Great Reads: Canada’s wasted land; significance of D-Day; the woes of online dating

Good morning, and welcome to the weekend.

Grab your cup of coffee or tea, and sit down with a selection of this week’s great reads from The Globe. In this issue, we dig into just how much underused federally-owned land exists that could be turned into affordable housing. A Globe investigation looked at a federal registry of properties and found enough space to provide homes for nearly 750,000 Canadians.

In another story, on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, historian Tim Cook considers the military operation at Normandy as the moment Canada arrived as a country of significance on the world stage.

And, Samantha Edwards reports on the woes facing online daters in Canada; swiping endlessly without much to show for it is pushing people toward finding love IRL rather than in the apps.

If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for Great Reads and more than 20 other Globe newsletters on our newsletter sign-up page. If you have questions or feedback, drop us a line at greatreads@globeandmail.com.

Wasted space: the push to use public land to help solve Canada’s housing crisis

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In the debate over how to build more affordable housing, could development or re-development of federally-owned land offer a solution? Globe reporters Erin Anderssen, Chen Wang and Rachelle Younglai investigated, finding hundreds of examples of underused urban land owned by the federal government, including post offices, armouries with large parking lots, and low-rise office buildings with surrounding land to spare. Housing experts call this “lazy land.” In its spring budget, the federal government expressed interest in converting that land into housing, but admits it doesn’t have a full accounting of what opportunities exist. The Globe’s reporting offers the first survey of how much federally-owned lazy land exists in Canada – and it’s enough to house nearly 750,000 Canadians, it turns out.

D-Day was the moment that Canada became a country that mattered

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How can we honour the story of Canadians at D-Day, 80 years after soldiers stormed the beaches at Normandy alongside allied forces? Military historian Tim Cook unpacks that question, arguing that the successful high-stakes operation was the moment Canada arrived on the global scene as a country of consequence.

Single people are fed up with dating apps and returning to the real world to meet their match

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The online dating landscape is bleak. Experts say that apps like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge use secret algorithms to favour desirable, “attractive” users while those deemed average are being pushed to another queue. Meanwhile, services that used to be free with sign-up now come at a cost. Canadians looking for love report they’re doing a lot of work, paying the price and coming up with little return. As Samantha Edwards writes, some are turning to old-school methods to find their life partners: taking part in speed-dating meetups, singles mixers and joining clubs and social groups.

The pursuit of TikTok fame is pushing restaurants toward mediocrity

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Once upon a time, we used to rely on impartial critics for dining recommendations. Now, when hunting for their next restaurant to visit, people are turning to social media, searching TikTok for the latest spot or dish that’s gone viral. For some, the influencers’ picks can be more accessible than the guides and tastemakers that came before, writes Daniel Reale-Chin. But critics of this new trend say the desire to go viral has created a homogeneous dining experience with mediocre food.

In one juror’s trajectory, both the strength of the jury system and the fragility of the rule of law are exposed

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Donald Trump’s guilty verdict this week is a vindication of the jury system, writes Andrew Coyne. That a randomly selected group of ordinary people, relying on their own experiences, common sense and sense of morals would prove to be more dependable in bringing justice than a panel of experts is the core truth that underlies the system. “Had Mr. Trump’s case been put to a vote of the general public, I doubt the result would have been the same, even among those who took the trouble to follow the trial closely,” he adds. Read the full op-ed.

Danny Sahl and Dave Markle are Canadian caddies who carry more than clubs

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In the old days, caddies – the original Scottish word means “one who does odd jobs” – were just locally knowledgeable servants. But today, with golfers raking in millions and caddies taking a sizeable cut, the profession has become, well, more professional. For a pro golfer, a caddy is a teammate, an advisor, a psychologist and more. Ian Brown follows two caddies – Danny Sahl and Dave Markle – as they scope out the Hamilton Golf and Country Club ahead of the RBC Canadian Open.

Jessica B. Hill dreamed of the Stratford Festival stage. Now she’s its star

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Stratford actor and playwright Jessica B. Hill stars as Viola in Twelfth Night this season. J. Kelly Nestruck’s profile digs into her artistic background, detailing how she achieved her girlhood dream of acting on the Stratford stage and eventually penned her own scripts, which were performed last year in the Prairies. She sees live theatre as a means of connection between people. “It helps us see each other in each other,” Hill says.

Take our arts and culture quiz

The U.S. Justice Department is suing Live Nation. What are they accusing Ticketmaster’s parent company of?

a. Price fixing ticket prices

b. Running an illegal monopoly over live events in America

c. Underpaying artists their fair share of ticket profits

d. Covertly refusing to sell tickets to certain artists for political reasons