Next Gen Insider

Morgan Sharp reports from Toronto on the city's young population and their civic engagement and impact on the local institutions that make democracy function.

Canada's National Observer is a proud participant of the Local Journalism Initiative, which supports the creation of original civic journalism that covers the diverse needs of underserved communities across Canada.

531 Articles

Toronto Public Health issues warning over back-to-school class sizes

Toronto Public Health adds its voice to a growing chorus of concern about back-to-school plans in a letter to the Toronto District School Board over class sizes and the inability to physically distance adequately.

Morgan Sharp

August 7th 2020

Ontario tribunal says almost 6,000 eviction requests received since COVID-19 shutdown

While the pace of applications slowed during a moratorium on evictions, the backlog of cases at the Landlord and Tenant Board grew while it only heard urgent cases.

Morgan Sharp

August 7th 2020

‘I feel like I’m getting sent back to die,’ student says as NDP calls for Doug Ford to scrap back-to-school plan

Questions about the adequacy of Ontario’s back-to-school plans keep following Premier Doug Ford around while he insists he and his government will do “everything we can” to keep children safe from COVID-19.

Morgan Sharp

August 6th 2020

Thousands of tenants at risk as court rejects interim stay on Ontario evictions

A legal effort to pause the reopening of a tribunal that handles eviction cases has failed to win a temporary halt, leaving thousands of tenants at risk of being kicked out of their homes while the COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant health risk.

Morgan Sharp

August 5th 2020

Ontario NDP appeals for extension as end of eviction ban looms

When the Ford government lifted Ontario’s state of emergency earlier this month, it set in motion the countdown to a wave of evictions that could start filtering through (and outside) the adjudicative system starting on Saturday.

Morgan Sharp

July 31st 2020

Black tech network pairs company execs with up-and-coming talent

A network focused on advancing the careers of Black technology workers is connecting promising young professionals to mentors at major Canadian companies.

Morgan Sharp

July 30th 2020

Ontario's $300 million back-to-school plan fails to impress critics

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government has kicked in much less money than what rival politicians, unions and the province’s largest school board say is needed to ensure the safe return of students to classrooms.

Morgan Sharp

July 30th 2020

Toronto’s Catholic schools struggle with racism, students of colour say

Black and Indigenous students attending Catholic schools in Toronto say they have been routinely mistreated and that complaints rarely lead to constructive action.

Morgan Sharp

July 28th 2020

Ontario Liberals say $3.2B needed to reopen schools safely

The provincial Liberals put a dollar figure on the plan they’d roll out to get children back in school safely come September, as educators, parents and administrators wait to see what the education ministry hands out.

Morgan Sharp

July 27th 2020

Ford government says Ontario school reopening details coming next week

The Ford government said it would spend $500 million this year on building new schools and upgrading existing ones on Thursday, while promising more details on the plans, protocols and investments it will make for September’s back-to-school next week.

Morgan Sharp

July 23rd 2020

Too young to vote but not too young to make Canada 'best place in the world'

“When a child tells you what they’ve seen in their community or what they know to be true, that is such a powerful and important tool in achieving change in these fields,” Wolfli told National Observer this week.

Morgan Sharp

July 23rd 2020

The state of autism services funding in Ontario

Taking a closer look at some of the numbers Ontario's Financial Accountability Office crunched in its report on the state of autism services funding in Ontario.

Morgan Sharp

July 21st 2020

Ontario budget watchdog says Ford government’s autism plan falls short

The province’s wait list for young people with autism to access services will not shrink significantly unless the government either spends much more or cuts the level of service it provides, a watchdog warns.

Morgan Sharp

July 21st 2020

Ryerson releases racism review, pledges fixes

Toronto’s Ryerson University released a review of racism experienced by its Black students and faculty and vowed to implement fixes on Friday, giving a former student union executive a "glimmer of hope" the move is more than a performance.

Morgan Sharp

July 17th 2020

So many unanswered questions in Ontario's back-to-school plan

The question of how to deal with education sits at the centre of the province’s reopening dilemma, since anything less than a full return to classes makes it difficult for working parents who have for months been juggling both the working and the parenting.

Morgan Sharp

July 17th 2020