Star Investigations
Kevin Donovan
Federal politicians and public servants are blowing the bank on travel – taking a multitude of trips at high-class prices to London, Paris, Geneva, Sydney and various North American destinations.
RCMP-themed toys recalled after Star probe
David Bruser
Prompted by a Toronto Star investigation, the federal government is recalling millions of RCMP-themed toys because they contain dangerously high levels of lead and pose a choking hazard to children.
David Bruser
Prompted by a Toronto Star investigation, the federal government is recalling millions of RCMP-themed toys because they contain dangerously high levels of lead and pose a choking hazard to children.
Meat safety crackdown
Robert Cribb
The federal government is about to unveil tough new listeria testing rules in food plants across the country, the Toronto Star and CBC have learned.
Robert Cribb
The federal government is about to unveil tough new listeria testing rules in food plants across the country, the Toronto Star and CBC have learned.
Toxic toys, jewellery recalled
David Bruser
Health Canada has ordered thousands of toys and costume jewellery items off store shelves after a Star investigation found they contained high levels of lead.
David Bruser
Health Canada has ordered thousands of toys and costume jewellery items off store shelves after a Star investigation found they contained high levels of lead.
Listeria agony described
Robert Cribb
In the end, Frances Clark's unfocused gaze never moved as she desperately gasped for air.
Robert Cribb
In the end, Frances Clark's unfocused gaze never moved as she desperately gasped for air.
Listeria found in nursing homes, hospitals
Robert Cribb
Two-thirds of Maple Leaf meat samples collected from Toronto hospitals and nursing homes tested positive for a virulent strain of listeria just before the recall, according to confidential data obtained by the ...
Robert Cribb
Two-thirds of Maple Leaf meat samples collected from Toronto hospitals and nursing homes tested positive for a virulent strain of listeria just before the recall, according to confidential data obtained by the ...
Tests find toxic toys in stores across GTA
David Bruser
Young children in the Greater Toronto Area are being sold toys, knick-knacks and glittering jewellery laced with dangerously high levels of lead.
David Bruser
Young children in the Greater Toronto Area are being sold toys, knick-knacks and glittering jewellery laced with dangerously high levels of lead.
Crime and Punishment
Exclusive videos, interactive graphics and a searchable database examine who Toronto's criminals are, who we think they are and what it costs to keep them behind bars.
Exclusive videos, interactive graphics and a searchable database examine who Toronto's criminals are, who we think they are and what it costs to keep them behind bars.
Food alarms rang in '05
Robert Cribb
Serious problems in Canada's food recall system were identified three years ago, a Toronto Star/CBC investigation has found.
Robert Cribb
Serious problems in Canada's food recall system were identified three years ago, a Toronto Star/CBC investigation has found.
Firms with worker deaths to lose rebates
David Bruser
Companies where a worker is killed on the job will no longer be eligible for cash rebates from the provincial workplace insurance program.
David Bruser
Companies where a worker is killed on the job will no longer be eligible for cash rebates from the provincial workplace insurance program.
Nanny sent to work as underpaid servant
Dale Brazao
Catherine Manuel came to Canada as a live-in nanny to care for 8-year-old Brent of Toronto.
Dale Brazao
Catherine Manuel came to Canada as a live-in nanny to care for 8-year-old Brent of Toronto.
Confidence in SIU has eroded
Robyn Doolittle
Joanna Smith
Twenty-two individuals have been fatally shot by police in Ontario over the past five years. Many of their families feel robbed of an explanation by the Special Investigations Unit, the only agency that could give them answers.
Robyn Doolittle
Joanna Smith
Twenty-two individuals have been fatally shot by police in Ontario over the past five years. Many of their families feel robbed of an explanation by the Special Investigations Unit, the only agency that could give them answers.
Lease-to-own housing plan leaves renters cold
Brett Popplewell
Michelle Smith and Andrew Bryan had already signed away their life savings in a Tim Hortons parking lot when they learned they were being evicted from the very home they thought they had been buying.
Brett Popplewell
Michelle Smith and Andrew Bryan had already signed away their life savings in a Tim Hortons parking lot when they learned they were being evicted from the very home they thought they had been buying.
Exploited workers Canada's 'slave trade'
Dale Brazao
It's an all too-common situation – foreign workers brought to Canada under false pretences and exploited. Federal officials call it the "modern-day slave trade" and warn of "People for ...
Dale Brazao
It's an all too-common situation – foreign workers brought to Canada under false pretences and exploited. Federal officials call it the "modern-day slave trade" and warn of "People for ...
Tuxedo Limousines faces more complaints
Brett Popplewell
dale brazao
Honeymooners and executives have joined high school students from Whitby to London complaining they were taken for a ride by a limousine company that police forces across southern Ontario are investigating.
Brett Popplewell
dale brazao
Honeymooners and executives have joined high school students from Whitby to London complaining they were taken for a ride by a limousine company that police forces across southern Ontario are investigating.
Grads left in lurch at prom
Brett Popplewell
Fraud investigators with Peel Regional Police are probing allegations from high school students in the Greater Toronto Area claiming to have been scammed by a limousine company on their prom night.
Brett Popplewell
Fraud investigators with Peel Regional Police are probing allegations from high school students in the Greater Toronto Area claiming to have been scammed by a limousine company on their prom night.
Is sewage fertilizer safe?
Carola Vyhnak
Reporter Carola Vyhnak looks at the growing concern over the 'stew' of chemicals spread on farmland in her four-part series Soiled Land.
Carola Vyhnak
Reporter Carola Vyhnak looks at the growing concern over the 'stew' of chemicals spread on farmland in her four-part series Soiled Land.
Hiding injuries rewards companies
David Bruser
The provincial government's highly touted campaign to improve workplace safety is rewarding companies for hiding injuries and rushing the wounded back to work.
David Bruser
The provincial government's highly touted campaign to improve workplace safety is rewarding companies for hiding injuries and rushing the wounded back to work.
Charities being held to account
Kevin Donovan
A total of 120 charities have signed a new code of ethics that promises donors honesty and more bang for their buck.
Kevin Donovan
A total of 120 charities have signed a new code of ethics that promises donors honesty and more bang for their buck.
Taxpayers pick up Tory tab
Kevin Donovan
The federal Conservatives – elected on promises to be squeaky clean – are using government resources to help fill their election war chest.
Kevin Donovan
The federal Conservatives – elected on promises to be squeaky clean – are using government resources to help fill their election war chest.
Bernier's $22,573 airfare
Kevin Donovan
Conservative cabinet minister Maxime Bernier has a taste for expensive travel, government records show.
Kevin Donovan
Conservative cabinet minister Maxime Bernier has a taste for expensive travel, government records show.
When companies get rewarded for mistakes
David Bruser
Moira Welsh
Flaw in worksite safety system allows big rebates even when a death occurs.
David Bruser
Moira Welsh
Flaw in worksite safety system allows big rebates even when a death occurs.
Medical isotope power struggle
Peter Calamai
The nuclear reactor that produces vital medical isotopes for Canada and the world was shut down in late November largely because of a legacy of mistrust and power struggles between the operator and the regulator.
Peter Calamai
The nuclear reactor that produces vital medical isotopes for Canada and the world was shut down in late November largely because of a legacy of mistrust and power struggles between the operator and the regulator.
Board shields unsafe job sites
Moira Welsh
Workplace safety rules allow companies to keep spotless ratings even if poorly trained temps are injured or killed.
Moira Welsh
Workplace safety rules allow companies to keep spotless ratings even if poorly trained temps are injured or killed.
TTC drivers in crisis
David Bruser
Tess Kalinowski
Nearly 200 TTC bus, streetcar and subway operators are suffering from severe stress usually associated with survivors of combat, natural disasters and rape.
David Bruser
Tess Kalinowski
Nearly 200 TTC bus, streetcar and subway operators are suffering from severe stress usually associated with survivors of combat, natural disasters and rape.
Charity rules beefed up
Kevin Donovan
Canada's charity regulator has launched an aggressive crackdown on the abuse of donor dollars after years of inaction.
Kevin Donovan
Canada's charity regulator has launched an aggressive crackdown on the abuse of donor dollars after years of inaction.
Heart-stroke charity builds huge war chest
Kevin Donovan
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario has a whopping $130 million war chest of donor dollars saved up over many years.
Kevin Donovan
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario has a whopping $130 million war chest of donor dollars saved up over many years.
Give and Take: Charitable empire has high costs
David Bruser
Expenses eat up 70 per cent of the millions donated to charities created by Craig Copland, a Star investigation finds.
David Bruser
Expenses eat up 70 per cent of the millions donated to charities created by Craig Copland, a Star investigation finds.
A Matter of Interest (2004)
Nicole MacIntyre and Jim Rankin
This article originally appeared in the Toronto Star June 19, 2004
Nicole MacIntyre and Jim Rankin
This article originally appeared in the Toronto Star June 19, 2004
CUPE fights private daycare
Robert Cribb
Dale Brazao
Child care advocates are mobilizing across Canada to fight big-box daycare saying they fear the arrival of "Fast Eddy" Groves' company will raise fees and lower quality in this country.
Robert Cribb
Dale Brazao
Child care advocates are mobilizing across Canada to fight big-box daycare saying they fear the arrival of "Fast Eddy" Groves' company will raise fees and lower quality in this country.
Charities launch self-policing code
Kevin Donovan
Canadian charity leaders have launched an ethical code they hope will give good charities standards to follow and eventually weed out some of the bad apples.
Kevin Donovan
Canadian charity leaders have launched an ethical code they hope will give good charities standards to follow and eventually weed out some of the bad apples.
MADD charity mends its ways
Kevin Donovan
MADD Canada was wrong to count tens of millions of dollars in fundraising expenses – including telemarketing and letters asking for cash – as charity and has stopped the practice, the group's board of directors said.
Kevin Donovan
MADD Canada was wrong to count tens of millions of dollars in fundraising expenses – including telemarketing and letters asking for cash – as charity and has stopped the practice, the group's board of directors said.
Give and Take: $1.4B tax scams nail donors
Kevin Donovan
Canada's coffers have been cheated of more than $1.4 billion by scams that provided taxpayers with inflated charitable receipts they used to reduce their income tax.
Kevin Donovan
Canada's coffers have been cheated of more than $1.4 billion by scams that provided taxpayers with inflated charitable receipts they used to reduce their income tax.
Charity's ploy 'horrifying'
David Bruser
Tens of thousands of Canadians moved by an emotional pitch have pledged their hard-earned money - not to saving lives, but to paying for telemarketers and office supplies.
David Bruser
Tens of thousands of Canadians moved by an emotional pitch have pledged their hard-earned money - not to saving lives, but to paying for telemarketers and office supplies.
Elder care promise faltering
Moira Welsh
Three years after Health Minister George Smitherman promised a "revolution" in Ontario nursing homes, there remains no guarantee of better day-to-day care for the province's most vulnerable elderly.
Moira Welsh
Three years after Health Minister George Smitherman promised a "revolution" in Ontario nursing homes, there remains no guarantee of better day-to-day care for the province's most vulnerable elderly.
Dozens of lives ruined after answering job ad
Rita Daly
When Douglas Adams walked out of the offices of Countrywide Maintenance Systems Inc., he thought he had a cleaning job and a ticket to a stable future.
Rita Daly
When Douglas Adams walked out of the offices of Countrywide Maintenance Systems Inc., he thought he had a cleaning job and a ticket to a stable future.
Give and Take: Charities admit mess
Kevin Donovan
Two prominent Canadian charities – Sick Kids Foundation and World Vision Canada – have admitted to using a discredited fundraising technique and are moving swiftly to clean up their act.
Kevin Donovan
Two prominent Canadian charities – Sick Kids Foundation and World Vision Canada – have admitted to using a discredited fundraising technique and are moving swiftly to clean up their act.
Lost in migration
Nicholas Keung and Jim Rankin
People who hope to call Canada home often seek advice from immigration consultants. But incompetent or unscrupulous consultants can destroy those dreams. Three years after self-regulation, the lucrative industry has failed to purge itself ...
Nicholas Keung and Jim Rankin
People who hope to call Canada home often seek advice from immigration consultants. But incompetent or unscrupulous consultants can destroy those dreams. Three years after self-regulation, the lucrative industry has failed to purge itself ...
Dirty little secrets: Abuse in daycares
Robert Cribb
Dale Brazao
Children in provincially licensed daycares have been hit, kicked, allowed to play in filthy conditions and fed allergy-triggering food that nearly claimed their lives, a Star investigation has found.
Robert Cribb
Dale Brazao
Children in provincially licensed daycares have been hit, kicked, allowed to play in filthy conditions and fed allergy-triggering food that nearly claimed their lives, a Star investigation has found.
The schools project: A tale of two schools
David Bruser
A Toronto Star investigation began with the question: Why are provincial test scores consistently rising at one school and plummeting at another? What emerged is a tale of two schools.
David Bruser
A Toronto Star investigation began with the question: Why are provincial test scores consistently rising at one school and plummeting at another? What emerged is a tale of two schools.
Give and Take: Charity scams bust public trust
Kevin Donovan
The federal government has consistently failed to protect the public from fraudulent and misleading charities, a Star investigation shows.
Kevin Donovan
The federal government has consistently failed to protect the public from fraudulent and misleading charities, a Star investigation shows.
Medical Secrets: Patients win right to know
Rob Cribb
Tanya Talaga
For the first time, Ontario patients will be able to easily discover if a doctor has been found guilty of medical malpractice, has a criminal conviction and why or what limits have been put on a physician's licence.
Rob Cribb
Tanya Talaga
For the first time, Ontario patients will be able to easily discover if a doctor has been found guilty of medical malpractice, has a criminal conviction and why or what limits have been put on a physician's licence.
Give and Take: Parish entangled in tax dodge
Kevin Donovan
A small Greek Orthodox church in Toronto has been hijacked by a fundraising company that used the church's good name to issue $273 million in apparently phoney charitable tax receipts over the past five years.
Kevin Donovan
A small Greek Orthodox church in Toronto has been hijacked by a fundraising company that used the church's good name to issue $273 million in apparently phoney charitable tax receipts over the past five years.
Road Unworthy: Driving schools break rules
Jessica Leeder and Robert Cribb
The rules of the road are being taught by dozens of driving instructors in Ontario who routinely break the rules themselves, according to a Star investigation. Jessica Leeder and Robert Cribb ...
Jessica Leeder and Robert Cribb
The rules of the road are being taught by dozens of driving instructors in Ontario who routinely break the rules themselves, according to a Star investigation. Jessica Leeder and Robert Cribb ...
Collision course: Danger in the skies
Robert Cribb,
Fred Vallance-Jones
The Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator and The Record of Waterloo Region teamed up over five months in 2006 to investigate the aviation industry. What they found was a safety system straining at the seams. The series ...
Robert Cribb,
Fred Vallance-Jones
The Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator and The Record of Waterloo Region teamed up over five months in 2006 to investigate the aviation industry. What they found was a safety system straining at the seams. The series ...
War on Poverty
A continuing series on the issues facing the poor in the GTA and across Canada - and the attempts by some to make things better.
The Environment
Our Environment page has more environment news, video and interactive graphics, along with our Arctic in Peril and Live Green special reports and climate change links.
New Deal for Cities
For years, municipal politicians, activists and business leaders have called for a "new deal" to fund cities. Is any progress being made? Stories, links and background info on our special page.
Star Investigations
