Maple Express | July 31, 2026 Suspect Arrested in Scarborough Street Racing Crash That Left Two Critically Injured

📰 Suspect Arrested in Scarborough Street Racing Crash That Left Two Critically Injured

Toronto police have arrested a 42-year-old man in connection with a street racing crash in Scarborough that left two people with life-threatening injuries. On July 17 at approximately 9:30 a.m., a green Lamborghini SUV and a white Mercedes E-Class were racing eastbound on Highway 2A near Meadowvale Road when the Mercedes lost control, struck a white Ford F-150 pickup truck, and then left the roadway and hit a tree.

The 15-year-old driver and 24-year-old passenger in the Mercedes were rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, while a 44-year-old man and an 11-month-old baby in the pickup truck sustained minor injuries. The Lamborghini driver fled the scene but was later tracked down by investigators.

Toronto resident Akil Gordon Heywood, 42, faces two counts of dangerous operation of a conveyance causing bodily harm, failing to stop at the scene of a collision, and stunt driving. Police have not provided an update on the condition of the two critically injured victims or indicated whether further charges are pending.

— CP24

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📰 Canadian Economy Grows 0.3% in May, Paving Way for Strong Q2 Rebound

Canada's economy grew by 0.3 per cent in May, marking a second consecutive month of growth and setting the stage for a solid second-quarter rebound, according to Statistics Canada. Thirteen of 20 industrial sectors contributed to the gains, including construction, manufacturing, finance and insurance, and the public sector.

The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector rose one per cent, leading growth for a second straight month as some scheduled maintenance work was completed early or deferred. Transportation and warehousing also increased, with pipelines pushing more natural gas out of the country. The real estate and rental sector got a boost from a rise in home-selling activity.

An early estimate for June shows the economy on track to expand by 0.2 per cent, which would put second-quarter growth at 0.8 per cent overall. This marks a notable turnaround after earlier fears of a technical recession driven by months of sluggish and stagnating growth.

— CBC News

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📰 U of T Professor Wins Math's Highest Honour — Then Takes Leave to Join OpenAI

Just one week after accepting the Fields Medal, mathematics' highest honour, University of Toronto Professor Jacob Tsimerman announced he will take a leave from academia and head to San Francisco to join the safety division of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. The 38-year-old Canadian mathematician received the medal and $15,000 prize at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia.

Tsimerman has spent nearly 15 years at the University of Toronto, where his research spans number theory and algebraic geometry. In a sit-down interview with the Toronto Star, he said artificial intelligence will fundamentally change what it means to have a career in mathematics, explaining his decision to join OpenAI's safety division at the intersection of AI and mathematics.

Before starting his new role, Tsimerman will attend academic conferences and take a vacation with his wife and daughter. He said the Fields Medal will be safely stored away, joking that he doesn't "want to have something so valuable in my home."

— Toronto Star

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📰 Toronto Police Solve 20-Year-Old Cold Case of Man Found Bound and Beaten in Scarborough

Toronto police's Cold Case unit has cracked a two-decade-old homicide. On September 17, 2006, 21-year-old Patrick Santos was found dead in the backyard of his Scarborough home — his hands and feet bound, tape wrapped around his head. His father discovered his body at around 7:20 a.m. Police believe the attackers ambushed Santos as he tried to enter his home through a back door.

Using investigative genetic genealogy and DNA matching, investigators identified a person of interest in 2025 and confirmed a DNA match to evidence left at the crime scene in 2006. Pierre O'Connor, 43, of Hamilton, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. The charges have not yet been tested in court.

Police have not established a motive but believe multiple suspects may have been involved, given that Santos was a physically strong young man who would have been difficult for a single person to subdue without alerting family members sleeping inside the home. Santos' family has waited nearly 20 years for answers.

— CP24

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📰 Mayor Chow Demands Province Return Island Land After Feds Block Airport Expansion

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is formally demanding the Ontario government return lands it recently expropriated from the city after federal Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon rejected Premier Doug Ford's plan to expand Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to allow jet traffic. The decision followed a public consultation process.

Earlier this spring, the province passed Bill 110 to take over city lands in and around the Toronto Islands as well as Toronto's seat in the tripartite agreement governing the airport. Chow has filed an urgent motion to city council demanding the province return the land and restore the city's position in the airport governance agreement.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria has said the province will continue to push for the expansion. The three-way tug-of-war between municipal, provincial, and federal governments over the island airport's future appears far from over.

— CP24

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📰 One Year After Toronto's Renoviction Bylaw, Tenant Complaints Have 'All But Disappeared'

One year after Toronto implemented its Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw to prevent bad-faith evictions for renovations, tenant lawyers say calls about "renovictions" have been reduced to nearly zero. The bylaw requires landlords to obtain a licence and compensate tenants forced to move out when seeking evictions for renovations.

Douglas Kwan, director of advocacy and legal services at the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, said the clinic used to frequently hear from tenants about landlords threatening eviction over minor repairs or alleged health hazards, but "those calls have now all but disappeared." Since the bylaw took effect, the city has received only 14 licence applications and issued just three.

Toronto's leadership as Canada's largest city has had a ripple effect. Several other municipalities — including Mississauga, Guelph, and Kitchener — have since created their own anti-renoviction bylaws, marking a growing movement to close the renoviction loophole in Ontario's rent control system.

— Toronto Star

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📰 Simu Liu and Jeremy Lin Bring Asian Roots Collective Festival Back to Markham

Even during his bachelor party in Muskoka, Marvel star Simu Liu had Markham on his mind. The Shang-Chi actor is bringing ARC World — the annual Asian Roots Collective festival — back to the Toronto suburb where it began on September 12. The celebration of Asian culture features food, music, speakers, and a celebrity basketball game with Liu and former NBA star Jeremy Lin.

The Asian Roots Collective was founded in 1995 as the Chinese Canadian Youth Athletic Association and now operates its own athletics centre in Markham. Liu first partnered with the organization in 2019 for a celebrity basketball game, and the event has since evolved into a one-day festival celebrating Asian excellence across industries.

Liu emphasized the importance of giving young Asian Canadians role models. "You still have kids that grow up a little bit unsure of how to feel about their identity," he said. "It's really important in those moments to just stand ten toes down and really support what you're passionate about."

— CP24

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📰 Ontario's First Family Doctor Medical School Receives $55.8M, Set to Open in 2028

The Ontario government is committing $55.8 million to York University's School of Medicine, the province's first medical school dedicated exclusively to training family doctors. The school is scheduled to welcome its first students in August 2028 on a site adjacent to Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital.

An estimated 2.5 million Ontarians currently lack access to primary care, a figure expected to grow as many physicians approach retirement. The Ford government has committed $3.4 billion to connect every Ontarian to a family doctor or primary care team by 2029. The new funding will support accreditation, curriculum development, faculty recruitment, and initial operating costs.

The school will start with 80 undergraduate and 102 postgraduate seats, with plans to expand to 240 undergraduate and 293 postgraduate positions. The City of Vaughan donated the land, York Region committed $25 million, and the province previously provided a $9 million planning grant.

— CP24

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📰 Premiers Tell Ottawa They 'Urgently' Want Negotiations to Begin on Future of the RCMP

Canada's premiers are jointly calling on the federal government to provide clarity on the future of the RCMP and to urgently begin negotiations on new police service agreements. In a communiqué following meetings in Charlottetown last week, provincial and territorial leaders highlighted staffing shortages, vacancies, rising costs, and governance concerns.

Eight provinces, three territories, and approximately 150 municipalities currently contract the RCMP for local policing, with agreements set to expire in 2032. While still six years away, multiple provinces are pushing for talks to begin soon, saying they need details to plan ahead for recruitment, infrastructure, and budgeting.

Regional support for the RCMP has wavered in parts of the country. Surrey, B.C., transitioned away from the Mounties in 2024 to establish its own police force, and Alberta is continuing to explore options for a provincial police service. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree has previously stated the government is committed to keeping the RCMP in front-line policing.

— CBC News

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📰 Poilievre Calls for Reform to Public Alert System After Calgary Boy's Death

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for nationwide reform to Canada's emergency alert system following the tragic death of an 11-year-old Calgary boy with autism who went missing from a specialized day facility earlier this month. In a letter to the federal emergency management minister, Poilievre and Conservative MP Mike Lake called for changes to public alerts, improved first responder training, and clarifying police authority in issuing alerts.

Poilievre, whose seven-year-old daughter has autism and is largely non-verbal, said personal experience drove him to act. The current Amber Alert system requires evidence of an abduction to trigger an alert, and police did not immediately issue one when Parker disappeared. An emergency alert was broadcast two days later only after the Alberta government issued an exemption.

Some advocacy groups have proposed creating a dedicated "indigo alert" for missing vulnerable children. Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski said she will meet with Lake next week to discuss the proposals, while noting that provinces and territories are responsible for deciding when and how alerts are issued.

— CBC News