Maple Express | November 11, 2026 — On Remembrance Day, a father remembers his son killed in the CFB Wainwright fire

1. On Remembrance Day, a father remembers his son killed at CFB Wainwright

Source: CP24

As Canadians mark Remembrance Day, Chek Wong of Edmonton is remembering his 26-year-old son, Sgt. Morgan Wong. Morgan was one of four Canadian soldiers killed in a training fire at CFB Wainwright last month; dozens of others were injured. “Sometimes, I just feel like he’s still on training,” Chek said. “But when the reality hits … he’s not coming back.”

Chek’s wife, Hong Tan, died of lung cancer in 2020, leaving him to raise Morgan and his sister. Losing his son, he said, is “just like … take a part of me,” but he will stay strong for his daughter and family. According to Acute Care Alberta, 21 patients injured in the fire remained in hospital as of Nov. 6, including nine in critical condition. The Canadian Armed Forces is sending 15 registered nurses with specialized burn and intensive care training to Alberta, expected to arrive beginning Nov. 10 and stay until Jan. 15, 2027.

Morgan expressed an interest in joining the army reserve at 17 and volunteered with St. John Ambulance. He met his wife, Laura Karzinina, in Riga, Latvia, while deployed overseas; the couple married in December 2025. His uncle George travelled from Hong Kong to support the family. Former Edmonton city councillor Jennifer Rice organized a community gathering on Oct. 22, where residents brought flowers and signed cards, and the Legacy of Peace Society is planning a commemorative tree planting. Chek hopes people remember his son as “a hero, that he was serving his country.”

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2. “I’ve lost soldiers on a mission”: Remembrance Day for active-duty troops

Source: CP24

At Camp Adazi in Latvia, Canadian soldiers thousands of kilometres from home are sharing their Remembrance Day reflections. Col. David Brassard, the Canadian commander of NATO’s Multinational Brigade in Latvia, said sacrifice is not measured only in casualties: when soldiers deploy for six months they are away from their families, “a type of sacrifice we don’t talk about as much.” CTV News spent the past week embedded with the brigade in eastern Latvia, near the borders with Russia and Belarus.

Lt.-Col. Simon Mailloux, commander of the brigade’s multinational infantry battle group and a 25-year veteran, was a platoon commander in Afghanistan when Pte. Simon Longtin was killed by an improvised explosive device in August 2007. Three months later another roadside bomb cost him part of his left leg and killed Cpl. Nicolas Beauchamp and Pte. Michel Lévesque. He later became the first Canadian amputee to return to active duty in Afghanistan. “It’s still hard to process, even during Remembrance Day,” he said.

In Latvia, the name “Hornburg” hangs along the side of a Canadian Leopard tank in honour of Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, killed in September 2007 in Afghanistan when he was hit by a mortar shell while fixing a tank. Troops there are also mourning those killed and injured in last month’s fire at CFB Wainwright; that unit had been training to deploy to Latvia. Most Canadian soldiers in Latvia are on a six-month deployment scheduled to end in December.

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3. SIU investigating after officer fires at fleeing suspect in Brampton

Source: CP24

Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after an officer discharged a firearm during a traffic stop in Brampton early Wednesday. The SIU said the incident occurred near Bramalea and Kensington roads, near Queen Street East, at around 1:45 a.m. An officer attempted a traffic stop when a male passenger fled on foot and the officer gave chase.

“There was an interaction, and the officer discharged his firearm in the direction of the man two times. The man was not struck,” the SIU said. The 29-year-old continued to flee but was arrested a short time later and was not injured. Because the officer fired his weapon, the SIU has invoked its mandate and assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to the case.

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4. Suspects ram police cruisers to evade arrest in Etobicoke; officer injured

Source: CP24

One officer was taken to hospital with minor injuries after cruisers were struck by suspects attempting to evade arrest in Etobicoke early Wednesday, Toronto police say. Officers responded to a call about a person with a gun in the area of Martin Grove Road and Albion Road at around 1:50 a.m.

“Officers located the suspect vehicle, and the suspect vehicle struck multiple police vehicles in an attempt to flee the area,” police said in an email to CP24. Two suspects were located in the area of Finch Avenue West and Kipling Avenue after attempting to flee on foot. Both men, in their 20s, were arrested and a firearm was seized.

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5. Toronto police genealogy team identifies U.K. man who died more than 30 years ago

Source: CP24

Toronto police say months of work by their genealogy team and investigators have unmasked a man who died in the city’s downtown more than 30 years ago. The story began in 1992, when emergency responders arrived at the lawn of a church in the area of Queen Street East and Church Street where a man had been found unresponsive; crews were unable to revive him. He was not carrying identification, and his death was deemed not suspicious.

His identity remained a mystery until police selected the case for a genetic genealogy investigation in 2025. His DNA profile was uploaded to public databases in January, which helped investigators determine he was likely a man named Derek, who moved to Toronto from the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Police confirmed his identity through fingerprint analysis and notified his family in the U.K.

Derek had been reported missing by his lawyer in 1993, but the case was mistakenly closed years later when investigators were informed that Derek had died. Police say Derek is the 14th person identified through “Project 31,” which began in 2022 and was named for the 31 open cases of unidentified deceased people in the city at the time.

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6. A father’s war journal brings a Remembrance Day discovery in Winnipeg

Source: CP24

For 20 years, Audrey Podolsky Mireault has held on to a keepsake from her father’s time with the Canadian military: a war journal detailing William John Podolsky’s service. It brings back feelings that are hard to let go when Remembrance Day comes. “We’d go to school in the morning and come home after 11:00, and my dad was nowhere to be found that day; he hid away,” she said. “For my dad, when we say, ‘lest we forget,’ they are forgotten.”

Mireault grew up in Gardenton, Man., where her father worked after the Second World War; he never talked about his service until his passing in 2006. A foot impediment kept him from serving overseas and he was stationed across Canada. Going through his journal opened her eyes: “I’ve got the actual date of when he went into the mustard gas chamber,” she said. “He was paid $1.50 for the testing, again, Sept. 14, 1944.”

After the war, she said, her father suffered headaches and hearing problems and was prone to violence towards the family. “It could have been a very good home, and I think it was just destroyed by a lack of support, a lack of understanding,” she said. Gord Crossley, curator of the Fort Garry Horse Museum on McGregor St., looked at photos of the journal and determined Podolsky was stationed in Shilo, Man., working in the artillery — which could explain his hearing problems.

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7. Sudbury family fights to keep wolf-dog hybrid pet

Source: CP24

A Sudbury family has until next week to decide the fate of their pet, Onyx. The six-year-old Volga wolfhound loves to swim, get pets and chase sticks, but because of his DNA his future is uncertain. Owner Heaven Furory said she bought the dog from a legitimate breeder in 2020 who said the animal was 14 generations removed from a pure wolf ancestor, and she did not realize wolf-dog hybrids were not allowed as pets in Ontario.

Under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, wolves, including hybrids, are classified as wildlife; Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources oversees the act and says owning or possessing native wildlife is illegal because the animals could retain wild instincts. “Onyx is not a wild animal. He’s a dog. He’s a domestic dog who lives a dog-life,” Furory said. Earlier this year the ministry discovered the dog was a wolf hybrid and collected DNA, but she said it has never told her how much wolf content is in his makeup.

On Oct. 20, Furory said the ministry gave her one month to decide: have the animal euthanized or send it to a wolf sanctuary. She contacted the sanctuary and was told it was at full capacity and that Onyx would not be a good fit among wild wolves. She has raised enough money in an online fundraiser to hire a lawyer to fight the decision; the ministry declined to comment because the investigation is ongoing. “He’s my best friend,” she said. “I can’t imagine my life without him.”

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8. Halifax bar speaks out after suspected drink tampering

Source: CP24

A woman became ill at Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub in downtown Halifax last Friday after consuming a drink a man was seen giving her. Manager Niall McGuinness said staff noticed a guest who seemed off, approached and checked in on her, and she said she felt unwell after a drink somebody gave her. Staff promptly removed her from the situation and called 911.

Halifax Regional Police arrived around 1:30 a.m. and met staff who were administering Narcan to the woman, who was somewhat unresponsive, said public information officer Martin Cromwell. Officers arrested a 31-year-old man charged with administering a noxious thing with intent; he is scheduled to appear in court at a later date, and a toxicology report is underway. Cromwell said such incidents are difficult to track and that the drug often used is GHB.

Natasha Chestnut, executive director of the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, said “the fault is on the person who tampers with the drink. It is a criminal offence.” She said establishments post signage on the signs of tampering and keep test strips and Narcan on hand. Dalhousie University student Sophia Tallboy said she could name three or four friends who have been through it. Police encourage people to report incidents even after the fact.

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9. World leaders urge faster action as UN climate talks open

Source: CP24

Formal talks began Wednesday at the United Nations climate conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkiye, with world leaders calling for urgent and decisive action and saying the crisis is disproportionately harming the world’s most vulnerable countries. “You might as well bomb us. That might have been easier than watching climate change tear apart our homes piece by piece,” said Surangel Whipps Jr., president of Palau.

The summit follows a year of deadly floods, heat waves and other disasters, and leaders said geopolitical conflicts had diverted attention from climate change. The leaders of China, the United States and India — the three biggest polluting nations, together accounting for more than half of global carbon dioxide emissions — skipped the summit. “We know the truth. Now we must act on it because climate action is more than a fight over a number or a thermometer,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said wars, inflation and geopolitical conflicts have overshadowed climate action, and pledged to protect the Amazon. Micronesian President Wesley Simina said his country is already suffering irreversible losses of coral reefs. Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration, said climate change displaced almost 30 million people in 2025. Scientists say global warming is likely to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

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10. Quebec crew still unbeaten at Canadian Mixed Curling Championship

Source: CP24

After three days at the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, Felix Asselin and Sylvie Quillian lead their respective pools. Asselin and his Quebec teammates are the only unbeaten squad, leading Pool A at 4-0 after beating Peter Mackey’s Nunavut foursome 6-3 and Andrew Hodgson of Alberta 7-3 in Tuesday’s two draws at West Prince Curling Club.

Quillian’s New Brunswick foursome tops Pool B at 4-1 after hammering Scott Williamson’s Yukon crew 9-2 in six ends and edging Brent MacDougall of Nova Scotia 5-4 in an extra end. Bryan Burgess of Northern Ontario improved to 3-1 in Pool A with a 6-5 win over Saskatchewan.

In Pool A, Cory Heggestad of Ontario and Hodgson are both 2-2, Scott Eaton of Newfoundland and Labrador is 2-3 and Mackey is 0-4. In Pool B, Colin Kurz of Manitoba, Joshua Miki of B.C. and MacDougall are all 3-1, while host Prince Edward Island’s Adam Arsenault is 2-2. Action continues Wednesday, with the medal games scheduled for Saturday.

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