Star analysis counts ‘staggering’ ER closures + Danielle Smith strikes a nerve with oil well cleanup plan
Good morning. This is the Tuesday, Feb. 21 edition of First Up, the Star's daily morning digest. Sign up to get it earlier each day, in your inbox.
Here's the latest on emergency department closures in Ontario, Danielle Smith's contentious plan to clean up oil wells and the rise of reverse mortgages.
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A Star analysis revealed a staggering" number of emergency department closures
Across 24 hospitals - primarily serving rural areas - the province has seen 158 emergency department closures in the past year, a Star analysis shows. Most closures have lasted between 12 and 14 hours, but several have gone on for 24 hours. One hospital's ED shuttered for more than a month. Together, the closures amount to some 4,430 hours - 184 days - of urgent care needs of many communities not being met locally, Kenyon Wallace reports. Here's a closer look at the impact of staffing shortages on emergency care.
- Context: The scale of emergency department closures we've seen in the last year is completely unprecedented. There has never been anything remotely close to this," said the executive director of a non-partisan public health-care watchdog. These closures are, without question, a risk to the lives and health of people. No one can deny that."
- More: The number of days an emergency department is ever closed should be zero," said a long-time emergency physician and the president of the Ontario Medical Association.
Danielle Smith's new cleanup plan is striking a nerve
As Alberta's oil industry grew, it became increasingly common for oil companies to announce they would be putting equipment in someone's field, yard or town. Residents have often been left with little choice but to concede. Now, the province is littered with aging equipment that companies have left behind after going bankrupt, or deciding it's cheaper to just keep paying rent for wells, or simply abandoning it. But Premier Danielle Smith's cleanup plan isn't going over well. Alex Boyd reports on how it threatens the social contract upon which modern Alberta is built.
- Context: Smith's new $100 million pilot project would reward companies who clean up wells that are at least 20 years old by giving them a future royalty credit. This means they would have to give less of their future profits back to the province.
- Why it matters: Critics say the plan essentially pays companies to do what they're already legally obligated to. They also criticize it for using royalties, which are meant to compensate all Albertans for the exploitation of their natural resources.
- Graham Thomson's take: Smith's handout might be a step too far for Albertans.
Reverse mortgages are on the rise, but are they the right choice?
More and more homeowners - especially seniors - who are experiencing a cash-flow crunch are turning to reverse mortgages to make ends meet. But the plan, which allows those 55 or older to access a portion of equity of their home in the form of a loan, carries higher interest rates than a typical mortgage or secured line of credit. It doesn't have to be repaid until the lender sells their home or dies. Clarrie Feinstein reports on the other options experts say are worth exploring first and how reverse mortgages can affect inheritances.
- By the numbers: In December 2022, reverse mortgages rose by 35 per cent year over year, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
- The aftermath: With a reverse mortgage, a 75-year-old who has a home worth $1.5 million can access $645,000 in funds but must pay $253,000 in interest over a five-year period.
WHAT ELSE:
- A new 6.4-magnitude earthquake has hit Turkey and Syria. With hundreds injured, here's what we know so far.
- The Ford government is being criticized for proposing a change to how elderly residents get medicine.
- Here's how Moscow is downplaying the significance of Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv.
- It's been a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. These five battles have defined the war.
- Why has a Canadian company partnered with the tiny island of Nauru to fast-track deep-sea mining?
- Jully Black's subtle change to the Canadian anthem at the NBA All-Star Game has won praise from fans.
- The family of Taresh Bobby Ramroop, who died while police were present, is speaking out against an SIU decision.
- He saved a man from a suicide attempt. The police response to the traumatic incident left him baffled.
- Brain fog, hot flashes and fatigue are driving one in 10 women out of the workforce - but changing the culture around menopause could retain them.
- This organization is creating tangible footprints for Black artists in Toronto.
- After several service disruptions, 15-minute service is back to UP Express.
- Five signs you have an online shopping problem - and how to fix it.
POV:
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NORTH YORK: When we asked First Up readers to send us their view of the sunrise, Sofia Ngo-Trong sent us this snap of the cityscape she captured on Feb. 14. Yonge Street buildings can be seen along the skyline from the balcony of her 20th floor condo.
Thank you for reading First Up. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca
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Manuela Vega is a Toronto-based digital producer for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @_manuelavega