At the least, the wall requires professional re-pointing and replacement of the damaged bricks. The re-pointing, for instance, may well require a high-lime, low Portland cement mix.

Expanding polyurethane foam is not a substitute for the proper mortar!

Excessive water may be causing what appears to be spalling. (Or is the white material remnants of stucco?) Brick as a foundation material was abandoned in favour of concrete blocks and poured concrete more than a century ago.

If you're planning to re-sell shortly, sure, scrape and paint. Toronto homebuyers are still in a feeding frenzy, with prices up 6.2% in the last month alone.

Many thanks Worthy, not selling anytime soon. Just lost the will after gutting the other floors😄

Once the repairs are made, parging will give the wall a finished look. But it's a cosmetic fix only and will likely fail within 5-10 years and have to be re-done or patched.

Once the repairs are made, you can have the entire wall parged for a finished appearance. However, it's cosmetic only and is likely to start falling apart within ten years or less.

Worthy, what do you think would be a permanent fix?