Maple Express | November 6, 2026 — Four pedestrians struck by SUV in Richmond Hill, children aged 7 and 1 injured

1. Four pedestrians struck by SUV in Richmond Hill, children aged 7 and 1 injured

Source: CP24

York Regional Police say they received multiple 911 calls at 3:18 p.m. Thursday for a serious collision at the intersection of Major Mackenzie Drive and Newkirk Road. When officers and paramedics arrived, they found four injured pedestrians — two adult females and two children, ages 7 and 1. Duty Insp. Rich Gaudet said one woman was taken to a trauma centre with life-threatening injuries, while the other woman and her two children were taken to a local hospital and later discharged.

Gaudet said the driver of the SUV remained at the scene and co-operated with officers, and that the circumstances of the collision are under investigation. He said police are hoping for video and witnesses to explain why the vehicle hit the pedestrians. Several businesses and residents nearby told CP24 that the woman still in hospital is a crossing guard. Moien Afza, who has lived in the area for three years, described her as a "very kind lady" who "walks all the kids across the street, keeps them safe away from danger."

Asked whether the woman was working as a crossing guard at the time, Gaudet would only confirm that she was wearing a reflective vest, saying her employment as a crossing guard had not been confirmed and that the Ministry of Labour has been notified.

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2. Federal budget unveils new immigration plan: 380,000 permanent residents a year

Source: CP24

The government's 2027-2029 immigration levels plan, released Thursday, keeps broad targets of 380,000 permanent residents and 370,000 temporary residents each year, with the temporary target split between 220,000 workers and 150,000 students annually. The 2027 and 2028 figures are the same as in last year's plan. The plan also offers permanent status to up to 200,000 longtime temporary residents who have already applied.

A document provided by the department says the goal is for more than 64 per cent of new permanent resident admissions to be economic immigrants. The 2026 federal budget also proposes reforming the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, with $151.5 million set aside to align it with regional labour market needs, improve processing times and strengthen employer compliance. Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said before the budget's release that the issue of temporary workers varies significantly by region and sector. "Depending where you are, there's more pressure, the unemployment rate is not the same," he said, adding the government is trying to be more bespoke.

Combined with a separate program granting permanent residency to about 140,000 temporary residents, Canada could add more than 600,000 new permanent residents next year. The government aims to cut the temporary resident population to five per cent of the total by the end of 2027; it peaked at 7.4 per cent in October 2024 and a Statistics Canada estimate on July 1 put it at 6.7 per cent. Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner accused the government of cooking the books, saying the plan benefits wealthy corporate interests at the expense of workers.

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3. Four products recalled over fire and burn hazards, including Bose batteries

Source: CP24

Health Canada issued several recall notices Thursday covering four products sold in Canada, advising consumers to "immediately stop using" them. They include the Baby Brezza SuperFast Sterilizer Dryer (model BRZ0083, UPC 886267008313), sold between September 2023 and November 2026. Of 6,001 units sold in Canada, there were 20 reported incidents of overheating and melting and no injuries as of Oct. 29; 29,000 units were sold in the U.S., with 32 reported incidents. The Quebec-based importer, EI Brand Management Inc., can be reached at service@elfe.ca for a free replacement.

Bose S1 Pro and S1 Pro+ System Battery Packs are also being recalled over fire and burn hazards. Health Canada says continued operation of the lithium-ion packs as they age exposes the cells to potentially damaging conditions. The S1 Pro packs were sold between April 2020 and May 2024, and the S1 Pro+ between June 2025 and July 2026. There were no reported incidents or injuries in Canada as of Oct. 5; globally there were seven incidents and no injuries. More than 35,000 units were sold in Canada and nearly 635,000 in the U.S. Consumers should remove and stop using the packs and contact Bose at 1-800-869-2114 for a replacement.

The NEWDERY lithium-ion power banks were recalled because the battery can explode or ignite. They were sold on Amazon.ca from June to November 2024; of 962 units sold, there were no reported incidents or injuries in Canada as of Oct. 30. Health Canada says affected consumers have been refunded through Amazon.ca, and Newdery can be reached at 1-888-256-6673 or support@newdery.com.

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4. 'Godzilla El Nino' points to a milder, far less predictable Ontario winter

Source: CP24

David Phillips, a retired senior climatologist at Environment Canada, says this year's "super" El Nino is one of the strongest on record and has been called the "Godzilla El Nino," though scientists prefer "very strong." Bill Merryfield, a research scientist at Environment Canada, said this year's El Nino is stronger than anything seen in at least the past 100 years. When ocean warming in a key Pacific region exceeds 2 C, an El Nino is classified as very strong, and such super events have happened about every 10 to 20 years in recent decades; this year's warming is already well over 3 C and may intensify. Phillips said it is approaching four degrees warmer than usual.

Phillips said this El Nino has been connected to heightened sea levels and coastal flooding concerns along parts of B.C., severe droughts in Southeast Asia and record temperatures around the world. Toronto recently broke an 80-year-old temperature record in late October. "We haven't had a frost in Toronto. We should have had snow on the pumpkins," he said. "Where is the snow?"

Merryfield said average winter temperatures in Toronto were about two to three degrees above historical norms during the strong El Nino of 2015-2016, and current seasonal forecasts favour similar conditions. Phillips expects less snow overall but spread out over the season, with lake-effect snow lasting longer because the lakes stay open later. He cautioned that El Nino does not blow every day and a polar vortex can still bite: "it'll be like a yo-yo kind of thing where you can't really trust the weather."

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5. Wildfire at New Brunswick military base contained, army officials say

Source: CP24

Military officials say a fire at a central New Brunswick army base near Fredericton has been contained. A notice posted online by the Canadian Armed Forces says recent rain helped snuff out the blaze in the northeastern part of the Canadian Forces Base Gagetown training area. The base is roughly 27 kilometres southeast of Fredericton.

Officials say the fire was never a threat to the public and that no injuries were reported. The fire at Canada's second-largest military base began Oct. 28 and officials said it was caused by artillery shooting.

It came less than two weeks after a devastating grass fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta, southeast of Edmonton, that killed four soldiers and sent dozens more to hospital.

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6. Mexican judge accused of taking $2M bribe to free Canadian deputy of Ryan Wedding

Source: CP24

The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges Thursday against Luis Benitez Alcantara, 49, of Mexico City, a federal judge accused of accepting a $2 million bribe to grant bail to the Canadian deputy of former Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug trafficker Ryan Wedding. The charges pertain to a February 2025 decision to release Andrew Clark on bail.

U.S. investigators allege Clark, 36, was the second-in-command of a billion-dollar transnational criminal organization that was the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada and operated in Colombia, Mexico and the United States. Clark was arrested in Mexico in October 2024 on U.S. drug trafficking, murder and attempted murder charges in which Wedding also was named, and Benitez Alcantara oversaw his extradition proceedings. Authorities allege Clark agreed to pay the judge about $2 million in exchange for an order releasing him. Clark was released on Feb. 24, 2025, the same day investigators allege the judge received the full payment; he was re-arrested days later and sent to the U.S., where charges are pending.

Benitez Alcantara was arrested in Colombia on Nov. 1 and U.S. authorities are seeking his extradition. He faces nine counts of being an accessory after the fact, each carrying a maximum of 15 years in prison. The charges have not been proven in court. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said crooked public officials who assist drug traffickers "no matter where they are" will face justice in the United States. Wedding was arrested in Mexico in January and remains in U.S. custody awaiting two separate trials set to begin next year.

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7. Ontario doctor wants an apology over 'high number' of days worked letter

Source: CP24

Dr. Adam Stewart, a family doctor in Madoc, Ont., says he received an "intimidating" letter from the Ministry of Health's Payment Accountability and Fraud Control Unit flagging what it described as abnormal billing patterns and questioning the "high number" of days he worked over the past year. He received the letter on Oct. 27 and later posted videos to social media. The Ontario Medical Association told CTV News it believes "hundreds" of similar letters have been sent to physicians across the province.

Stewart said the letter did not specify how many days he worked or what threshold triggered the warning. "Do they really want us to work less days?" he said. "I know I'm an accurate, honest, hardworking physician, so I know I have nothing to hide." He described the tone as intimidating, leaving him with a "watch your back" impression without explaining what he had done wrong. He said family medicine rarely ends when the last patient leaves the clinic, pointing to test results, hospital reports, referrals and prescriptions, and patient messages through electronic medical records.

OMA President Dr. Rebecca Hicks called the letters "incredibly disheartening," especially when physicians are already working evenings, weekends and holidays. The association is seeking an apology and answers about how physicians were selected and what criteria were used. Health Minister Sylvia Jones told a news conference the letters are part of the ministry's standard review and that doctors won't face action if the work was done and billed appropriately. The ministry says "abnormal billing" includes more than 15 hours of billed services in a single day and more than 100 unique patients billed in a single day.

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8. Canada Post to raise stamp prices to $2 in 2027

Source: CP24

The federal budget proposes raising the cost of a stamp from $1.44 to $2 in 2027, with a seven per cent a year increase in the years ahead. Budget 2026 says the hike will help bring Canada Post's stamp pricing more closely in line with other countries in the 38-member OECD, and estimates the impact at about $6 a year for consumers and $9 a year for small businesses, while offsetting costs and ensuring affordability.

Canada Post last raised prices in 2025, when it implemented a 25 per cent increase to $1.44 for a single stamp. A book of stamps costs $1.24 per stamp. The budget did not say when in 2027 the increase would take effect. A domestic stamp costs $1.95 AUD in Australia and a first-class stamp costs 1.80 pounds in England. The cost of a stamp in Canada was $1 in 2017 before rising to $1.05 in 2018.

The federal government is also providing $1.4 billion over two years to support Canada Post's operations and $1.2 billion over seven years as the Crown corporation converts urban door-to-door delivery to community mailboxes. The budget says traditional letter mail use continues to decline and Canada Post's existing model no longer works for 21st-century Canada. The 2025 annual report showed Canada Post delivered about two billion domestic letters last year, compared to 5.5 billion in 2006.

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9. Accused in Montreal mother's killing confirmed dead in jail, no trial

Source: CP24

The Montreal Coroner's Office confirmed that Youcef Moussaoui, 33, accused of killing 45-year-old mother Leila Ben Salem, died on Nov. 2, meaning there will be no trial. Ben Salem was killed on Sept. 22 in her Rene-Levesque Boulevard apartment while taking part in a work video conference.

Moussaoui was arrested Oct. 15 and taken into custody, and was detained at Bordeaux jail at the time of his death. He was due to appear in court on Dec. 21 in Montreal. Coroner Andrejean Luc is leading an investigation to determine the cause and circumstances of the death; a spokesperson said the coroner's investigation is confidential until the final report is released.

Montreal police said their investigation showed Moussaoui had done some work at Ben Salem's home and that a "relationship of trust" had developed. Police said evidence indicated the accused was experiencing financial difficulties and facing demands to repay large sums lent to him, and that financial transactions had been carried out on the victim's accounts after her death. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre both offered condolences to Ben Salem's family, colleagues and loved ones in the House of Commons in September.

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10. Blue Jays' Santander shares, then deletes Islamophobic videos

Source: CP24

In the wake of Tuesday night's U.S. midterm elections, Toronto Blue Jays slugger Anthony Santander shared a series of Islamophobic videos to his Instagram Stories and later deleted the content. Santander, 32, has suited up in only 54 games with the team since signing a five-year, $92.5 million deal.

Among the videos was one from a Christian preacher who said there is "no such thing as kind Muslims" and another claiming Sharia law would be coming for the U.S. after Dr. Abdulrahim El-Sayed was elected to the Senate in Michigan. The Blue Jays responded with a statement to CTV News: "Baseball is for everyone, and the Blue Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark. Individual comments do not represent our organization's values and beliefs."

A native of Margarita, Venezuela, Santander spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Baltimore Orioles and was an All-Star in 2024. He missed the entirety of the 2026 season following labral surgery on his left shoulder in the winter; an attempted return late in the season was aborted after he felt something in his shoulder in mid-July.

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