We just wrapped our sports issue at @thelocal.to with this excellent profile of one of Canada's best wheelchair rugby players. This story avoids all the clichés you've heard about para athletes and instead presents you with a complex image of a young man at a crossroads—don't miss it.

Wency Leung@wencyleung.bsky.social · last mo.

Old dog (me) tries new trick (sports writing!!!😱) Big love to @royinori.bsky.social for all the thought and care she put into editing this story. thelocal.to/wheelchair-r...

“He has to keep winning, keep winning, keep winning.” Team Canada's youngest wheelchair rugby player is driven by a need to dominate. It's also what seems to bring him the most grief, writes @wencyleung.bsky.social in the final story from our sports issue: thelocal.to/wheelchair-r...

Wheelchair Athlete Rio Kanda Kovac Wants to Win | The Local

His thirst for victory has gotten Team Canada's youngest player this far in wheelchair rugby. But in this fast-paced, aggressive, yet remarkably inclusive sport, getting ahead also means learning to p...

thelocal.to

Fuelled by waves of South Asian immigration, cricket has become one of Canada's fastest-growing sports, writes Vikram Nijhawan. But overcrowded fields, failing businesses, and allegations of corruption are threatening the game from within. thelocal.to/cricket-popu...

Cricket in the GTA Is Booming. Now Comes the Hard Part. } The Local

Fuelled by waves of South Asian immigration, cricket has become one of Canada's fastest-growing sports. But overcrowded fields, failing businesses, and allegations of corruption are threatening the ga...

thelocal.to

Womens sports are booming in Canada right now. But without female coaches at the helm, a generation of young athletes may miss out on the opportunity to learn a new way to play, writes @curiouslana.bsky.social. New from our sports issue: thelocal.to/womens-sport...

Where Are All the Female Coaches? | The Local

Canada is in a moment of unprecedented expansion in women’s sports. But structural barriers and unclear pathways into coaching mean that women are being deprived of opportunities to lead the next gene...

thelocal.to

I wrote about my beloved baseball Maple Leafs signing Yasiel Puig. thelocal.to/yasiel-puig-...

Yasiel Puig at Christie Pits | The Local

A free Maple Leafs baseball game at my local playground has long been the best community event in the city. Then the team signed a former Major League Baseball star awaiting sentencing.

thelocal.to

Trans-inclusive health care is already hard to find in Ontario. Now, growing anti-trans rhetoric is making physicians more hesitant to get trained in gender-affirming care, experts tell @ziyajones.bsky.social. A new feature published in partnership with @script.health: thelocal.to/trans-health...

The New Chill Facing Trans Health Care Providers | The Local

As anti-trans rhetoric intensifies at home and abroad, the organizations providing training in trans-inclusive healthcare say they’re seeing less uptake from physicians across Ontario.

thelocal.to

Kids aren’t moving or playing enough. Part of the problem, argues Rachel Giese, is the rise of the massive competitive youth sports industry. thelocal.to/youth-sports...

Kids Aren’t Active Enough. Youth Sports Are Part of the Problem. | The Local

As competitive, specialized athletics dominate gyms and community fields, the children who need physical activity most are the ones being left out.

thelocal.to

Making it pro as a soccer referee in Canada is in many ways harder than making it pro as a player, writes Sam Rosati Martin. That doesn’t stop this corps of ambitious, self-serious officials from trying. thelocal.to/soccer-refer...

The Grand Ambitions and Grubby Indignities of the Aspiring Soccer Referee | The Local

Making it pro as a referee in Canada is in many ways harder than making it pro as a player. That doesn’t stop this corps of exacting, self-serious officials from trying.

thelocal.to

Wait, how much are we spending on reusable cups? @michaeldeforge.bsky.social and @wencyleung.bsky.social make sense of the costs and payoffs of hosting the World Cup in seven illustrations. thelocal.to/fifa-world-c...

An Illustrated Guide to the FIFA World Cup in Toronto | The Local

How many private jets could this pay for? Seven illustrations to make sense of the costs and payoffs of hosting the World Cup.

thelocal.to

Today we launch our latest issue, “Sports and the City.” The World Cup is a reminder of the massive influence sports can have over a place like Toronto—reshaping our geography, sparking celebration or mourning, and remaking our experience of the city. thelocal.to/summer-2026/

Sports and the City | The Local

How we play sports is tied to policy and politics, culture and business. As the larger-than-life FIFA World Cup kicks off in Toronto, we look at sports from the ground, from minor-league baseball to c...

thelocal.to

“It feels hyperbolic, it feels morbid, but I'm very concerned that my day-to-day life is gonna require stepping over dead bodies.” Don't miss @emmapaling.bsky.social's stunning feature on the impending closure of Moss Park's safe consumption site, your Sunday #longread. thelocal.to/moss-park-sa...

The Long Last Days of Toronto’s First Safe Consumption Site | The Local

Nick says he’ll go back to Manitoulin. Texas can’t even think about the closure. Inside Moss Park in the final days of a nine-year era of safe consumption.

thelocal.to

I've been thinking of The Local's sports issue as 'sports from the margins'—every Toronto sports story you won't have heard about during FIFA, but ought to know. The issue just wrapped this week. If you missed it, now's your chance to take a look: thelocal.to/summer-2026/

Sports and the City | The Local

How we play sports is tied to policy and politics, culture and business. As the larger-than-life FIFA World Cup kicks off in Toronto, we look at sports from the ground, from minor-league baseball to c...

thelocal.to

I'm so happy to share that my 2025 feature on Ontario's worm industry won gold at the Canadian Association of Journalists awards and silver at the National Magazine Awards! What an honour. Thanks to the judges, my sources, the worms, and my wonderful team for allowing me to pursue this wacky story.

The Local Magazine@thelocal.to · 2mo ago

Last week The Local took home six national journalism awards. Congrats to the team, and thanks to the readers and supporters who make this work possible! 🎉 thelocal.to/the-local-wi...

Impressive new series on the lack of oversight and resource shortages plaguing Ontario’s long-term care system, meticulously reported by @royinori.bsky.social in @thelocal.to

Inspecting Long-Term Care | The Local

Five years after a pandemic that revealed the disastrous conditions in Ontario’s long-term care homes, we investigate the state of oversight in the sector. Rolling out over the next two weeks, our “In...

thelocal.to

Last night, our Wild Wild City issue won Best Editorial Package at the National Magazine Awards! @nickhunebrown.bsky.social also won gold for his story from the issue, Breakdown at the Racetrack, and @royinori.bsky.social silver for hers, The Worm Hunters of Southern Ontario. Congratulations! 🎉

National Media Awards Foundation@canadamediaawards.bsky.social · 2mo ago

📦 The 49th National Magazine Awards — Editorial Package: Gold: "Wild Wild City," @thelocal.to Silver: Brave New Year," @torontolifemag.bsky.social #NMA26

So much great work to celebrate from last night's NMAs... Big love to the whole team @cangeo.bsky.social for awards in feature writing and photo essays!! And huge congrats to pals including @nickhunebrown.bsky.social, @royinori.bsky.social, @arnokopecky.bsky.social, and @patkanephoto.bsky.social!

2026 Winners

We are pleased to reveal the Canadian creators who won Gold and Silver medals at this year’s National Magazine Awards. The gala was held at Arcadian Court in Toronto on June 5, 2026, and was co-hos…

magazine-awards.com

Congratulations @royinori.bsky.social! 🎉

Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ)@cajournalists.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🏆🏅Congrats to @royinori.bsky.social of @thelocal.to for winning the Gold Community Written Feature Award https://loom.ly/gLO9bKQ 🏆🏅Félicitations à Inori Roy pour avoir gagné le Prix or pour Reportage écrite communautaire

@thelocal.to's first audio story! Listent to the great @royinori.bsky.social read this powerful piece.

The Local Magazine@thelocal.to · 2mo ago

If you don't have time to settle in with a magazine feature, this one's for you. The Local is trying something new: our latest story includes an audio version by author @royinori.bsky.social, produced by Gabby McMann and @chloeellingson.bsky.social. Give it a listen! thelocal.to/ontario-long...

He Complained About His Mother’s Care. The Long-Term Care Home Restricted Him From Seeing Her. Five years after Ontario banned the practice, families still being punishment for complaining about inadequate care, by @royinori.bsky.social thelocal.to/ontario-long... via @thelocal.to

He Complained About His Mother’s Care. The Home Restricted Him From Seeing Her | The Local

Five years after Queen’s Park unanimously voted to end the practice, families say they’re still being kept from their loved ones as punishment for complaining about care—with no clear legal recourse.

thelocal.to

If you've ever wished you had more time to read our work at The Local, we've now made it easier for you, debuting a new audio version of our latest story today - with ✨ no AI! ✨ Just hours of hard work from our team and me getting slightly dizzy staring at thousands of words on the page!

The Local Magazine@thelocal.to · 2mo ago

If you don't have time to settle in with a magazine feature, this one's for you. The Local is trying something new: our latest story includes an audio version by author @royinori.bsky.social, produced by Gabby McMann and @chloeellingson.bsky.social. Give it a listen! thelocal.to/ontario-long...

This story is the kind of work that made me want to become a journalist - to be able to bring to light an intimate, human story, something that few know about but that may in time affect all of us. I'm very grateful to my sources in this piece, who made room for me in the midst of their grief:

The Local Magazine@thelocal.to · 2mo ago

Ontario's long-term care homes can ban families from visiting their loved ones. Families say they’re using that power to silence complaints, including in the face of serious negligence by the home. New investigation by @royinori.bsky.social in our long-term care issue. thelocal.to/ontario-long...

My latest, for the weekend crowd:

The Local Magazine@thelocal.to · 3mo ago

Looking for a weekend #longread? After the pandemic revealed the appalling conditions in Ontario long-term care homes, the province promised greater accountability and oversight of senior care. Our latest investigation shows they've failed to meet those promises:

At a time when governments are withholding data and information at every level, building an algorithm to scrape data from 17,500+ documents—with no AI—is an unparalleled skill. It's something not a lot of journalists in Canada can do. A privilege to team up with Xavi for a project of this scale!

Xavi Richer Vis@xavierrichervis.bsky.social · 3mo ago

After the pandemic, Ontario promised annual proactive inspections in every LTC home. Our investigation found that in 2025, the province inspected only a little over a third of them. New with @royinori.bsky.social for the @thelocal.to: thelocal.to/ontario-long...

@royinori.bsky.social started talking about this incredibly ambitious project months and months ago. Today, @thelocal.to is launching its Inspecting Long-Term Care issue, which she single-handedly wrote. It is phenomenal data journalism. thelocal.to/spring-2026/

Inspecting Long-Term Care | The Local

Five years after a pandemic that revealed the disastrous conditions in Ontario’s long-term care homes, we investigate the state of oversight in the sector. Rolling out over the next two weeks, our “In...

thelocal.to

The Local does this thing where they'll publish an investigation and I'll be like "is this the most crucial work I've read this year?", and then they'll publish another and I'm like "is THIS the most crucial work I've read this year?" and so on until the sun explodes. LOOK at the work they did here!

The Local Magazine@thelocal.to · 3mo ago

EXCLUSIVE: In the wake of the pandemic, the Ford government set the target of one proactive inspection a year at every long-term care home. But our analysis of thousands of inspection reports reveals less than 40% of LTC homes received a proactive inspection in 2025. thelocal.to/ontario-long...

EXCLUSIVE: In the wake of the pandemic, the Ford government set the target of one proactive inspection a year at every long-term care home. But our analysis of thousands of inspection reports reveals less than 40% of LTC homes received a proactive inspection in 2025. thelocal.to/ontario-long...

The Ford Government Is Failing to Meet Its Own Long-Term Care Inspection Goals | The Local

Exclusive analysis of more than 17,500 long-term care home inspection reports reveals a provincial inspection regime failing to meet its own accountability goals, with seniors who lack family advocate...

thelocal.to

Tens of thousands of Ontarians are on #longtermcare waitlists. Gathering never-before-seen data on performance indicators, @xavierrichervis.bsky.social, Ilyass Moffadel, and I have created a tool to help people make informed choices about where to place their loved ones: thelocal.to/long-term-ca...

Inspection Results for Every Long-Term Care Home in Ontario

thelocal.to

With data from 17,500 inspection reports, five months of work, and dozens of sources—families, health care workers, experts, policy makers—our new investigation on the state of long-term care reveals broken promises, and seniors being left behind by an inequal system. thelocal.to/ontario-long...

The Ford Government Is Failing to Meet Its Own Long-Term Care Inspection Goals | The Local

Exclusive analysis of more than 17,500 long-term care home inspection reports reveals a provincial inspection regime failing to meet its own accountability goals, with seniors who lack family advocate...

thelocal.to

From Safe Parkside: look what happened on Parkside Drive after Premier Doug Ford banned speed cameras.

The Local is expanding! After seven years focusing on hyper-local reporting from Toronto, we're going (very slightly) west. We're thrilled to introduce our first Peel Reporter, @prarthanapathak.bsky.social! thelocal.to/the-local-ex...

The Local Expands Into Peel | The Local

Introducing Prarthana Pathak, our new Peel Reporter

thelocal.to