Anastasia Blosser

Anastasia Blosser is a journalist, writer and photographer based in Toronto. 

Toronto Star •

Peel police announce largest ever gun bust, with nearly all of the 71 firearms seized coming from U.S.

Ten individuals were arrested and charged with a combined total of 185 criminal offences, Peel police said in a media conference Wednesday morning. Most of the charges were related to firearm and drug trafficking according to a media release.The investigation—named Project Chrome—began in September 2023 and looked into a local organized crime network police say is responsible for gun and drug trafficking in the region. It was completed alongside several other law enforcement agencies across the...
Toronto Star •

Pearson warns of disruptions, Porter cancels flights, Toronto hospitals say delays possible amid global CrowdStrike outage

She’d just finished a three-week French program in the city, and Umar planned to fly out to meet her — after which the two would tour New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, he told the Star. But after the cancellation, last-minute flights to Moncton from WestJet or Air Canada were three times as expensive — and wouldn’t have landed until nearly midnight.What kind of compensation can you get for a flight delay?The compensation you can receive for a delayed flight depends on if the airline is res...
Toronto Star •

Video shows cyclists, police officer in heated exchange during ‘ghost bike’ memorial

A memorial bike ride that paid tribute to a cyclist who died from her injuries after being  struck in Etobicoke last month, turned sour on Saturday as attendees were seen clashing with a Toronto police officer. In a video posted on X by Dave Shellnutt, a personal injury lawyer for cyclists and cycling advocate, an officer is seen allegedly taking Shellnutt’s bike out of his hands as he tells others standing in the road to move toward the sidewalk.Shellnutt told the Star the group had taken up tw...
Toronto Star •

‘It was hard to process’: Brampton residents stunned after bus tears through backyards

Stunned Brampton residents are waiting for help from the city after a public transit bus drove through several backyards in the middle of the night.Peel paramedics responded to the crash but said no one was taken to hospital. They confirmed that a bus and car had collided and driven through multiple backyards and fences. The bus and car had no passengers besides the drivers. Paramedics also said the bus driver was awake and responsive at the scene.Ata Ul Haye Ahmad, a high school student who liv...
Toronto Star •

Toronto Waterfront Marathon takes over city’s downtown core for annual race

This year’s race was one of the largest in the marathon’s history, with an estimated 30,000 participants from over 70 countries according to a proclamation from Mayor Olivia Chow. This year’s full marathon has also set a record for the highest number of women ever registered to run the event and over 100,000 spectators are estimated to watch the running from the streets.In 2022, the marathon was recognized with the Evergreen Certification from the Council for Responsible Sport, making it the mos...
Toronto Star •

How one Toronto charity is stepping up to help fight the L.A. fires

The group responds to disasters on a national and international scale, often raising funds, distributing aid to regions in need, donating equipment or even sending volunteers to train fire departments abroad. The majority of their efforts are funded by donations with some small government grants awarded.“I personally drove those four units to the airport and I handed them over to Air Canada to send on the plane,” said Adrian Award, a firefighter with Whitby Fire and Emergency Services and a volu...
Toronto Star •

Ontario yanking U.S. alcohol from LCBO shelves ‘indefinitely’ in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs

The removal will roll out Tuesday and will also prohibit Ontario-based restaurants and businesses from restocking and ordering American beer, wine and spirits since the LCBO is the only alcohol wholesaler in the province. She said the order extends to sales of U.S. products to LCBO wholesale customers, and no new wholesale orders or deliveries to restaurants, bars, grocery stores, and other retail channels will be processed.“LCBO is the importer of record for all U.S. alcohol products into Ontar...
Toronto Star •

Plane crash in Toronto: 18 passengers sent to hospital after Delta flight with 80 on board crashes at Pearson; Cause still under investigation; Delays at airport expected for days

Flights have resumed at Pearson after being suspended for a period of time2 runways are still closed and delays are expected for days22 people on the flight were Canadians and the rest were international

Flights have resumed at Pearson after being suspended for a period of time

2 runways are still closed and delays are expected for days

22 people on the flight were Canadians and the rest were international
Toronto Star •

‘I’ve never seen anything like this’: More than 230,000 without power after weekend ice storm — and it could be days before it’s restored

The Ontario government has also sent workers and support resources to provide assistance to areas hardest hit by the ice storm. The Ontario Corps, composed of skilled professionals and volunteers, have been sent by the province to conduct wellness checks and distribute meals and hygiene kits to those without power, according to a news release by the province on Wednesday.

The Ontario government has also sent workers and support resources to provide assistance to areas hardest hit by the ice sto...
Toronto Star •

Ottawa man arrested after hours-long lockdown at Parliament Hill, accused of ‘making threats to the safety of those inside’

The alert urged everyone in the building to “seek shelter in the nearest room” and “close and lock all doors and hide” while waiting for instructions from first responders. “We’re currently in contact with the individual and our priority is to resolve this situation peacefully,” he said. “At this time there is no known injuries and we believe that the man is the only person inside the building.”Police would not say if the man was believed to be armed or whether he had made threats but did say th...
Toronto Star •

Tanks in Toronto. A new Trump at the helm. Canada has fallen: Why this local artist put up plaques imagining a U.S. invasion

It’s the autumn of 2031 and southwest Toronto has been destroyed by weeks of urban warfare. On a street where children once played road hockey, U.S. President Ivanka Trump stands atop a tank and urges Ontarians to admit defeat.

In the years that follow, Canadian insurgent forces launch an operation to liberate the northern territory from the U.S. army and fail. The rebels — convicted of their treasonous plots — are sent to live in a penal colony on Red, White, and Blueland.

In this imagined future, Canadians have suffered a terrible loss at the hands of an invasion that cost the country its sovereignty less than a decade after U.S. President Donald Trump first suggested annexing America’s northern neighbour.
Toronto Star •

‘A very close call’: Toronto doctor rescued, safe after small plane he was flying lands in water at Tommy Thompson Park

The 49-year-old pilot took off from the city’s Billy Bishop airport and was on his way to Pembroke, Ont. when the plane’s engine lost power, Toronto police Duty Insp. Lhawang Jongdong told reporters. Crews at the airport lost contact with the privately-owned Cirrus plane shortly after 2 p.m.He instead landed on the water, with a parachute deployed and attached to the plane’s tail, near the park also known as the Leslie Street Spit, a five-kilometre peninsula that is globally recognized as a key...
The Eyeopener •

Fetishes on film: Former TMU student premieres comedy at TIFF

Solemates is the story of a love triangle between a shoe store owner, a customer and an old pair of shoes. Or, as co-producer Torrin Blades puts it, the story of a customer who walks into a shoe store to update his wardrobe and “bites off more than he can chew.”


The indie short film had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sept. 5 and was directed by James Rathbone and former Toronto Metropolitan University School of Image Arts s...
The Eyeopener •

Relics from the gridiron: TMU football nearly 60 years later

Two Eyeopener editors looked through hundreds of documents—including yearbooks, obituaries, internal reports, newspaper clippings, archival photos and historical manuscripts—to compile the research presented in this article. 


In 1958, the then-Ryerson Rams football team was at an all-time high.


The school had recently won the Ontario-Quebec Conference championship and gained traction through on-field success. Its players were competing against tea...
The Eyeopener •

Former TMSU employee publicly alleges workplace misconduct

Former Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union (TMSU) communications director David Jardine posted a video to their social media on Sunday alleging “sexual violence” in the students’ union’s workplace. 


The nine-minute TikTok video, which has now garnered over 3,100 likes and over 69,500 views, shows Jardine speaking to the camera regarding alleged concerns with summer interim Board of Directors (BoD) vice president...
The Eyeopener •

Students at TMU organize and attend pro-Palestine rallies in Toronto

Students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) held a rally on campus in support of Palestine on Friday.


The demonstration began in front of the Sheldon and Tracy Levy Student Learning Centre (SLC) before connecting with a gathering organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) in front of Queen’s Park. 


In front of the SLC, speakers led the group through a series of chants and responses. Slogans like “viva viva Palestina” and “Canada is complicit,” were call...
The Eyeopener •

Students struggle to find housing as rental scams increase

Students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) say they are having trouble finding housing due to an abundance of online rental scams.


Housing scams are common in Toronto, according to the Housing & Residence Life Office at TMU. In their guide to finding a place, they advised students to keep their guard up, assess for suspicious activity and know their rights as renters


“TMU’s Off-Campus Housing team has been available to offer advice and resources to help stude...
Her Campus •

I'm Trying My Best To Do Worse

Two years ago I bought a notebook. It had a soft, sage green cover and an elastic that wraps around the edge of its pages. I got it to document my university years and spent months dreaming about how casually artistic the journal would be. Before I pulled off the cling wrap, I had written out and revised the thoughts I would later transfer to the first page. Two years later, it is the only thing I have written in the 27-dollar notebook.I have never enjoyed filling the first couple of pages, espe...