Newsstand: April 13, 2015

Prepare for an actual spring week this week—but read some news first: nearly 30 poultry farms are under quarantine, a look at the progress of the Places to Grow Act, and a map of Toronto-referencing poetry.

By Tannara Yelland • Illustration by Matthew Daley

As of Sunday, there are 29 Ontario poultry farms under quarantine based on an “avian influenza control zone” created by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The CFIA began investigating after the H5 avian flu was found on a turkey farm in Woodstock, Ontario earlier this month. According to the agency, the other farms under quarantine have only been placed there because of their proximity to the infected farm. Dr. Abed Harchaoui, a senior veterinarian with the CFIA, told reporters that “this decision was not made based on any increased risk, nor is there a food safety concern.” The farm in Woodstock saw 10,000 turkeys die of the disease, and the remaining 35,000 were “humanely euthanized” in order to stop the disease’s spread, according to Harchaoui. This strain of the avian flu rarely infects people who don’t have frequent contact with birds that are already infected.

It’s been 10 years since the progressive Places to Grow Act was passed, in an effort to cut down on urban sprawl and towering condos and to encourage both smart urban planning and an expanded area of jobs in southern Ontario. How close is Ontario to achieving the lofty goals it set out in that legislation? The Globe and Mail takes a look at that question by examining the impact of the law on Milton and Oshawa, two suburban areas intended to draw people in with both new jobs and dense housing.

The Toronto Public Library has released a map of the various parts of the city referenced in poetry, with links to the books in which each poem was published. Karen Mulhallen, one of the writers whose work is included in the map, told the Toronto Star that Toronto is “the best city in the world. I can’t imagine wanting to live anywhere else.”