Maple Express Evening | October 26, 2026: Vehicle found in Scarborough child abduction case, three children still missing

1. Vehicle located in Scarborough child abduction case, three children still missing

Source: CP24

Toronto police said Monday afternoon that they have located the vehicle connected to a child abduction investigation, after a mother took her three children during a semi-supervised visit on Friday. Police said 22-year-old Somerda Miclescu was visiting her children — four-month-old Anastasia, three-year-old Irina and six-year-old Daniel — at a relative's home in the Midland Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East area when she took them and fled.

Miclescu does not have legal custody of the children and is wanted for parental abduction. On Saturday police said she was believed to be driving a 2017 white Ford Expedition. On Monday, police said the vehicle had been found at an unspecified location and that its owner, 25-year-old Ionut Stroe of Toronto, is considered a person of interest. Stroe is also wanted on separate charges of failing to comply with a release order.

The three children have not been found. Police describe Miclescu as five-foot-seven, 180 pounds, with long dark hair, last seen wearing a long black shirt and a dark-coloured top. Stroe is described as five-foot-11, about 235 pounds, with a tattoo on his right forearm. Anyone with information on the children's whereabouts is asked to contact police.

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2. Ontario municipal election day: Toronto mayor's race neck-and-neck

Source: CP24

Voters across Ontario cast ballots Monday to elect mayors, city councillors and school trustees. The Toronto mayor's race remained the centre of attention: a Nanos Research poll conducted last week exclusively for CP24 and CTV News Toronto showed Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford running neck-and-neck among decided voters, with Chow ahead by 3.2 percentage points — a gap within the survey's margin of error.

Polls are open across the Greater Toronto Area and close at 8 p.m. CP24 and CTVNewsToronto.ca are carrying live updates, up-to-the-second results and analysis.

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3. Carney says it's time to move beyond the Indian Act as Kinew calls for abolition

Source: CP24

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday that he will instruct his ministers to work with First Nations to move Canada beyond the Indian Act, which could mean reforming it or abolishing it altogether. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa after meeting First Nations chiefs and premiers, Carney said abolition has been requested by many First Nations, including Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew at Monday's meeting.

During a midday break, Kinew held up his First Nations status card, which he said identifies him as an "Indian within the meaning of the Indian Act." "It's time to abolish the Indian Act," he said. "It's long overdue that we have a relationship with Indigenous Peoples in Canada that reflects who we are as Canadians today."

It was the first such gathering since the Kelowna Accord talks of 2005. Carney called it "sobering" that this was the first meeting in two decades to bring federal, provincial and First Nations leaders together. Outside the venue, protesters criticized the federal push to speed up major project approvals, saying projects cannot proceed without free, prior and informed consent, and complained that youth were not represented in the room.

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4. Mississauga party stabbing: 35-year-old surrenders, charged with second-degree murder

Source: CP24

Peel Regional Police said Monday that 35-year-old Kevin Chippie had turned himself in and been charged with second-degree murder, after a man died from a stabbing at a party in Mississauga early Sunday. The incident happened at around 4:55 a.m. in a parking lot in the area of Tomken and Kamato roads.

Officers found a man with life-threatening injuries consistent with a stabbing and attempted life-saving measures, but he died at the scene. On Monday, police identified the victim as 47-year-old Kevin McFarlane of Bradford, Ont. Acting Insp. Ian Plummer said both the victim and the suspect attended a party in one of the industrial buildings in the area, and it is unclear whether they knew each other.

Earlier Monday, Det.-Sgt. Gord Oakes publicly urged Chippie to seek legal counsel and surrender immediately. Police later confirmed in a news release that he had turned himself in. The charge has not been tested in court.

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5. Woman critically injured in North York attack; 45-year-old man charged

Source: CP24

A 45-year-old man has been charged after a woman was critically injured in an assault in North York early Monday, Toronto police said. The incident occurred at around 3:15 a.m. in the area of Yonge Street and Steeles Avenue, where officers were initially called for reports of a stabbing.

Police learned the victim was walking when a male suspect approached her, chased her and allegedly struck her several times with a long wooden stick, causing her to fall. The suspect then allegedly continued to hit her with a "second heavy object" used as a weapon. Officers arrested the suspect shortly after.

The woman was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police identified the suspect as 45-year-old Young Choi of Toronto, charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, one count of assault, aggravated assault and failure to comply with a probation order. Police said the relationship between the suspect and the victim remains unknown.

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6. Adult and child rushed to hospital after North York collision

Source: CP24

An adult and a child were rushed to hospital after a collision in North York on Monday afternoon, police said. It happened shortly after 3 p.m. in the area of Willowdale and Elmwood avenues, where Toronto police responded to reports of two pedestrians struck by a vehicle.

Paramedics told CTV News Toronto that two people were transported to local trauma centres with serious, life-threatening injuries. Police said the driver of the vehicle remained at the scene. The circumstances surrounding the collision were not immediately known.

The intersection is closed in all directions, and police urged motorists to use alternate routes.

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7. Four youths wanted after 15-year-old stabbed at Whitby movie theatre

Source: CP24

Four youths are wanted after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed at a movie theatre in Whitby early Sunday, Durham Regional Police said in a release Monday. Officers were called at around 12:40 a.m. to the Landmark Cinemas at 75 Consumers Dr. for an armed person call and found the teen suffering from "a significant laceration."

Police said the victim had gone to the theatre to meet a girl he met through social media. While there, he was approached by a group of youths who demanded his jacket. When he refused to hand over his belongings, one of the suspects produced a machete, struck him in the arm, and the group assaulted him before stealing his jacket and cash. He suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigators identified three of the four suspects: a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy from Oshawa, and a 17-year-old boy from Pickering. The fourth is an unknown male. Arrest warrants have been issued for two of the four, and police believe the incident was isolated.

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8. Ontario proposes changes to Blue Box recycling program

Source: CP24

Ontario announced Monday that it is looking at changes to its provincewide Blue Box program, with a focus on controlling costs, improving transparency and making recycling services more efficient.

The proposed changes would give the province more power to regulate the fees that recycling organizations charge businesses to collect and process recyclable materials. The province says the goal is to give businesses more predictable costs and avoid unexpected fees, while keeping producers — rather than taxpayers — responsible for paying for packaging and paper products.

The province is also looking at clearer reporting requirements for recycling costs, rules around the distribution of recycling carts and bins, and possible future collection of hard-to-recycle flexible plastics. Ontario has been adjusting to its new producer-funded system, fully operated by Circular Materials since January 2026. Circular Materials CEO Allen Langdon said the organization is reviewing the proposed changes to understand how they could affect producers, residents and the broader recycling system. The province says more than five million households have access to the Blue Box program.

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9. Quebec spa rolls out new safety measures amid sex assault allegations

Source: CP24

The founder of Groupe Nordik said Monday that Nordik Spa Village in Chelsea, Que., has introduced new security measures amid a class action lawsuit alleging sexual assaults by massage therapists. The lawsuit was authorized by a Quebec judge earlier this month to proceed as a class action, with nearly 150 people having signed on.

The suit was launched in August 2025 by a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by a male massage therapist at the spa in December 2024. It alleges a "systemic problem regarding the prevention of sexual assault and misconduct" at the spa.

In a social media statement, Groupe Nordik founder Martin Paquette blamed "some ill-intentioned massage therapists, who work as independent contractors," and said there have unfortunately been instances of unacceptable conduct over the past 21 years. He said security personnel will always be present on the massage therapy floor; guests will complete a consent form indicating where they are comfortable being massaged; all therapists are trained in consent and the prevention of sexual violence; and an audio system has been installed in treatment rooms. Quebec, unlike Ontario, has no provincial regulatory board for massage therapists, and Paquette called for stronger oversight.

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10. Man and woman fined $4,000 each over Newfoundland flight disruption

Source: CP24

A man and a woman in Newfoundland have each been fined $4,000 for endangering the safety of an airline flight by refusing to remain in their seats, yelling at passengers and crew and removing some of their clothing. The details were laid out in a Sept. 29 decision by provincial court Judge Wayne Gorman in Corner Brook.

The court heard that on Aug. 28, 2024, Corey Pancer and Deborah Bojman were aboard a Flair Airlines flight to Deer Lake, N.L., when Pancer left his seat and refused to follow crew instructions. The 56-year-old yelled obscenities while returning to his seat, refused to attach his seat belt and took off his shirt, and later became loud and threatening during meal service when an item he wanted was unavailable.

Bojman also refused to stay in her seat and at one point removed all her clothing below the waist before walking up and down the aisle yelling at people. Both pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight and interfering with the lawful use of property. Gorman said the parity principle in the Criminal Code required him to impose the same $4,000 fine on Pancer, though he said the sentence "fails to reflect the seriousness of the crimes committed" and that he would have imposed imprisonment were it not for the Crown's request.

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