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When Ontario Premier Doug Ford made a plea in January, urging L6P residents to “ghare raho” – stay home in Punjabi, the community’s dominant mother tongue after English – few had the luxury of heeding that appeal. Instead, many of them have wound up at the local COVID-19 assessment centre, at Brampton Civic Hospital’s ICU or at the local morgue.
In L6P, 89 per cent of residents are racialized and 66 per cent are South Asian. The median household income is $102,070. That’s about 45-per-cent higher than the national average. But that’s only because in many households, several workers are pooling their earnings. The median individual income is just $26,139.
The sacrifices L6P residents have made to keep so many other Canadians relatively safe from the pandemic have largely been invisible. Most of the workplace spread at factories, warehouses and construction sites has not been made public. What’s more, only three out of five people who get COVID-19 in Peel shared information about their jobs with public health.
Behind the story: Why The Globe asked this Brampton community to share its COVID-19 stories
We’ve translated the piece into several languages: हिन्दी•ਪੰਜਾਬੀ•اردو•ગુજરાતી
‘As I write, our house is in mourning’: Brampton journalist Gundeep Singh writes on life with COVID-19
When 2020 knocked on our doors, we had so many plans – long lists of New Year’s resolutions, new commitments, new responsibilities. Who knew that it would bring along an uninvited guest that would take over our lives?
A sign on Steeles Ave. West welcoming visitors to Brampton, Ont., is photographed on May 17, 2021. Fred Lum/The Globe and MailFred Lum/The Globe and Mail
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Israel, Hamas agree to ceasefire
Developing story: The world continues to watch for signs of whether the ceasefire Israel and Hamas have agreed to on Thursday will hold after 11 days into their latest conflict.
Pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden had been slowly building on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who confirmed that a “mutual and unconditional” ceasefire would begin early on Friday.
Konrad Yakabuski: Biden puts U.S. policy toward Israel on an unpredictable path
Porter in talks with Pearson, other airports for passenger-jet service
Though preliminary, the conversations with airports in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener and London mark a shift in strategy for the carrier that has long been blocked from flying jets at its base on the Toronto Islands.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Ottawa’s effort to help Hong Kongers draws significant interest: The program has received more than 5,700 applications in its first three months. That’s roughly triple the number that usually apply in a full year.
Vast majority of Shaw shareholders a ‘yea’ for Rogers takeover: There hasn’t been much pushback from the Western Canadian telecom’s largest investors. Plus, a large premium is being offered to its shareholders.
No target date yet for easing pandemic travel restrictions: Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the government isn’t quite ready to commit to any benchmarks for vaccination rates.
China and U.S. spar over naval activity: Beijing accused the U.S. of aggravating security risks in the region, calling manoeuvres by the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet “unprofessional and irresponsible.”
MORNING MARKETS
Global stocks steady: World stocks steadied on Friday after a volatile week, taking their lead from a stronger Wall Street as U.S. data tempered inflation fears, while the U.S. dollar approached three-month lows on reduced bets of early Federal Reserve rate hikes. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.30 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.11 per cent and 0.31 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.78 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended up 0.03 per cent. New York futures were positive. The Canadian dollar was trading at 82.95 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Metro Vancouver’s gang-violence problem is spiralling out of control
Gary Mason: “The many police agencies across Metro Vancouver are trying to put the best spin they can on it all: the public is safe; they’re on to the bad guys; it’s just a cycle that gang violence goes through. Wash, rinse, repeat.”
Takeover battle will force railways to scrap their old route maps
Andrew Willis: “There are three likely scenarios – or three maps – that capture how the battle will end. One of those maps doesn’t include CP.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Pandemic-stressed city dwellers find solace in hiking
Nearly every weekend, the couple and their dog have ventured out to visit trails, park systems and conservation areas close to home. They’ve gone on more than 20 hikes to date and hope to venture further north this summer as time and pandemic restrictions allow.
MOMENT IN TIME: May 21, 1932
Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
Noted Aviatrix Amelia Earhart, is shown standing beside the red and gold monoplane that she brought down to become the first women to ever complete a solo flight across the Atlantic, May 21, 1932, Londonderry, Ireland. (AP Photo)The Associated Press
“I did not understand it at the time,” Amelia Earhart noted,” but I believe that little red airplane said something to me as it swished by.” Her passion for aviation was ignited in Toronto, where she was a nurse’s aide from 1917-19, caring for soldiers wounded in the First World War and then those hit by the Spanish flu pandemic. The tomboy, who once kept clippings of women who succeeded in men’s fields, got her pilot’s licence and became the first woman to be flown across the Atlantic Ocean. Determined to be more than a daring passenger, Earhart boarded her Lockheed Vega 5B in Harbour Grace, Nfld., for her next feat (five years to the day after Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic). She flew through sunset and then the rising moon before encountering a severe storm. The plane’s exhaust manifold broke, and flames shot from the vent as ice developed on the wings. Unable to reach Paris, she landed in a cow pasture near Derry in Northern Ireland after a record-breaking 14 hours and 56 minutes. She emerged one of the most famous women in the world, and went on to win more accolades and break more records in her short life. Alison Gzowski
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