Maple Express | November 7, 2026: Sister of Whitby Crash Victim Urges Harsher Impaired Driving Penalties

1. Sister of Whitby crash victim speaks out: 'I can't even look at her body one last time'

Source: CP24

Nataly Tucci, 43, was killed last weekend in a fiery three-vehicle crash in Whitby, and her sister says the family had to identify her by dental records because her body was so badly burned. "I can't even look at her body for the last time to say goodbye," Oricia Maletic told CP24 in a tearful interview.

The collision happened on Nov. 1 on westbound Highway 401 near Thickson Road, and two of the vehicles caught fire. Tucci was driving from the home she shared with her fiancé in Kingston to Toronto, where she had worked since July as assistant art director at the Director's Guild of Canada. She was pronounced dead at the scene; two other people suffered minor injuries.

Jaxon Christie, 20, of Lincoln, Ont., has been charged with dangerous and impaired driving causing death and operating a vehicle with excess blood alcohol over 80 mg. OPP say he was one of the other drivers in the "rear-end type" collision. He remains in custody with a bail hearing set for next Monday. OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said Thursday that speed is also being examined as a possible factor. Maletic said she decided to speak out because impaired driving can affect any family, and she wants stronger laws and harsher punishments.

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2. Oshawa double stabbing leaves one person in serious condition

Source: CP24

Durham police say two people were stabbed Friday night in the area of Ritson Road North and Adelaide Avenue East in Oshawa. Officers were initially sent on an "assist ambulance call."

One person was taken to a Toronto trauma centre in serious, life-threatening condition, while the other was also transported to a Toronto trauma centre in stable condition. No suspect information has been released and the circumstances that led to the stabbing remain unclear.

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3. Police identify woman fatally stabbed in North York; man charged with second-degree murder

Source: CP24

Toronto police said Friday that a woman is dead and a man has been arrested after a stabbing in North York. Officers responded at about 8 a.m. Friday to a report of a person with a knife in the area of Wilson Avenue and Jane Street, and found a female victim suffering from stab wounds.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Police identified her as 59-year-old Kathleen Scarlett — the city's 32nd homicide of the year.

Melvin Melgar Sagastume, 50, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Police said Scarlett and Sagastume knew each other. The circumstances that led to the homicide are unknown and the Homicide and Missing Persons Unit is investigating.

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4. An OPP officer struck and killed a pedestrian. Shortly after, she was promoted.

Source: CP24

Two years after her 25-year-old son was struck and killed by an OPP officer driving a speeding vehicle, Coreena Jones is speaking out about the fact that the officer was promoted shortly after the collision. She says it doesn't make sense that the officer went from detective constable to detective sergeant after Noah Landriault's death — a promotion with a pay raise that appears to be higher than the penalty imposed in Ontario's police misconduct system.

Landriault died on Sept. 29, 2024, after he was hit while walking across Muskoka Road 169 in Bala, Ont., just before 6 a.m. He was a talented lacrosse player from Midland. Ontario's Special Investigations Unit found the unmarked OPP Jeep was driven by then-Det. Const. Rebecca Lindsay at about 25 km/h over the posted 50 km/h limit in a community safety zone, but found no grounds for criminal charges.

The Law Enforcement Complaints Agency found Lindsay committed misconduct by exceeding the speed limit and by not operating her vehicle in a manner that promotes employee safety or a positive public perception, and imposed a penalty of 40 forfeited hours — about $2,370 at that rank's salary. The OPP said she was promoted in 2024; the pay bump for that promotion is about $6,300 a year under the collective agreement. The OPP offered condolences for a "serious and tragic incident," said it imposed disciplinary action in line with legislation, and noted Lindsay was cleared of criminal wrongdoing. "For our family, it was very hard to hear that Noah's life was worth 40 hours. And then, on top of that, to have her be rewarded and be promoted was an extra difficulty," Jones said.

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5. Alek Minassian drops appeal of 2018 Toronto van attack convictions

Source: CP24

Ontario's top court says Alek Minassian has abandoned his appeal of convictions on 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder. He filed a notice of appeal in July 2022, about a month after he was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. He was also sentenced to 20 years on 15 counts of attempted murder, to be served concurrently.

Eight women and two men died on April 23, 2018, when Minassian — enraged that women wouldn't sleep with him and radicalized online — deliberately drove a rented van down a crowded sidewalk. He admitted at trial that he planned and executed the attack but argued he should be found not criminally responsible because of his autism spectrum disorder. Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy rejected the defence argument that he never developed empathy and could not make rational decisions.

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6. Police stop resident from losing nearly $3 million in telecom scam

Source: CP24

Toronto police say they disrupted a scammer posing as a telecom company representative who was trying to steal nearly $3 million from an unsuspecting victim on Thursday. Officers were sent to the victim's home after Edmonton Police Service alerted them to a fraud in progress.

Police say the suspect contacted the victim claiming to represent a major telecom company that was improving services in the area and needed access to the victim's computer to check internet speed, and told the victim to install UltraViewer, an application that allows remote access and control. The suspect then said the computer had viruses and other problems that he offered to remove.

The victim was then instructed to access online banking, supposedly to confirm no money had been withdrawn without authorization. Officers arrived to find the victim on a video call with the suspect, who was in the process of accessing online banking. Police explained it was a scam and told the victim not to transfer money or authorize any transactions; the suspects disconnected when officers tried to speak with them. Police reminded the public never to install remote-access software at the direction of an unexpected caller and never to access online banking while someone they don't trust has remote access.

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7. A 60th birthday wish: one blood donation for every candle

Source: CP24

Carol O'Hanley had one wish for her 60th birthday: a blood donation for every candle on her cake, and then some. On the morning of Nov. 3, her family, friends and colleagues packed the Canadian Blood Services donor centre in Charlottetown. Her team, dubbed "Bloody Brilliant at 60," had already made more than 50 donations this year.

"It's hard turning 60, to be honest," O'Hanley said with a laugh. "So, I wanted to make it something positive." Her O-negative blood type makes her a universal red blood cell donor, and she is aiming for 100 donations by the end of the year — or as many as she can get.

Canadian Blood Services is on a mission to recruit one million new donors by 2030. For some, getting past the fear of that first appointment is no small feat: about a dozen of O'Hanley's recruits this week were first-time donors facing the needle together as a group.

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8. N.L. ferry backups start to sting the bottom line as next summer looks busier

Source: CP24

On the heels of a busy tourism season — one that saw Marine Atlantic break records on the North Sydney to Argentia route — a lobby group in Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on the federal government to prepare for surging ferry traffic. More than 51,000 crossings have already been booked for 2027, up about 32 per cent from the same point in 2025 for 2026 travel.

The NL Gulf Ferry Coalition wants Ottawa to keep the MV Leif Ericson, Marine Atlantic's soon-to-retire ferry, in service as long as possible. Built in 1991, it is the oldest of the four vessels Marine Atlantic has used between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in 2026. A spokesperson said no decision has been made on when the Ericson will leave service, although its replacement arrived last month.

Chris Howlett, who owns a trucking company near St. John's, says long lineups at ferry terminals this summer have started eating into his bottom line — whether he is paying drivers to wait or having them drop cargo at the dock and come back later. He says crossings can take 20 to 24 hours, with diesel at $2.70 a litre. Coalition members met Transportation Minister Steve MacKinnon in Ottawa last week.

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9. U.S. Treasury sanctions 8 Canadian firms tied to Iran sanctions evasion

Source: CP24

The United States Treasury Department has slapped sanctions on eight Canadian businesses for allegedly helping to evade sanctions on Iran's government. The department says it sanctioned money services businesses in British Columbia and Ontario in co-ordination with Fintrac, Canada's anti-money laundering watchdog.

The named companies include Million Exchange, NIA Nations Currency, Farah Exchange, Darvish Exchange and several numbered companies. The Treasury said several of the sanctioned entities also worked with Ryan Wedding, the alleged drug kingpin and former Canadian Olympic snowboarder.

The department alleges Wedding used several of these services to launder millions of dollars in drug money through the transfer of digital assets before he was arrested in January. Wedding, who represented Canada in snowboarding at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, was arrested in Mexico in January and taken to the United States to face drug trafficking, murder and attempted murder charges. He remains in federal custody awaiting trials in March and October of next year. "Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions-evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

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10. Winnipeg police make over 600 arrests in inner-city project, say it wasn't enough

Source: CP24

Winnipeg police made more than 600 arrests during a multi-month project aimed at curbing drug trafficking and crime in the inner city, but say it still wasn't enough to restore order. "With all due respect, we policed the hell out of this area and did what we could to get rid of the drug traffickers and the lawlessness. But it's still here," Insp. Elton Hall said as he announced the results of Project Revive.

The project ran from May 15 to Sept. 30 and targeted the William Whyte and Point Douglas neighbourhoods. Hall said police made 423 arrests and 202 more on warrants, executed eight search warrants at "problem residences," relocated 24 encampments, had Narcan administered to 124 people in July and August, and seized about $250,000 worth of illegal drugs, firearms and about $45,000 in cash.

Hall said police cannot fix the problem alone and called for a co-ordinated plan among all three levels of government along with health and housing agencies. "Police cannot be expected to solve a housing and social service crisis through enforcement alone," he said, noting local shelters are short on money and police have no beds to turn people over to. A federal budget released Thursday included more than $1 billion for a Centre for Mental Health and Addictions in Winnipeg, including up to $800 million to build 2,000 housing units.

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