The Toronto Star September 11, 2026

0:00Hello, this is Phil Tomzak, and for the next hour, I'll be reading from the September 11th issue of the Toronto Star on the Niagara Frontier Radio Reading Service. And let's start with our front page. Story news from the GTA has the headline, The Metro Links Report pulls back the curtain on what led to the Go train derailment outside of Union Station. And this is written by Andy Takagi, Transportation Reporter for the Star. Inadequate visual inspections and track maintenance contributed to the derailment of a Go train outside of Union Station in February, a new report from Metro Links has found, an incident that led to widespread delays across the regional network for days. A follow-up investigation by the provincial transit agency and its private maintenance contractor also found 40 other track defects in the surrounding area the report noted.

1:05Much of the report builds upon what the agency initially reported in the aftermath of the February derailment. 18 screws were missing from a segment of track, leading to heavy wear on the existing screws until they broke. The track shifted by 1.125 inches, and the wheel of one of the cars on the kitchen line train fell off the tracks as it left Union Station. The train's derailment led to chaos at the station. The cause of the derailment was a legacy infrastructure condition that developed over time, said Metro Links CEO Michael Lindsay at the organization's board meeting on Thursday. We have continued to make sure exhaustively that a similar condition does not exist anywhere else on the railroad. But when did the track conditions deteriorate? The poor conditions of the track developed sometime between an April 2025 heavy geometry

2:05track inspection, a more intensive track examination, and the derailment in February, the report found adding that there was no indication that the missing screws were identified prior to the derailment. The report noted that the missing screws in the poor condition of the track, fascinating, was not identified in the twice weekly inspections of the tracks, including one that occurred just four days before the derailment. Visual inspections, the report found, could not reliably determine the remaining holding strength or clamping effectiveness of the lags. The track conditions it added may also have been missed because Metro Links changed its track standards in 2025, but didn't immediately introduce a retrofit of the track to meet those standards. Toronto Terminal Railways, the private contractor in charge of maintenance around Union Station, may not have consistently assessed the conditions of the tracks according to those new standards

3:07the report found. The poor condition of the track fasteners progressively developed over time through a combination of infrastructure degradation, historical maintenance practices, and reduced fastening effectiveness under repeated loading conditions, the report concluded. Inspection blitz found other issues. Following the derailment, Metro Links and Toronto Terminal Railway conducted a joint inspection blitz that found 40 other sections of the rail around Union where the rail fastenings did not meet the required standards, including missing fasteners, rolled plates, mixed configurations and locations where additional screws were needed. Gold transit is very safe. As highlighted in other incidents, including a near derailment that the star reported on near Oakville Gold Station, based on confidential Metro Links documents, Metro Links is not

4:08regulated by the Federal Transportation Safety Board, and there was no independent investigation into the February Union Station derailment. Lindsay said after the board meeting that riders can trust that gold transit is very safe. I will put our safety record up against anybody else's, and this particular incident has prompted us to go even further, he said. This is a truism of transit and transportation. Any of these incidents makes our safety even stronger by revealing to us where, ultimately, it could be. And let's move on to our next front page, a story, more news from the GTA, and it has the headline, The Ontario Science Center will have no science department as layoffs and restructuring are announced. In the story was updated today, and was written by Nicholas Kielung, Senior Immigration reporter. When the Beloved Ontario Science Center opens in its new site on Toronto's waterfront,

5:14there won't be a science department. On Thursday, CEO Paul Cortanard told employees at a meeting that the Science Center, which was abruptly shut down by the province in 2024, is being restructured and is eliminating the live exhibits in science department, the business development department, and security. Thirty people are being let go, including seven staff in the Science Unit. The notices of layoff are expected to be issued on September 21st, said Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents the center's 166 unionized employees. How can you have an Ontario Science Center with no science unit, said Raluca Ellis, President of OPSU Local 549? With these job cuts, over 540 years of combined service would be eliminated. The latest developments follow the previous job losses of more than 50 food service workers

6:17and 28 cleaning staff, as well as 34 directly employed staff whose roles have not been replaced, said OPSU. Only one person affected by the cuts has been offered alternative permanent employment within the public service, Ellis said. The Science Center CEO broke the news to staff via a video conference call that some departments will no longer be part of the organization as a result of the restructuring. In some cases, this means entire full teams are impacted, including business development, science, security, and live exhibits, said Cortanar in a recording obtained by the Canadian press. In a statement to the star, the Science Center said it is delivering science education and programming in its new interim location at Harbor Front Center, while preparing for its $1 billion new home at Ontario Place, that's now under construction with the goal to open by 2029.

7:19While our organizational structure is changing, our mission is not, it said, science remains central to the organization's mandate and is embedded across many departments that deliver science learning, engagement, programming, exhibitions, and public outreach. Save Ontario Science Center, a grassroots group advocating for the preservation of the old center, said the province's move seems to be repositioning the center as a vacation day trip for American tourists, rather than an educational destination for Ontario children. Out of science department, why is the province bothering to operate a science center at all, asked Jason Ash, the group's co-chair? In 2024, the province abruptly closed the science center in North York, citing an engineering report that found deficiencies with the roof. Critics have questioned that reasoning, given the roof has survived record stofalls and

8:20rainfall in the past two years. Several MPP Adil Shamji, who represents the down mills area where the old science center was located, called the move to eliminate the science department a real head scratcher. What is a science center without its science staff? Is it like a hospital without doctors and nurses or a fire department without firefighters? Shamji said. The province said Thursday's layoffs and restructuring are meant to effectively and successfully deliver science learning experiences and new programming at the interim Harbor Front Center site in the future location at Ontario Place. A project it said will create 1000 new jobs. Now let's move on to the news from federal politics. And this story has a headline, Canada needs millions of drones to upgrade their fighting ability. Mark Carney says.

9:22In the story I was also updated today, and was written by Alex Bellingall, deputy Ottawa bureau chief. Ottawa. The Canadian military officially restructured a section of the Army on Thursday to serve as its main fighting force in a major war, marking the latest in an ongoing drive to prepare for large scale combat, including the defense of Canada itself. Looking ahead of a formal ceremony in Edmonton, major general Wade Rutland told the star that the Army believes it needs to be ready to fight in operations like the war in Ukraine, where there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers in combat, along with complex air, ground, and cyber technology. That's a shift from the type of combat the Canadian military was built for during what Rutland called the peace support years, a recent decades, with smaller contributions and operations with international coalitions, including during the war in Afghanistan against

10:24the Taliban. Canada's contribution to peacekeeping missions has dwindled to almost nothing, with the government announcing this summer that it would draw down participation in several United Nations operations. Minister Mark Karnie's liberal administration is also devoting huge sums of money. More than $82 billion over five years in the 2025 budget, with tens of billions more promised over the next decade, to bolster the military as part of an effort to boost defense spending to decades high levels across NATO. The situation has certainly changed, what we're seeing is a return of what we call large-scale conflict, Rutland said. We need to stand up a war-fighting division that could participate in a large-scale combat operation, likely overseas, but certainly we're seeing Canada as a theater of operations now. After signing a new partnership agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on

11:28Thursday, Karnie said Canada can learn from how Ukraine has fought against Russia's full-scale invasion for more than four years by bolstering the Canadian military, including by drastically adding to an inventory of just 2,000 drones. In the years to come, we will need millions. Karnie said, as the government noted, it has awarded initial contracts to six Canadian companies worth up to $50 million as a first step to produce millions of drones over the next two years. Rutland did not directly comment on the prospect of an attack on Canadian territory, but he stressed that while the army seized the possibility of a future conflict, most likely involving this country, sending forces abroad, defending Canada is the military's top priority. That's especially the case in the Arctic, he said. Concerns of Russian prowess, advancing missile technology and possible regional interests

12:30from China, have helped push the federal government to prioritize military buildup across the North, with multi-billion dollar plans to build supply hubs, increase the number of station troops, and replace aging Cold War era radar. Our priority theater is 100% Canada, said Rutland. Right now there's a group of folks from the Canadian Joint Operations Command that are looking at the defensive Canada and are writing such a plan he added. That is the branch of the military that plans and coordinates the whole range of possible military operations in Canada and around the world, from emergency responses to international missions. Some analysts, however, worry the effort to rearm and prepare for war could turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's very unsettling, but sadly it's actually the task of militaries around the world to think of the worst case scenario.

13:30Philippe Beaulieu-Brosard, who teaches at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, told the Star last month. Thursday's changes saw the Canadian Army create the first Canadian division. Based in Edmonton the new structure combines three mechanized brigade groups, infantry, artillery, and more into a war-fighting division. The broader reorganization of the Army also includes dissolving the previous four divisions, which were split up geographically into three, the war-fighting first division, the defensive Canada second division based in Montreal, and the Army support division in Kingston, Ontario. Rutland told the Star that while these changes are needed the Army still needs upgrades to reliably fight in a major war against what the military calls a peer adversary, a modern state with advanced technology capable of fighting a sustained conflict. He said the top priorities are new artillery and mortars, ground-based air defense systems

14:35to protect against drones, jets, and helicopters, mobile vehicles that can operate in the Arctic, improved kit that includes helmets, vests, and night vision goggles, and drones of all types, including ground drones that can carry supplies and retrieve wounded soldiers. We are trying to get this done as quickly as we can, Rutland said. Looking back in history, you don't think it's going to happen when you think it's going to happen. You are listening to a reading of articles and features from the Toronto Star on the Niagara Frontier Radio Reading Service. In our next story, from Ontario, it has the headline, Ontario Justice of the Peace Terrified, after fellow JP entered Chambers, told her, I love you and I want to have sex with you.

15:36And this is written by Jacques Galant, Courts and Justice reporter. Justice of the Peace Gloria Covatch was working in her Chambers one morning when the door behind her suddenly slammed shut. She spun around to find fellow JP, James Eglars, standing near her. His eyes looked really wild, and it appeared as if he had some froth in his mouth, she said. He leaned over Covatch's desk and declared, I love you and I want to have sex with you. She said, Zeagler told her he loved everything about her, the way she talked, the way she smiled, the way she laughed, and he lamented that he was in a sexless marriage. He started out about how horny he was. Covatch said Thursday, testifying on the first day of Zeagler's discipline hearing in a downtown Toronto boardroom about the alleged incident on April 19th, 2024, at the Water Lou region courthouse. Covatch said she was left shocked and appalled, as well as fearful, because Zeagler was pacing

16:41back and forth between her and the door, and he appeared angry. Later in the day, she, still concerned for her safety, asked for a security escort to leave the courthouse. The workplace sexual harassment allegations are at the core of the discipline hearing. The Justices of the Peace Review Council, the independent body that investigates and disciplines JPs, alleges that the 74-year-old Zeagler's actions amount to judicial misconduct. He has denied the allegations, which were also the basis for Zeagler's recent criminal trial on forceful confinement and criminal harassment charges. He was acquitted last December by a judge, who stated that while Zeagler did not commit a crime, his actions were nevertheless inappropriate and unprofessional. Zeagler, who is unassigned from judicial duties until the discipline cases over, could be seen frequently taking notes on Thursday, seated next to his lawyer, Julianne Greenspan.

17:44Whether the three-member discipline panel chaired by Toronto Provincial Court Judge Ryan Schandler will actually be able to complete the hearing and render a decision remains to be seen, as Zeagler must retire from the bench when he turns 75 next month, which means the panel will lose jurisdiction over him. Complicating matters is that Greenspan, who has not yet cross-examine Kovac, indicated she's booked up with other matters until after October. After questioning by lawyer Gerald Chan, hired by the council to present the case, Kovac testified that she'd only had a few social interactions with Zeagler prior to April 2024. She said she told him repeatedly that morning, in her chambers, that she did not want to have an affair with him, as he discussed at length a previous affair he had had with another woman. He described details that I can never probably get out of my brain, Kovac testified, about

18:45how he bought her flowers and five condoms. She said she kept telling Zeagler that they both needed to get to their respective court rooms, but that he kept rambling and pacing. She said she felt things were escalating, as his voice was becoming louder, and he was talking about having uncontrollable anger issues. While former registered nurse with expertise in mental health issues, Kovac said she tried to de-escalate the situation, but nothing was working. She then tried to figure out how she could get out with Zeagler standing between her and the door. I remember my mind kept thinking, this is not going to end well," Kovac said. But then Zeagler suddenly did leave without saying a word, leaving Kovac crying and shaking in her office. She then went down to court, but said Zeagler came back into her chambers later than afternoon, to try to give her some notepads, which she refused to take. She testified Zeagler returned one final time, at the end of the day, banging on her

19:49locked door and shaking the handle. I just remember being so terrified, thinking if he gets in here, I am so done for, Kovac testified. She said Zeagler left after she told him to go away. Kovac said she then quickly headed for the elevators, but was too fearful to go to her car in the secure parking garage alone. She asked for a security escort. Kovac said she was also too scared to go home because Zeagler knew where she lived. Describing herself as being in a state of panic, she decided to drive to a nearby casino. It was the only place I could think of where there was a lot of people and there was security, and there were cameras, and I knew he couldn't get me, she said. Kovac didn't return home until after midnight, saying she kept the lights on all night and was not able to sleep. After discussing what happened with a few justices of the piece, Kovac spoke two days later with associate chief justice, Janine Leroy.

20:50She said Leroy told her that Zeagler could be called and told not to go into court that week and to not contact other members of the judiciary. Kovac testified that Zeagler then texted her and left her a voicemail about Leroy's imminent call. Zeagler's voicemail was played on Thursday, in which he said, I think there may be a little bit of a bleep hitting the fan and I just wanted to talk to you about my approach. No further hearing days have been set. The Greenspan telling the panel should let them know if her schedule frees up in the next few weeks. I'll also move on to our next story from News From The GTA and it has a headline why Trump's new tariffs pose a significant threat to 250,000 Toronto jobs. And as written by David Reiter, senior politics reporter, there are a few cows in Toronto,

21:52but US daily dairy tariffs pose a significant threat to jobs at local milk product processors according to an updated University of Toronto tariff tracking tool. How US tariffs are reshaping Canada's job market. Researchers updating a map from last October tracking US tariff impacts on Canadian cities released a major refresh on Wednesday that reveals the potentially crushing impacts of Trump's new 50% levies on a host of Canadian imports. The Trump tariffs that took effect August 22nd hitting dairy, alcohol, auto parts and more widened the vulnerability of the Toronto regional census area to 10% of all employees, including people working for dairy processors and local breweries that export to the US according to new research. In the Toronto area, we estimate that US tariffs have the potential to impact more than 8,000

22:54businesses, almost 250,000 jobs employment by place of work in the city and over 200,000 residents, states of blog posed by researchers that include Tara Vinodry, a professor of economic geography and Karen Chappell, professor of geography and planning who is director of U of T's School of Cities. Why Toronto's dairy industry is unexpectedly at risk? While Canadians often associate dairy with Quebec farmers, major dairy processors, including Gaeli, lactellis, sapudo and agropure maintain office, distribution and or industrial operations across the greater Toronto area and represent some of the region's largest food industry employers according to the blog post. In an interview, Vinodry said new tariffs imposed after Canada walked away from negotiations

23:54to update the existing free trade agreement will be felt across the country, widening and deepening economic pain already felt from US tariffs imposed last year on autos, aluminum, copper, lumber and more. So places that were already vulnerable, the vulnerability is stacking up, including automaking hubs, Windsor, Ashoa and Oakville, she said. Other places including wine regions in Niagara, Prince Edward County and BC's O'Conagan Valley face new and dramatic risk. While US tariffs threaten more jobs in Toronto than any other Canadian city, its sheer number of employers and diversity of industries makes it less vulnerable overall to damage from losing access to US markets. Vinodry said medium and small centers focused on sectors targeted by Trump are much more vulnerable to community shaking job losses and business closures.

24:57They include southern Ontario hubs for aluminum products, including Guelph and Kitchener Waterloo Cambridge. U of T ranks cities vulnerability by estimated percentage of employees directly exposed to tariffs. Drummondville Quebec heavily reliant on manufacturing steel products, aluminum fabrication, machinery and furniture tops the list with 18.7% exposure. Also in the top 10, Chilawak BC, agriculture and manufacturing, Windsor for automaking and cross-border trade, Guelph, Brandford manufacturing, including the Rost and Hockey Stick Factory, Kitchener Cambridge Waterloo, Greater Sudbury for natural resources and manufacturing, Trial Revere, aluminum, forestry and agriculture, Abbott's Ferd Mission BC for manufacturing and wood products, and Saginae Quebec for dairy, including cheese.

25:59Vinodry said Canadian by local campaigns can help soften the tariffs blow, but mapping the impacts drives home the need for all parts of Canada to as much as possible reduce their reliance on the US market. Many businesses are in tightly integrated markets, and it takes time to unwind them from American partners and markets, she said. To lessen vulnerability, we need to diversify supply chains and diversify markets away from the US while leveraging our own diversity. We have a ripe opportunity to trade more with the world. Our next story news from the GTA and the headline is Toronto's Love Park pond used to be green and slimy. Here's what turned things around. And this is written by Francine Copen, senior writer for the star. Love is patient, love is kind, but at Love Park, love was slime.

27:05Two weeks after it opened in 2023, the pond in the park at the corner of York Street and Queens Key West was covered in slimy green algae, making it the butt of jokes about love gone wrong. The city says a new water treatment system has fixed the problem. The public focus on algae obscured the park's quiet triumph, that it is built on land once anchored by a gardener expressway off ramp. The pond disappointed again during the World Cup when problems with a chlorine treatment sensor left it looking grimy, just as Toronto's waterfront BIA launched a charming fleet of miniature wooden sailboats, modeled after a peresium tradition that takes place at a pond in front of a 400-year-old palace commissioned by a queen. Children and adults use small, handcrafted wooden toy sailboats and set them loose using long sticks. During the soccer journey, visitors at Love Park could launch sailboats representing

28:08the nation's playing in Toronto, and on windy days they scutted beautifully, if not always photogenically. For part of the time, the pond was sporting a sketchy brown fuzz. The city now hopes its troubled romance with Love Park is in the past, after swapping a high-maintenance ozone water treatment system for one that is easier to manage. In the first year or two there were instances where it was green, said the city's David O'Hara, manager of park design, parks planning and strategic initiatives. I mean, straight up, it was green, and it wasn't supposed to be green. We were having trouble with the system. Love Park is right on the waterfront, so it's a destination for tourists and it's surrounded by condos, so everyone's looking down on it. When something does happen in the pond, everyone sees it, and we hear about it. Mindful of Toronto's mission to reduce greenhouse gases, the city, together with waterfront

29:10Toronto, had originally chosen a treatment system that injects ozone gas into the water to destroy bacteria, viruses, algae, and organic waste, and keep the water clear. But keeping on top of the leaf litter and other organic matter in the park was difficult, and the reflection of sunlight from the surrounding buildings helped heat the pool up, making it more susceptible to algae that bloomed opportunistically whenever the pond's defenses were down. There were a bunch of challenges that Dan Eusser of Dan Eusser water architecture incorporated, the landscape architect to design the original water feature. Eusser also designed the popular Beresy Park dog waterfront. It was complex even without the treatment system, said O'Hara, managing and maintaining that pond on its own is quite the undertaking. It was also difficult to source parts of the ozone system after the U.S. company that

30:13sold them was acquired by another firm. Instead of trying to fix its fraught relationship with the troubled ozone system, the city parted ways with it last year. We've switched that system out to a regenerative system, said O'Hara. It's also a system that uses less water and fewer chemicals. The ozone system was just proving to be a little more problematic than we initially expected. Office workers Alexandra Bovy and Madison Chun said they've noticed a difference in the quality of the pond water. I've seen it green, said Bovy, who has a bird's eye view from a nearby office tower, adding that she often sees children splashing in the water. I think it's definitely clean enough for them to enjoy it a bit more. You're listening to a reading of articles and features from the Toronto Star on the Niagara Frontier Radio Reading Service. Let's go to the world of entertainment.

31:17This story has a headline just in Trudeau, longtime aid launched proudly Canadian entertainment company at TIFF today. And this comes from David Friend, our culture reporter. Just in Trudeau and his former chief of staff, Katie Telford, are trading the halls of Parliament for Hollywood, with a launch of a proudly Canadian new media company called Hope and Hardwork. The former Prime Minister and his longtime aid announced a lineup of scripted and unscripted film and television projects on Friday, saying they were curated with a focus on telling Canadian stories that resonate both at home and around the world. Trudeau and Telford will launch the company with a party on Friday at TIFF's Malapart Event Space. The list includes TV series adaptations of several popular Canadian novels, including Closer by C, the best selling novel by Perry Chaff, known as the creator of CBC's Republic of

32:23Doyle. The series is set in a small, newfoundland fishing town on the brink of collapse and follows a 12-year-old boy as he grapples with his father's death and the disappearance of a local teenage girl. Detective Anti, based on the book by Usma Jalaludin, tells of a South Asian widow who becomes an unlikely investigator when her daughter is accused of murdering the landlord of her boutique clothing store. Other projects include Le Cornege, a Montreal private school drama, an original series from North of North writers Jesse Gabe and Shedley Zargami, and Power Moves, arrivals to lovers, Romantic comedy set in the world of politics and media from author Les Aeronald. Opened hard work also said it secured a strategic partnership for unscripted and documentary TV with Earth tones. A media company run by one time MTV Canada host Alaya Jasmine Sovani and her sister Aliza

33:29Sovani. Trudeau and Telford said in a statement that they are seeking projects that promise a mix of optimism and joyful entertainment. At a time when the world can feel increasingly divided, we believe in the power of great storytelling to bring people closer, they said. In building hope and hard work, we are finding stories that evoke empathy and understanding that can reach audiences in transformative ways, stories that transcend our own beliefs, and help us see the world through someone else's eyes and remind us of what we share. Trudeau is the latest political leader to make a foray into film and TV production. Former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama launched their production company Higher Ground after leaving office. The company has produced socially conscious films and documentaries for Netflix, including American Factory and Leave the World Behind.

34:31Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, also founded Archie Well Productions after stepping back from royal duties. The company has produced a range of documentary, lifestyle and unscripted projects, including with Love Meghan and Live To Lead. Let's stick to the world of entertainment for now and more from the Toronto International Film Festival. The headline of this is, This Tiff Comedy Set in a Toronto apartment complex could be one of the years Canadian Breakouts. Written by Adam Naimensp as a Special to the Star. Toronto director Serville Publiti's third feature, Sunburn, is a luting and lovely piece of neighborhood portraiture. The film, which makes its world premiere in the centerpiece section of the Toronto International Film Festival, is poised to be one of the years breakout Canadian features.

35:32It was shot over two weeks in and around the apartment buildings in St. James Town, where public himself grew up and it's made sweetly in the community's image, vibrant and viral and enchanted around the edges. Maybe it's magical realism or maybe it's heatstroke. The sweltering temperatures are compounded by the inconvenience of a massive citywide blackout. No AC, no Wi-Fi, no problem. The plan for the film's protagonists, a group of neighborhood kids bumping awkwardly against either end of adolescence, is to sweat and cope with and maybe find a good excuse to get sticky. Call it White Hot Canadian Summer. I was seven years old when Toronto had the blackout in 2003, said Publiti over, chocolate chip cookies at a coffee shop in the city's east end. I wanted the film to capture some of that feeling, of having a good time with your friends

36:32and realizing that things are never going to be the same as they were that day. That sense of elusivity, of something slipping in effibly away that's nevertheless worse chasing, is the source of sunburns modest but striking emotional effect. Several of the characters are harboring unrequited feelings for their classmates and neighbors. As the dog day after noon stretches on and the hangout vibes get more intimate, they're forced to decide whether they're going to speak up or miss out. In this hot and bothered context, anxiety becomes interlaced with desire. Sitting up the courage to text your crush feels like a matter of life and death. It's like I'm going to see this girl at school next year, Publiti said, with a laugh, and you're like, I'm scared to see her, what if she says no? A lady bird for guys like him. On the surface, some burn is loose and playful, with gross outgags, zit popping enthusiasts

37:37will have a field day, and a surfeit of good nature trash talking. The stakes may be low, but Publiti, who is of Filipino descent, believes there's something political in such a proposition. Mundanity becomes a way to dodge cliché. I remember seeing lady bird, and wondering why it resonated with me so much, he said, of Greta Gerwig's 2017 comedy drama. I thought, damn, I'm not a white girl from the suburbs, why am I feeling this way? I realized there is a lady bird for a young man like me, for kids with a darker skin color just trying to live life and come of age. That story is usually told through violence, drugs, or hardship. I wanted to reframe it through a different lens. Publiti's first two features, Altar Boy and Lovely, both played on the festival circuit, the former starred a childhood friend. Andy said he wants to make movies about the places in people he loves.

38:41There are a lot of interesting stories where people get reduced to their skin color, he said. As a director, it's my job to put people of color on screen, but I also want to serve them past that. It's like, okay, I have characters in my film who are Filipino and black. Now what? Are they more than just that? Can I show them with nuance and with depth? Sunburn bears out those intentions. Instead of types and tropes, the film is alive with spontaneity and specificity. Publiti shoud on location in fewer than two weeks with a cast of mostly unknown or emerging young actors, drawing on his background in documentary shorts while digging into a bag of visual and sonic tricks in sync with experimental cinema. Film and surrealism don't so much collide in his style, as coalesce as if melting sweetly in the heat. I don't ever want to just point a camera at something for the sake of capturing a story,

39:44he said. I'm always thinking about how we can make our film in a way that completely immerses people in an environment he had. There's a scene in Sunburn that's just the kids whistling, and it was my favorite thing, as it draws you into the world of the film in a beautiful way. One of the film's most compelling motifs is the way social media and technology, the focus of the opening scene with characters doom scrolling through the morning, recedes and falls away. When I was a kid, my curiosity got heightened when I was bored, Publiti recalled, it's important to remember how much fun things are when you're not on your phone. Sonno's new breed. Earlier this year, Publiti scored rave reviews and a jury prize at the South by Southwest Festival for his lovely short in the morning sun, a riley stylized profile of his mother Lydia. Sunburn feels like an extension of that film, and seems certain to raise its maker's profile

40:50even higher. Publiti says he's aware of the hype around Toronto films and filmmakers, he's a fan of Sophie Rumbari's award-winning blue heron, and hopes that Sunburn can benefit from a moment of intense focus and appreciation. At the same time, he's wary of pigeonholing his film in terms of civic pride. I love Toronto and I'm happy we're at TIFF, he said. But we didn't try to make this a quote unquote Toronto movie. The CN Tower is in the background. Let's move on to one of our favorite features, Ask Leacy. And this is from Leacy Tessher, advice columnist. And today's article has the headline, My Father died and it rocked our family to the core. One sister is totally absent and we're getting angry. Let's ask Leacy. And here's the question from the reader.

41:52We are three sisters who grew up in a loving household, open and communicative with each other and our parents. Our father died suddenly last year and it threw all of us a curve. Our mother was rocked to the core and has had a very sad year. She's young and still working but had to take a leave of absence because her grief was all consuming. I moved back home after university so I've been with her all year. My younger sister is away at university but took the semester off after our father died and came home for those few months. It was just so sudden it really threw us all off and we needed to be together. The problem is my older sister who lives with her boyfriend not that far away from us. She threw herself into her work and her own life and hasn't really been there for us, meaning myself, my little sister and my mom. Whenever I reach out to her by phone, she doesn't answer. If I text, she lets it go on red and doesn't reply.

42:55She doesn't respond to any type of communication. I know this is very hurtful for my mom but she's incapable of dealing with any more emotion at this time. I know my little sister is sad, missing her and becoming angry at her absence and to be honest, I'm starting to have the same emotions. How can I talk to her if she won't pick up the phone? Signed suddenly grieving. And Lisa's answer? Everyone grieves differently so don't judge your sister right now. That doesn't mean you have to be happy about the way she's behaving, just understanding and forgiving. I know you said she's not responding to you in any way but keep trying. If she doesn't live far and you have the emotional energy, pick up some coffee and knock on her door. When she answers, wrap her up in a big hug. She probably needs it but can't ask. Perhaps by avoiding you, your sister and your mom, she's avoiding dealing with her own

43:56grief. Maybe she doesn't have the strength to walk into your house, knowing your father isn't there and won't be coming home. Maybe her grief is so enveloping that she doesn't have the capacity to deal with anyone else's. From your description, you can shoulder your mother's pain while managing your own. That takes a lot of strength. Your older sister seemingly doesn't have that right now. Be there for her until she's capable of being there for you. You're listening to a reading of articles and features from the Toronto Star on the Niagara Frontier Radio Reading Service. Stick with Esk Leesey and go to our second reader question and it is, my boyfriend keeps trying to cook these extravagant meals for me that he finds on TikTok. The first attempt was pretty and looked like the video but tasted terrible. We laughed and ordered pizza.

44:57But the more he tried, the worse the meals were. Some just turned out his piles of mush. I do love that he's trying but I can't bear to watch him waste any more food. Nor can I stomach another slice of pizza. What do I do? Signed? Hungry. And here's Leesey's answer. Your boyfriend certainly gets points for trying. Why don't you find a recipe you think you two could have fun making together? Planetate night that includes grocery shopping, prepping, cleaning up while it cooks and dining together. Working together as a team will highlight both of your strengths and your areas of weakness. Everyone has them so don't be shy. Talk about what you found easy, hard, what you would change to make the dish more personal, etc. Do this a few times and then work on perfecting your dishes. Cooking doesn't come naturally to everyone but anyone can do it if they take their time

45:58and follow a good recipe. Let's move on now to a travel article. This one has, they headline, a deeply personal travel journey to Germany to trace where two Auschwitz survivors married decades ago. And this comes as a special to the star from Ash Gerberg. A man was watching me photograph a window. He slowed as he passed, cland stumped me in at the apartment building, then back at me trying to work out what he was missing. I understood the confusion. The building was not in any travel brochure or flagged on TripAdvisor as a must see. It was an ordinary apartment block on a street in Landshoot, a small Bavarian town on the Izzar River with cobbled streets and pastel gothic buildings in its old city center. To most tourists the apartment was nothing. But to me it was the reason I had flown to the other side of the world.

47:03So I photographed it along with the street signs, shop fronts and at one point a garbage bin because my mother had asked me to capture everything. My grandparents were Auschwitz survivors from Poland. With no home left to return to after the war, they first met at a displaced persons camp run by the US Army in a former German military barracks just outside Landshoot. In 1946 an army chaplain married them in a hall that a Jewish refugee organization had found for them. 18 months later my mother was born, although she has never known exactly where. She was 10 months old when the three of them left for a new life in Australia. I decided to visit Landshoot to learn more about my family history. My mother gave me two addresses and one instruction. Photograph everything and find out as much as you can. This was a deeply personal trip but it fit within a growing travel trend, Roots Tourism,

48:08which involves traveling to places connected to your family's past. The building where my grandparents married was still there with a bakery and a bookstore on the ground floor. I took a photo, looked at the street around me and texted my mother a short review. Not much to see. She asked me to take more photos anyway. Then she started asking me questions. What was the building like? What did the town feel like? What else was there to see? I told her about the brick tower of St. Martin's Church rising over the rooftops in the old palace nearby, one of the first Renaissance buildings built in Germany. As I answered, she began telling me things she had never told me before. How her parents had arrived in Germany with no money or possessions. How they met. How her mother had learned to cook and love to bake apple cake. I was learning my own family history, one text message at a time.

49:09My mother became my guide from thousands of kilometers away. I eventually found the apartment my grandparents lived in after they were married. It was an ordinary building, pink plaster, graying with age, with a window facing the street. A year after my grandmother died, my mother, who was already planning a trip to Europe, decided to see Landsat for herself. My visit had given her the idea, and her mother's death gave her the reason to go. Her younger brother went with her. She sat outside the building where her parents had married for about an hour. From inside the bakery, her brother photographed her on the street, looking through the bakery glass at a slice of apple cake. It sounds sentimental until you try it, standing in front of an apartment window that stops no one else in the street. Every travel to learn about the history of others, but rarely about our own. Everyone has a window somewhere, an address that means nothing to anyone else.

50:14Most of us just don't think to go. I have taken thousands of photos on my trips. One of my favorites is a poorly framed shot of an apartment window I snapped to please my mother. What I did not know at the time was that a photograph already existed of my grandmother at that very window, taken in 1948. Not much to see. That turned out to be the worst review I've ever written. And finally a story from the world of sports. The National Hockey League, and it has the headline, Alex Formington, the Outlaw Oilers will try anything to keep Conor McDavid. And this comes from contributing columnist Damian Cox. As NHL training camps approach, the difficult decisions facing teams are varied and intriguing. What will Minnesota do with Quinn Hughes? Can Winnipeg find a trading partner and move Conor Hellerbook?

51:16Can Detroit do the same with Dylan Larkin? In Edmonds in meanwhile, the choices are much simpler. Are there any other outlaws for hire available? As the desperation to convince Conor McDavid to stay by winning a Stanley Cup Championship intensifies, they've been operating the last chance saloon in Alberta, inviting various bad boys who have run a fall of the sport or the law to come and find a home with the ambitious Oilers. We hear of bad boys getting second chances all the time in pro sports. Rarely, however, has one team embraced as many disgraced individuals as the Oilers. The latest is Forward Alex Forminton, one of the famous five former Canadian junior team members charged with sexual assault, involving a woman at the 2018 World Junior's Gala in London, Ontario. All five were acquitted, but the sorted details have forever stained their reputation.

52:17On its own, you could approach the Forminton signing as Edmonds is simply giving a new opportunity to a player who hasn't been convicted of any crime. But the signing doesn't exist on its own. Since 2022, the Oilers have made a habit of bringing in individuals with ugly backgrounds. Forward Evander Cain was signed to a one-year contract in January 2022 after the San Jose Sharks had terminated his deal for violating COVID protocols. The NHL suspended him 21 games for his conduct. Also, Winger Jake Vertinan was signed to a tryout in September 2022 after being cut loose by the Vancouver Conox following his acquittal on sexual assault charges. And in January 2024, the Oilers eagerly snapped up veteran Winger Corey Perry after the Chicago Black Cocks had terminated his contract because he, quote, engaged in conduct that

53:18is unacceptable in inviolation both of the terms of his standard players' contract and the Black Cocks internal policies. Also, Stan Bowman was hired as general manager in the summer of 2024 after being out of the league for three years because of his role in the Chicago Black Cocks sexual abuse scandal involving prospect Kyle Beach. A 2021 probe into the 2010 incident, found Bowman and other senior Chicago executives knew of allegations involving a team employee, but fails to take appropriate action. And finally, Mike Babcock was hired as head coach in June after being fired by Columbus and Toronto for creating controversial or toxic work environments. His tenure with the Blue Jackets lasted just a few weeks and he didn't coach a game. Now, Formentan. Ottawa, his last NHL team in 2022, didn't want him back, but Edmonton is willing to give

54:21him a one-year deal worth $850,000 US dollars. Hockey people, of course, love to talk and poetically shays about the crucial importance of character in their organizations. The Oilers, however, seem to be telling their fans that character doesn't matter or that the people they are bringing in are reformed or misunderstood. One wonders if there is any behavior that would be disqualifying for Edmonton's NHL team. To be fair, the team has a history of giving second chances to players with troubled backgrounds and seeing them flourish. Craig McTavish and Zach Cachean would be the best examples. Kane played well at times, but eventually was traded away when the Oilers tired of his effort. Virtan in only lasted a few weeks. Perry lasted a season and a half. Bowman received harsh criticism for some moves last season and the team regressed after two straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final. With limited salary cap flexibility and only two years left before McTavid hits free

55:25agency, the Oilers appeared desperate to try anything and everything to push the team over the top, regardless of fan reaction. There was little outcry in Las Vegas last season when Goli Carter Hart, also one of the five Canadian juniors charged and acquitted, was signed by the Golden Knights. Another, defenseman Cal foot, signed with a Swedish league team in July, but the team backed out after public backlash. Some Edmonton fans don't like the image the Oilers are cultivating by signing for Edmonton. On Thursday, the team's popular superfan vowed on social media to no longer support them. As a sexual assault survivor, I must stand by my morals, posted Mary Loan, known as Mama Stanley. The Oilers will be fascinating to watch this coming season, particularly with Babcock behind the bench, after McTavid and Leon Dryside will appear to lose confidence in Chris Noblock last season, and after before, rather he was fired, the heat is on this team, and

56:31the questionable choices of people it has chosen to embrace will only increase the temperature. You've been listening to a reading of articles and features from the September 11th issue of the Toronto Star. Your reader has been Phil Tomzack. Thanks for listening.