How the concept of "the good life" could be worth $126B

Plus, GTA carjackings and a new name for Yonge-Dundas Square [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on a landmark broken treaty case, the rise in GTA carjackings and the renaming of Yonge-Dundas Square. DON’T MISS David Jackson For the Toronto Star Canada [How Canada’s broken treaty promise sparked a battle over “mino-bimaadiziwin” — the good life]( It seemed to “spring up out of nowhere” sometime in the early 1940s and then vanish, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg chief Duncan Michano said of Heron Bay South, a town built to house workers in the booming pulp industry. As a child, Michano would wander it in awe, noticing its running water, electricity, indoor plumbing and other comforts his own people did not have, Amy Dempsey reports. The non-Indigenous community there seemed to have everything necessary for “mino-bimaadiziwin,” which roughly translates to “the good life,” Michano thought. The concept is now a central issue in a landmark broken treaty promise case with up to $126 billion on the line. [Is a shift on the horizon?]( - Context: In 1850, the Anishinaabe signatories to the Robinson-Superior and Robinson-Huron Treaties surrendered their land to the Crown in exchange for a promise: that wealth generated from the resources would be shared with them. For 150 years, governments have failed to honour that agreement. - More: What the Anishinaabe people would call mino-bimaadiziwin is a principle guided by tradition, including the seven grandfather teachings: wisdom, honesty, truth, respect, humility, bravery and love. But Michano said it also means living comfortably, with the ability to reach one’s potential. “Not just surviving,” he said, “but thriving.” York Regional Police/Supplied Photo the kids aren’t all right [Why kids are at the centre of the carjacking crisis]( There’s been an epidemic-level spike in the most violent kinds of auto thefts in Toronto, Jason Miller reports, and police say that children are the perpetrators in the majority of cases where charges are laid. In fact, nearly two-third of the city’s carjacking-related arrests this year involved minors. By comparison, only one in five people charged in a carjacking last year was a young person, according to Toronto police statistics shared with the Star. [Here’s how youth violence is combining with “an easy payday” to create the new and alarming trend](. - By the numbers: There have been 11,478 auto thefts this year. Carjacking arrests show young people are taking on some of the riskiest jobs. - Go deeper: Marcell Wilson, a former street gang member and co-founder of the non-profit One By One Movement, says there are telltale signs today’s young people are “a lot more desperate.” In his early years in a gang as a teen, “we didn’t do the carjacking thing.” R.J. Johnston/The Star gta [Goodbye Yonge-Dundas, hello Sankofa Square]( As part of Toronto’s repudiation of Henry Dundas, an 18th century Scottish parliamentarian implicated in Britain's slave trade to the Caribbean, the city has passed a motion to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to “Sankofa Square,” David Rider reports. The name was the unanimous choice from a four-name shortlist by a city renaming advisory committee. “The concept of Sankofa, originating in Ghana, refers to the act of reflecting on and reclaiming teachings from the past which enables us to move forward together,” a city staff report states. [Here’s what we know about Dundas’ legacy](. - Go deeper: The West African symbol of Sankofa is a bird looking behind itself to see where it has come from, signifying that “the search for new answers can only succeed if we carefully dissect and understand what has failed us in the years before," according to an academic essay published by the University of Toronto discussing Black/African diasporic education. [Here’s what else we know about the meaning](. - Meanwhile: A plan to rename all of Dundas Street appears to be off the table, but council has asked the TTC board to look at renaming two subway stations. WHAT ELSE Hungry, thirsty and humiliated: [How Israel's mass arrest campaign is sowing fear in northern Gaza](. [Liberal MPs want to quiz university presidents]( about calls for Jewish genocide and the elimination of Israel. [The murder of Toronto rapper Houdini showed “complete disregard for human life,”]( a court heard at the killer’s sentencing. A Toronto-based developer that vowed to buy up $1 billion in single-family homes [plans to add 10,000 more houses to its portfolio](. The trucker who caused the Humboldt Broncos crash is one step closer to deportation. [His remorse wasn’t enough to convince federal court he deserves reprieve](. [Toronto police used “carding” far more than other forces, stopping Black people three times as often as white residents]( a human rights report finds. [Forget inflation. “Disinflation” is underway]( with falling prices on everything from cars to airfares, David Olive writes. Is it closing time for the Beer Store? [Corner store sales could crush the one-time Ontario monopoly](. Taylor Swift just pledged $13,000 to the Star's Santa Claus Fund. [Now I'm calling on other celebs to follow suit, Vinay Menon writes](. [Timothée Chalamet showed his sweet side to his Toronto fans]( at the “Wonka” premiere at Yorkdale. POV Armando Franca/AP File photo [Long COVID is a life under house arrest, Heather Mallick writes.]( CLOSE-UP David Ramos/Getty Images PORTUGAL: A surfer rides a wave during a big waves surfing session on Tuesday in Nazare. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_205510). Andrew will see you back here tomorrow. HOLIDAY SALE Now only $39.99 for 1 year [Get This Offer]( 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](