Maple Express | September 13, 2026 Report: Carney explores making Canada an 'associate member' of the EU

1. Report: Carney explores making Canada an 'associate member' of the EU

Source: CP24

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Prime Minister Mark Carney wants closer links with the European Union and is exploring whether Canada could become an "associate member" of the bloc. The newspaper, citing unnamed officials from both the EU and Canada, said the EU — which has not been flexible about membership rules in the past — is open to granting Canada a yet-to-be-created status of associate membership. The Canadian embassy in Brussels and European Commission spokespeople did not respond to separate requests for comment.

Canada's escalating trade war with the United States has added urgency to its strategic pivot toward other trading partners. The report said relations with Washington have deteriorated sharply since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in early 2025, with disagreements on trade and other issues, and that the trade spat has led to tariffs on tens of billions of dollars in cross-border trade. Canada and the EU are discussing ways to let Canadian goods, services and workers involved in strategic supply chains such as energy, AI, defense and critical minerals move freely — effectively shifting the EU border. They are also talking about laying underwater cables, jointly building data centers, cloud storage and new satellite networks, and infrastructure to ship Canadian energy to the EU.

The report also said Carney has spoken regularly with several EU leaders, most notably French President Emmanuel Macron, about the possibility of letting Canadians live and work visa-free in the EU, and that the two leaders are set to meet later this month; Macron's press office did not respond to a request for comment. The project is not an easy feat, however, as fierce opposition to a more modest trade deal showed — more than a decade after that deal was struck and nine years since it provisionally entered into force, several EU countries still have not ratified it.

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2. Man seriously injured in Sunday morning shooting near Don Mills

Source: CityNews

A man was rushed to hospital early Sunday morning after being shot near Toronto's Don Mills neighbourhood, police say. Emergency crews were called to the area of Lawrence Avenue East and Railside Road just before 4:30 a.m. for reports of an outdoor shooting.

Police say one man was found with a gunshot wound and was taken to hospital by paramedics with serious injuries. Detectives have not released any information about a possible suspect and say the investigation is ongoing.

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3. Woman arrested after two dogs attack a person and a dog in midtown Toronto

Source: CP24

A woman has been arrested after police say her two dogs attacked a person and their dog near a midtown Toronto park. Police say the attack happened Thursday at a park near Avenue Road and Roxborough Street, but they were not notified until Saturday.

The victim was walking their dog near an off-leash fenced area of the park when the suspect's two dogs escaped the enclosure, police said. The dogs, believed to be large pit bull or bull terrier breeds, charged and attacked the victim and their dog. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while their dog's injuries were life-threatening.

On Sunday, police arrested Tanychia Black, 40, of Toronto. She faces multiple charges, including criminal negligence causing bodily harm, two counts of failing to prevent a dog from biting or attacking under the Dog Owners' Liability Act, two counts of a dog biting a person or domestic animal, and obstructing a peace officer. The charges have not been proven in court. Police say the two dogs have not been located and are asking anyone with information to contact investigators or Crime Stoppers, adding: "If the dogs are seen, use caution and do not approach."

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4. TIFF hands out Tribute Awards as PM Carney hits the red carpet

Source: CP24

Helen Mirren, Penélope Cruz and Seth Rogen are among the Hollywood stars being honoured at the Toronto International Film Festival's Tribute Awards this evening. The annual fundraiser gala will present Mirren with an award inspired by TIFF's women's empowerment initiative, Share Her Journey.

Cruz will receive the Special Tribute Award, which recognizes lasting and extraordinary contributions to film, while Rogen will get a career achievement award named after the late filmmaker Norman Jewison and meant to recognize Canadians who have made a global impact. Festival premieres include Jesse Eisenberg's comedy "The Debut," starring Julianne Moore, and the romance "Love of Your Life," starring Margaret Qualley. Prime Minister Mark Carney is also expected to walk the red carpet at a TIFF event.

Others being celebrated at the Tribute Awards include French actress Isabelle Huppert, Chinese actor Fan Bingbing, Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong and Polish cinematographer Adam Pietkiewicz. TIFF says proceeds from the gala will support expanded access to cinema and champion artists.

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5. One arrested, one wanted in Hamilton city-vehicle thefts

Source: CP24

A man has been arrested and a second is wanted after police allege the pair broke into a City of Hamilton facility, stole sets of keys to city fleet vehicles and left in a stolen city vehicle. Hamilton police say that shortly after midnight on July 22, two suspects broke into a city facility in central Hamilton and stole several sets of keys before leaving in a stolen city vehicle.

Hours later, police spotted one of the stolen vehicles in another jurisdiction and conducted a traffic stop. The vehicle was seized for stunt driving and, at the time, had not been reported stolen, police say. As part of the investigation, officers later identified the vehicle as connected to the break-in and located a second stolen city vehicle during a separate investigation. The two suspects were then identified and warrants were issued.

One suspect, Mark McCombe, was arrested while attempting to board a flight out of the country, police say. The second, 35-year-old Brandon Poole, who police say has no fixed address, remains wanted and is known to frequent Hamilton, Niagara and Burlington. Both men face charges of break and enter, theft, disguise with intent and theft of a motor vehicle; the charges have not been proven in court. Police did not provide images of the suspects and ask anyone with information to contact Hamilton police or Crime Stoppers.

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6. Weight-loss drugs become a boon for grocers' pharmacy units

Source: CP24

While discount stores have been a bright spot for major grocery chains, another part of their empires has been quietly booming: their pharmacies — largely on the back of rising sales of weight-loss drugs. Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs, traditionally used to manage Type 2 diabetes, have exploded in popularity thanks to their weight-loss side effects, and as cheaper generic versions become more widely available, uptake is expected to rise further. Semaglutide is the active ingredient in drugs like Ozempic.

For grocers with pharmacy units, that growth is showing up in their financial reports. Loblaw Cos. Ltd., which owns Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix, reported a roughly 40 per cent surge in GLP-1 sales in each of its last two quarters. "We are beginning to see the impact of GLP-1 drugs going generic. It's still very early, but the initial indications are encouraging," Loblaw chief executive Per Bank told analysts on an earnings call in July; executives are projecting double-digit GLP-1 growth in 2027. Metro Inc.'s outgoing CEO, Eric La Flèche, struck a similar note last month — Metro owns Jean Coutu. Loblaw's drug retail same-store sales grew 4.6 per cent in its latest quarter, while Metro's pharmacy same-store sales rose 4.8 per cent — both outpacing food and driven by prescriptions.

Even as generics mean lower prices, the pickup in volume is a net positive. Health Canada has approved three generic semaglutide products so far and is reviewing more, making Canada the first G7 nation to do so. Amar Singh, head of Canadian retail insights at Kantar, said the drugs were once called "the drug of the rich," but cheaper generics are widening access. A March Leger poll found half of respondents said insurance coverage or a lower-cost generic would increase their likelihood of using a GLP-1, and more than half cited weight loss as their primary reason. At the time, eight per cent — about three million Canadians — were on prescription GLP-1s; Singh expects uptake to reach about 20 per cent over the next year or two.

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7. Car hits hydro pole, cutting power in North York

Source: CityNews

A driver has been charged after striking a hydro pole in North York early Sunday morning. Emergency crews were called to the Armour Heights neighbourhood, near Bathurst Street and Laurelcrest Avenue, just before 5:30 a.m.

Authorities say the power transformer fell onto the roadway and made contact with a bus; no injuries were reported. Power was out in the area following the crash. Footage from the scene showed a parked TTC bus on the side of the road and a red minivan with damage to its hood. Police say a 38-year-old man was charged with one count of careless driving. No other details were immediately available.

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8. Trump says concerns over AI are exaggerated

Source: CP24

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that a lot of "very negative forces" are raising concerns about AI that "won't happen," and that he wants to make sure the United States remains the industry leader. "We're leading China in AI. We're the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins," Trump told reporters at his Ireland golf course when asked whether the AI industry should slow down or be more regulated. "We could put guardrails. We can do this and that. But I think you have a lot of very negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn't be bringing it up, and they're bringing up things that won't happen."

Trump has resisted stirring concerns about AI. His latest comments come after a week of concern in the United States after two Anthropic researchers issued warnings that rapidly progressing AI could lead to the extinction of the human race in the not-too-distant future. In his second term, Trump's administration has largely embraced AI firms, and AI leaders and other tech companies have also supported his initiatives. Yet the Pentagon earlier this year warned of risks from Anthropic's model.

After the warnings, some AI CEOs are pushing to slow the advancement of models. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Saturday outlined a three-step framework intended to pace development and create more time to manage its risks. Jacob Coxon, one of the Anthropic researchers who resigned and then issued the warnings, pushed for the U.S. to work with other countries to ensure pace. "I feel we need international coordination, or else we risk running the same race with China, which could be equally dangerous," Coxon said on NBC's Meet the Press.

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9. U.S. judge rules Trump order to cut FEMA staff was illegal

Source: CP24

A federal judge said in a filing Friday that a Trump administration order for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cut its staffing nearly in half was illegal. In a decision that marked a critical victory for union workers in the ongoing lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in Northern California said the Department of Homeland Security "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" when it revoked FEMA's authority to renew contracts for the agency's on-call disaster response teams. She also rebuked officials for deleting Signal messages that could have been used as evidence.

The Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery teams, known as CORE, make up about 40 per cent of FEMA's workforce and are often the first federal personnel on the ground when hurricanes and other large disasters strike; many oversee aid distribution and long-term funding to states and communities. Traditionally, CORE workers served two-to-four-year contracts that were almost always renewed. But amid an aggressive Trump administration effort to downsize the federal government in 2025, DHS limited FEMA to renewing the contracts 180 days at a time; in January, DHS instructed FEMA to let at least some contracts lapse to force employees out as their terms expired.

The moves were part of a broader push to overhaul FEMA, shrink its size and shift more responsibility for disaster response and recovery to the states. The administration has argued the agency is ineffective, partisan and bloated, despite a 2023 Government Accountability Office report that found a staffing shortfall of more than 6,000 employees. Illston noted DHS was exempt from Trump's January 2025 hiring freeze but then interpreted "new hires" to include FEMA CORE renewals. Referring to the decision to revoke FEMA's renewal authority, she wrote: "There is no evidence in the record reflecting reasoned decision for this about-face or for the subsequent conditions DHS placed on FEMA's renewal authority." A FEMA spokesperson said the agency "continues to maintain a roster of experienced leadership and support staff across headquarters and regional offices."

In a separate filing, Illston also found that the use of Signal by former acting FEMA head Karen Evans and former DHS deputy chief of staff Joseph Guy violated federal law and department policy. The judge wrote that a Signal chat Evans created "would appear to be highly relevant to this case," with messages set to auto-delete after four weeks; in March, after she was named a defendant in the lawsuit, she shortened the auto-delete timer. The court found Evans' actions were intentional, writing, "Evans should have known better." The judge barred the administration from relying in future proceedings on any previous testimony denying plans to dramatically reduce FEMA staffing or DHS involvement, writing that "the Court will presume that the lost Signal messages would have been unfavorable to Defendants." The decisions are a win for the American Federation of Government Employees and the AFL-CIO, which brought the lawsuit, but Illston did not address remedies, ordering the parties to agree on the scope of relief. The unions had sought the rescission of all non-renewal notices sent to CORE employees since the start of the year and the employees' return to their positions, along with stopping a plan to cut 50 per cent of staff; Illston found that relief too broad, noting DHS "continues to usurp FEMA's authority" by ordering contracts of up to 180 days.

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10. France apologizes for human rights criticism that sparked U.S. walkout

Source: CP24

France's mission to the United Nations in Geneva says it "regrets" criticizing the United States over human rights in a social media post that triggered a diplomatic dispute and has delayed the arrival of a new French ambassador in Washington. In a post on X in late July, the French mission had criticized the U.S. for joining countries including Russia and North Korea in voting against extending the term of U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk.

The message angered Washington, which responded by walking out of a U.N. Security Council meeting while France was speaking; sources said the U.S. was also weighing blocking France's choice as its next ambassador in Washington. "The Permanent Mission of France to the U.N. in Geneva regrets the 25 July 2026 message posted on X that called into question the U.S. commitment to human rights," the mission said, adding that the difference in views "concerned one vote, and not the defense of human rights." France's foreign affairs ministry declined to comment further. "We note and appreciate France's statement, and look forward to working together to further shared values and interests," a State Department official said in response to a Reuters request for comment.

The apology, earlier reported by French daily Le Monde, may open the way for France's nominee as next ambassador to the U.S., Aurelien Lechevallier, to be approved by Washington. Lechevallier, a former Elysee aide, is currently Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot's chief of staff; Paris had aimed to have him in post by September, a source has said.

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