Maple Express | October 16, 2026 — Toronto 18 Terror Plot Ringleader Granted Full Parole

Source: CP24

1. Toronto 18 Terror Plot Ringleader Granted Full Parole

The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of the ringleaders of the thwarted Toronto 18 terror plot, finding Zakaria Amara no longer shows "any signs of holding onto extremist beliefs or radical ideologies." In a written decision issued Friday, a two-member panel said the 41-year-old had been on day parole with multiple conditions for four years and was upgraded after his case was reviewed last week.

The board said Amara undertook a process to deradicalize while incarcerated and used his day parole "for its intended rehabilitative purpose," demonstrating "positive change, both in attitude and in behaviour." He was closely supervised on day parole, with his internet use, friendships and relationships monitored and no reported safety concerns or breaches. He now plans to live in his own home and structure his time around a full-time job, attending a mosque, seeing family and "appropriate leisure activities."

The homegrown plot, dismantled in June 2006, shocked the country. Amara and an accomplice recruited members based on jihadist ideologies, planning to storm Parliament Hill and bomb sites around Toronto to demand the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan. The group later split, with Amara leading a plot to build truck bombs targeting CSIS headquarters, the Toronto Stock Exchange building and a military base. He was arrested the day bomb-making materials were delivered to a warehouse.

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2. Ottawa Warns Stelco's U.S. Owner: Keep Canadian Jobs or Face Forced Asset Sale

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly issued a fresh warning Friday to Stelco's American owner, saying it must protect Canadian jobs or risk being forced to sell its Canadian assets. Speaking at the Canadian Club in Toronto, she singled out Cleveland-Cliffs for supporting U.S. tariffs, calling it "the elephant in the room" that is directly harming its Canadian operations and putting hundreds of jobs at risk at Stelco's Hamilton plant.

"Cleveland Cliffs must uphold its commitments. Full stop," Joly said. She later added that Ottawa will "apply the full force of the law and every tool in the toolbox to ensure that this strategic capacity remains operational, and they must keep the jobs in Canada or face the prospect of having to sell their Canadian assets."

The warning comes days after more layoff notices were handed to unionized workers at Stelco's Hamilton plant as the company moves ahead with plans to idle its cold mill and coating departments. Last month, Cleveland-Cliffs announced it would shut down part of the Hamilton operation across the Hamilton and Lake Erie facilities, cutting up to 500 jobs, citing low steel prices and tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Ottawa says the move violates commitments made under the Investment Canada Act when Cleveland-Cliffs acquired Stelco in 2024. CEO Lourenco Goncalves called the layoffs a "business decision to concentrate production" and said the company is prepared to go to court.

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3. Five Teens Charged After Toronto Police Officers Assaulted at TTC Station

Five teenagers have been charged after several Toronto police officers were assaulted at Finch West subway station on Wednesday. Police said they were called to the Line 1 station to assist TTC constables in dealing with several youths who allegedly manipulated fare gates so they could enter without paying.

When officers arrived, one youth was arrested for allegedly assaulting an officer, which police said prompted other youths to interfere with the arrest. They allegedly surrounded and assaulted the officers. Three youths were arrested and released at the scene with charges, while two others were charged later. Because they cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, police identified them only by age: one 13-year-old, two 14-year-olds and two 15-year-olds. All face a charge of obstructing a peace officer, and four are also charged with assaulting a peace officer.

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4. Man Seriously Injured in Downtown Toronto Stabbing; Suspect Sought

A male was taken to hospital with serious injuries after being stabbed in downtown Toronto on Friday afternoon. It happened at around 12:24 p.m. in the Dundas Street East and Seaton Street area.

The victim suffered serious, non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect, who has not been identified, fled on foot, and the circumstances behind the stabbing are currently unclear. Police said the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is being asked to contact investigators.

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5. Police Seek Help Identifying Suspect in Unprovoked TTC Bus Assault

Toronto police have released images of a suspect wanted in connection with an unprovoked assault on a TTC bus earlier this week. Police said they were called shortly before noon on Wednesday to the area of Dufferin Street and Eglinton Avenue West for an assault.

Officers learned that a suspect boarded a TTC bus at Dufferin Street and sat behind another passenger, then allegedly assaulted the passenger, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The suspect fled shortly after. Police describe the suspect as between 35 and 45 years old with a goatee and a beard. He was last seen wearing a black head covering, a black jacket, dark-coloured pants and white shoes with maple leaves on them.

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6. Toronto Mayoral Race: Bradford Pledges 15,000 Youth Jobs, Chow Announces East-End Police Station Reopening

With just 10 days to go before Toronto's mayoral election, Brad Bradford is promising to get more jobs for young people while Olivia Chow vows to get an East York police station back up and running. At a campaign announcement Friday morning, Bradford unveiled his plan to create 15,000 permanent, full-time youth jobs by the end of his term if elected, with 5,000 jobs in the first year alone.

Bradford underscored Toronto's roughly 17 per cent youth unemployment rate and a recent study from Toronto Metropolitan University that suggested 77,000 people left the city in 2025. "The best thing that we could do is try and grow our own talent here in this city," he said. Dubbed the Toronto Youth Employment Challenge, the plan would see Bradford personally recruit 10 to 15 CEOs to take part and fund the jobs, with the city coordinating the initiative at a cost of less than $750,000 annually. Every pledge would be published to a quarterly leaderboard, and at least 30 per cent of the 15,000 jobs would be reserved for those facing "the steepest barriers."

In East York, Chow announced that the Toronto Police Service's 54 Division will reopen in 2030. Shuttered in 2018, the station near Eglinton Avenue East and Victoria Park Avenue merged with 55 Division about six kilometres away. The reopening was approved as part of the 2025 budget, which included $120.2 million to de-amalgamate the divisions and fund a new standalone 54 Division. Residents who spoke alongside Chow said the closure left them feeling vulnerable. The Toronto Police Association welcomed the announcement.

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7. Brampton Man Charged After Police Allege He Broke Into 20 Separate Businesses

A 45-year-old man from Brampton is facing numerous charges in connection with 20 commercial break and enters in Brampton over the past two months. According to Peel Regional Police, between August and September the suspect allegedly broke into several restaurants, retail shops and other businesses overnight.

Police say he gained entry by smashing front glass doors or windows with a rock or a brick, targeting cash registers or safes. Several of the businesses reportedly sustained "significant damage." Following an investigation, officers arrested the suspect at Brampton GO Station on Sept. 24. He was charged with 13 counts of break, enter and commit an indictable offence and four counts of break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence. "Video surveillance played a key role in identifying the accused and connecting him to the incidents," police said in a news release, noting that officers also seized clothing believed to be connected with the break-ins.

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8. Canada's Wonderland: Behemoth and Leviathan to Remain Closed

Canada's Wonderland says two roller-coasters that were shut down in the wake of a deadly incident at an amusement park in Atlanta "will remain closed for the time being." The Vaughan, Ont., park provided the update on its Leviathan and Behemoth coasters in a statement on Friday.

"As efforts to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident continue, certain rides similar to the attraction involved in Georgia remain temporarily closed out of an abundance of caution. This includes Leviathan and Behemoth," Canada's Wonderland President Christopher Mortensen said in a statement. He did not provide an exact timeline for when the rides will reopen, and most coasters closed after the park's Halloween events.

Earlier this week, one person died after reportedly being thrown from the Goliath coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. The death led to the closure of at least 11 coasters in Canada and the United States. Mortensen said the park maintains "rigorous inspection, maintenance, and operational procedures," with attractions undergoing daily, weekly, monthly and annual inspections, and staff receiving extensive training. He noted that all other scheduled rides will be available to guests.

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9. Youth Found Guilty of Two Terrorism Charges in Alleged Plan to Kill Jewish People

Ontario Superior Court Justice Kerry McVey delivered a verdict Friday finding a youth guilty of two terrorism-related charges stemming from an alleged 2023 plan to kill Jewish people in Ottawa. The young person was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder through involvement with a terrorist group, and of facilitating terrorist activity by seeking to acquire a prohibited firearm. He was found not guilty of facilitating terrorist activity by making instructional material and propaganda available.

The youth, who cannot legally be identified due to his age, had pleaded not guilty to all three charges. His trial began in April, a day after his co-accused — also a young person who cannot legally be identified — was found guilty on four charges. McVey concluded the youth found guilty Friday conspired with his co-accused and another individual who was not charged in a plan to kill a large number of people.

"The planned attack was intended to intimidate a segment of the public, namely members of the Jewish community, with respect to their security," McVey said, adding the attack was intended to cause serious harm through violence. She said communications between the participants revealed detailed discussions concerning the scale of the intended killing, the weapons required, the quantity of ammunition necessary and the possible use of explosives. "Their shared objective was the mass killing of innocent people."

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10. Confusion as Canada's Approach to Daylight Time Shifts

There is more confusion and a reignited debate over the seasonal time change as millions of Canadians get set to turn the clocks back, while some provinces scrap the move altogether. On Nov. 1, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories will no longer turn the clocks back one hour in favour of remaining on daylight time.

Most of Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will still change, although parts of northwestern Ontario, including Kenora, won't so the region can align with neighbouring Manitoba. "The Canadian time landscape is a real mess right now, I can't even keep up with it," said Patricia Lakin-Thomas, a biology professor at York University. She said there is a desperate need for some organization to come up with something more systematic than this patchwork approach.

As of Nov. 1, when it is noon in Toronto it will be 10 a.m. in Vancouver, and Alberta will be only one hour behind most of Ontario. Some experts argue the semi-annual change can be harmful to your health and that switching to permanent standard time is the way to go. Lakin-Thomas noted that with the sunrise in Calgary not until 9:30 a.m. on some winter mornings, people will "feel and be essentially jet-lagged." Mustafa Kaya, who runs a watch and clock shop in Ottawa, uses the time change as a reminder to replace the batteries in his store's dozens of clocks. Ontario has said it would end the semi-annual switch, but only if Quebec and New York do so as well.

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