Maple Express | October 15, 2026 — Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Ontario Place Redevelopment Law

1. Supreme Court hears challenge to Ontario Place redevelopment law

Source: CP24 (The Canadian Press)

The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing arguments today (Oct. 15) in Ottawa from a coalition challenging the constitutionality of legislation that clears the way for major changes at Ontario Place. The case could reverberate far beyond the Toronto waterfront park that opened in 1971.

The provincial government wants to redevelop Ontario Place to include a large spa operated by a private company, a relocated Ontario Science Centre, revamped play and shoreline areas, a parking facility and a provincial police detachment, The Canadian Press reported. The coalition Ontario Place Protectors challenged the province's Rebuilding Ontario Place Act on the basis that it insulates state action from scrutiny by the courts and therefore violates the Constitution. The coalition also argued that exemptions from environmental and heritage laws and municipal noise regulations amount to a breach of public trust.

An Ontario judge dismissed the application in 2024 and a challenge in the provincial Court of Appeal was also unsuccessful. Writing for a unanimous Court of Appeal, Justice Grant Huscroft said the court is not an alternative forum for resolving political grievances. In January, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. In their written submission, the Crown and the Ontario attorney general say the case should be dismissed, arguing the immunity does not go as far as the coalition alleges and "does not make Ontario Place a lawless zone." The Supreme Court often reserves its decisions, meaning a ruling might not come until next year.

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2. Poll: Toronto voters remain split on bike lanes

Source: CP24 / CTV News

Exclusive polling for CP24 and CTV News shows the battle over bike lanes has emerged as a dividing line between Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford supporters ahead of this month's municipal election. Nanos Research surveyed 757 randomly selected Toronto residents between Oct. 8 and Oct. 10, asking what the "biggest transportation issue facing Toronto" is.

It found 46 per cent of respondents see traffic congestion as the city's greatest inconvenience, a view shared among Chow and Bradford supporters and across respondents of every borough, gender and age. TTC reliability was the second-biggest pain point at 19 per cent. Nine per cent said there are too many bike lanes and paths, making it the third-biggest problem.

On bike lanes, the two camps remain split. Nik Nanos, Nanos Research's chief data scientist, said 74 per cent of Chow voters support or somewhat support bike-lane expansion, while 74 per cent of Bradford voters oppose or somewhat oppose it. Asked who should have the "final say" on bike lane installation in Toronto, 45 per cent said transportation experts and city staff, 29 per cent said Toronto City Council and 13 per cent said the Province of Ontario. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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3. Three-alarm fire destroys abandoned building in Riverside

Source: CP24

An abandoned building in Riverside was destroyed after a large fire broke out Wednesday night (Oct. 14). Toronto Fire Services Chief Jim Jessop said crews got several calls shortly after 9:30 p.m. for a structure fire at 2 Matilda St., east of the Don Valley Parkway.

"Upon arrival, we were met with heavy, heavy flames and fire coming out through the roof," Jessop said. "It was quickly escalated to a third alarm." He said northbound DVP and portions of Queen Street and Dundas Street had to be closed to let crews surround the building and fight the fire. Jessop said crews would be on site all night; the bulk of the fire was knocked down, but there had been a number of wall and ceiling collapses and hot spots remained. Paramedics said one police officer was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Jessop said the building, which used to house a live event space and a coffee company, has been vacant for years. The cause, origin and circumstances of the fire are under investigation.

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4. More arrests at Toronto bike lane removal protest

Source: CP24 (The Canadian Press)

Demonstrators trying for a second day to block roadwork to remove Toronto bike lanes were met by police on Wednesday (Oct. 14), deepening a faceoff between Premier Doug Ford's government and cycling advocates. The province is pressing ahead with its plan to overhaul up to 19 kilometres of the city's protected bike lane network, starting in the premier's home turf of Etobicoke.

Police confirmed a 25-year-old demonstrator from Hamilton was arrested and charged with mischief and obstructing a peace officer; later in the evening, another person was arrested for mischief. The work along a roughly one-kilometre stretch of Bloor between Islington Avenue and Royal York Road took place despite the city proposing alternatives. Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a statement after Tuesday's protest, "make no mistake: these bike lanes are coming out."

Mayor Olivia Chow linked bike lanes to other issues where the province has sought to override the city's position, including the island airport expansion and the removal of automated speed cameras. Her main challenger, Brad Bradford, has supported removing the Bloor bike lanes in Etobicoke. The city pegged the cost to remove all targeted bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge Street and University Avenue at $48 million, a figure disputed by the province.

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5. Man accused of sexually assaulting two students while posing as a Grade 12 student

Source: CP24

Toronto police have arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting two students at a school last month. Police said they initially got a call for a sex assault in the area of Danforth Avenue and Birchmount Road on Oct. 9.

Investigators then learned that a suspect entered a school on Sept. 30, identifying himself as a Grade 12 student, and allegedly sexually assaulted two students. In a news release on Wednesday (Oct. 14), the suspect was identified as 24-year-old Shaffat Hussain of Toronto. He has been charged with sexual interference and two counts of sexual assault.

Police have released his image, as they believe there may be additional victims. They are asking anyone with information to contact investigators at 416-808-4100.

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6. Four people taken to hospital after Scarborough collision

Source: CP24

Four people have been taken to hospital after a collision in Scarborough Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 14) that caused one vehicle to roll over. It happened shortly after 5 p.m. near the intersection of Markham Road and Finch Avenue.

Four people were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The circumstances behind the collision are unclear. Roads in the area have since reopened after previously being closed for a police investigation. Those in the area are being asked to expect delays and consider alternate routes.

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7. Regis Korchinski-Paquet inquest: neighbour told SIU 'she didn't have to die so tragically'

Source: CP24 (The Canadian Press)

A neighbour broke up a fight between Regis Korchinski-Paquet and her brother hours before the 29-year-old fell to her death from a highrise balcony while police were inside the home, a coroner's inquest heard Wednesday (Oct. 14), on the second day of hearings.

Doreen Gayle, who lived next door to Korchinski-Paquet and her family, told Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) what she remembered of May 27, 2020, in an interview less than a week after the fatal fall; the roughly 50-minute recording was played in court. Gayle said Korchinski-Paquet and her mother, Claudette Beals, had come by her apartment to chat and smoke in the morning. Hours later, Beals came back asking her to break up a fight between Korchinski-Paquet and her 26-year-old brother, Reece Korchinski, something Gayle said she'd had to do multiple times before.

The two women rushed next door and found Korchinski had his sister in a chokehold on the bed, Gayle said, adding he told them the fight started because his sister broke his TV. Korchinski-Paquet "went straight to the kitchen" and grabbed two knives, she said; Gayle stopped her in the hallway before deciding she'd had enough and went back to her apartment, where she stayed with Korchinski's girlfriend and their children. Soon after, Korchinski came in and flung a chair, breaking a lamp, she said, and she told them all to leave and locked the door. When they came to her door again later that day, it was to share the devastating news. "I saw Reece and he said: 'Regis went over the balcony,'" she said, choking up as she recalled chatting and laughing with Korchinski-Paquet earlier that day. "She didn't have to die so tragically."

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8. Ottawa warns Stelco could be forced to sell Canadian assets if layoffs continue

Source: CP24 (The Canadian Press)

More layoff notices have been handed out to unionized workers at Stelco's plant in Hamilton, Ont., as the company moves ahead with idling its cold mill and coating departments, despite threats from Ottawa to take the company to court if the layoffs go ahead. Industry Minister Melanie Joly said Wednesday (Oct. 14) that "everything is on the table," including a forced divestment of assets or financial penalties.

Last month, Cleveland-Cliffs, the U.S. company that owns Stelco, announced it was shutting down part of its Hamilton operation and cutting up to 500 jobs. The federal government says the move breaks commitments Cleveland-Cliffs made under the Investment Canada Act when it bought Stelco in 2024, including a pledge to protect jobs. "We expect Stelco to follow the undertakings they've committed to the government of Canada," Joly said.

Ron Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005, said the whole thing is a "manufactured crisis by Cleveland-Cliffs to put pressure on our government to go get a trade deal." Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said her biggest concern is that Hamilton workers, and steel workers, are becoming "the casualties of this tariff war that Trump has started."

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9. Canadians urged to check their cheese after several brands hit with recall

Source: CP24

A nationwide recall for various brands of cheese has been issued due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, Health Canada said Wednesday (Oct. 14). The recalled products are from Farm Boy, L'Ancêtre and Life Smart.

"There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products," the recall said. The federal agency advised customers to check if they have the recalled products and not consume, serve, use, sell or distribute them, instead discarding or returning them to the place of purchase. The notice said food contaminated with listeria may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick, with symptoms including vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and neck stiffness. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are "particularly at risk."

The recall was triggered by test results from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and a food safety investigation is underway that could lead to more recalls. The CFIA is also verifying that all recalled products are being removed from the marketplace.

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10. Trump says Canada will 'end up being the 51st state'

Source: CP24

U.S. President Donald Trump told a crowd of supporters that Canada will "end up being the 51st state" as he listed a series of longstanding grievances with the northern neighbour. "Canada treats us very badly. They always have. Not anymore. It's a whole different ball game now that Trump is in town," he said during a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Ariz., on Wednesday (Oct. 14).

Trump brought up Canadian tariffs on milk, car companies moving their factories to the U.S. and renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America," claiming Canada "ripped off" the U.S. through tariffs on "anything past two bottles (of milk)." "They'll end up being the 51st state, because that's the only way it works," Trump said. "We don't need them, but they need us."

On the same day, Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, suggested the actions of several Canadian politicians could amount to "political interference" in close races ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November. Hoekstra pointed to comments by Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, who said in August that Canada's retaliatory tariffs are designed to target specific U.S. states.

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