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Weekend Newsstand: April 25, 2015
In the news today: Union gets a new concourse, transit deserts are contributing to economic inequality, and a change to a ruling on aboriginal healthcare rights.
Union station is about to see a large passenger area open on its west side on Monday. The York Concourse will be 50 per cent bigger than the existing Bay Concourse, and is meant to accommodate both anticipated GO commuters and an expected influx of riders. It’s part of the provincial government’s Regional Express Rail plan, which is what they’re calling their strategy to increase GO train service substantially to subsequently increase ridership in the coming decade. The concourse will be mirrored on the east end of Union eventually, and the two new concourses will triple the amount of space for riders at the station.
While Union is getting another luxe revamp, transit deserts are exacerbating inequality in what is already Canada’s most economically unequal city. Areas better served by transit are often populated by wealthier citizens who successfully lobby for further service improvements. Meanwhile, less-off residents in outer suburban areas often have to wait long stretches for the few buses that come by, and their commutes to work or even the grocery store usually rely on two or more bus rides, leaving them with far fewer options for work and economic success.
The case of a young aboriginal girl whose mother took her out of chemotherapy in favour of traditional medicine reached a new development yesterday when the judge issued a clarification to the earlier ruling. Ontario judge Gethin Edward ruled in November 2014 that the right to practise traditional medicine was paramount. Yesterday, the court clarified that while traditional medicine is a highly important right for aboriginal people, the rights of the child involved are also “paramount.” The lawyer for the family, Paul Williams, said that he thinks the clarification isn’t changing the original ruling so much as stopping it from being interpreted in an “absolutist” manner. “The right to use traditional medicine is part of the child’s best interests,” he said. “That was clarified, it wasn’t changed.”