s newsletter. 📩 You can reach the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca. I will see you back here tomorrow.    If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below.   Unsubscribe From This Newsletter Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts View in Browser Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 PRIVACY POLICY