Maple Express | October 30, 2026 — Toronto Woman Injured by Getaway Driver Gets a $40,000 City Bill Two Years Later

1. Toronto Woman Hit by Getaway Driver's Car Gets a $40,000 Bill From the City Two Years Later

Source: CP24

Nancy Buckman, a 68-year-old nurse practitioner in Toronto, was driving to a LifeLabs location in December 2024 when her car was struck by a speeding vehicle as she made a left turn from Don Mills Road onto Fairview Mall Drive on a yellow light. She later learned the people in the car that hit her were allegedly fleeing a jewelry store robbery at Fairview Mall and ran off after the crash.

Buckman lost consciousness and came to when a Good Samaritan tapped on her window, urging her to get out because her vehicle's undercarriage was on fire. Her 2021 Subaru Forester was totaled, she suffered bruising on her chest and a serious neck injury that still causes pain and requires regular physiotherapy. Insurance covered the car and her physiotherapy after a second assessment.

In July she received a thick envelope: a roughly 10-page invoice for $40,350.11 from the City of Toronto Revenue Services, itemizing all the work and materials needed to replace a pole knocked over in the crash. She was given until Aug. 22 to pay, with the notice warning of court action and a licence suspension. The city waived the deadline but not the charge, citing a police report that found her at fault because she should have yielded to the getaway driver.

"I was very angry," Buckman said. She reached the officer who had been on scene, who she says claimed to have no recollection of the accident. After consulting several personal injury lawyers, she concluded legal action would not be worthwhile. After a back-and-forth, her insurance company agreed to pay the city's bill in full because she had been found at fault. In a statement, the city said it generally recommends that people receiving such a bill forward it to their insurance company.

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2. Canada-EU Summit Opens in Montreal as Carney and von der Leyen Float 'Associate Member' Status

Source: CP24

Canada's much-anticipated summit with the European Union began Thursday in Montreal, a two-day meeting held after months of speculation about how a new alliance between the two bodies will take shape. On the first day, Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Canada and the EU would collaborate on AI, and both used the term "associate member" when referring to how the two sides will strengthen ties.

Von der Leyen made headlines last month when she publicly invited Carney to grow the Canada-EU relationship and first floated the term in a speech. Some countries have pushed back on that label, and Canadian officials have called the partnership an "alliance for the future." On the summit's first day, Carney also announced a $1.6-billion investment in Canadian AI company Cohere, pledging investment in "affordable, secure, sovereign" AI made in Canada.

The European Council President said a digital trade agreement will be approved on Friday. Jeremy Kinsman, Canada's former ambassador to the EU, told CTV News this is "easily the most significant one" of the many Canada-EU summits he has attended. Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy said it is "very unclear" what associate membership would actually look like.

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3. B.C. Family Calls for Change After Dog Killed in Legally Set Snare Trap

Source: CP24

A family in a rural area near Williams Lake, B.C., is calling for regulatory changes after their dog died after being caught in a snare trap. Victoria Savile told CTV News that Berta was a working farm dog that watched over livestock and a beloved member of the family. "She was loved. She was a family member. She didn't deserve this," Savile said.

On the morning of Oct. 19, a neighbour found Berta deceased. Savile said the dog got caught in a snare trap set on Crown land just 280 metres from the family's house. After speaking with a conservation officer, she learned the trap was legally set. Under current provincial regulations, traps must be set at least 200 metres from dwellings, trap lines do not need to be marked with signage, and they can even be set in provincial parks.

Lesley Fox, executive director of the anti-trapping group The Fur-Bearers, said traps are indiscriminate: "anything, whether it's a dog or a child, a bird, a turtle, a deer, or any animal can set that trap off." She said an average of eight dogs per year have died in fur traps over the past decade. Incoming Premier Lorne Doerkson is the MLA for the area where Berta died; Savile said she has been in touch with him and plans to follow up next week.

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4. Toronto Breaks an 80-Year-Old Temperature Record

Source: CP24

Toronto set a new daytime high for Oct. 29 on Thursday, breaking a record set 80 years ago. CTV Toronto weather anchor Lyndsay Morrison said the temperature climbed to 23.8 C at Pearson Airport Thursday afternoon. The previous record high for Oct. 29 was 21.7 C, set in 1946.

Morrison said strong southwest winds ushered in warm air, although a cold front moving through early in the evening was expected to cool things down somewhat and bring a few showers. The temperature was to drop to a low of 8 C overnight, with Friday expected to reach 14 C, about four degrees warmer than normal for this time of year.

Humidity caused significant fog on Thursday morning, prompting a fog advisory for Toronto and causing flight delays at the airport. Morrison said October has been warmer and drier than normal, and that Halloween this year brings above-average warmth and comfortably mild temperatures for trick-or-treating, with no concerns about rain. Environment Canada expects mainly sunny skies and a high of 14 C on Halloween, with highs of 16 C on Sunday and 15 C on Monday.

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5. Three Products Recalled in Canada: Gas Boilers, Kids' Swings and Space Heaters

Source: CP24

Health Canada issued consumer product recall notices on Thursday for NTI- and HTP-brand residential gas boilers, Harkla children's compression sensory swings and DREO portable space heaters. Each company is offering a free remedy, including repair kits, boiler upgrades and replacement heaters.

In the boilers, a component can crack during delayed ignition, allowing unburned gas to accumulate inside the sealed cabinet; if the gas ignites, the front cover can suddenly detach, creating a risk of serious injury or death from impact, fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. The recall affects NTI's FTVN and TFTN series and HTP's EFTU series, sold from May 2021 to August 2025, with about 2,261 units sold in Canada. As of Oct. 16, the company had received two incident reports and one injury report in Canada.

The Harkla swings are being recalled because the ceiling hook can separate from its mounting plate, potentially causing a child to fall and suffer serious injuries; 5,534 were sold in Canada between March 2020 and April 2025. The DREO recall covers model DR-HSH015 oscillating ceramic heaters, which can overheat and ignite, with 36,288 units sold in Canada. Health Canada says consumers should immediately stop using the affected products and follow the companies' instructions for a remedy.

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6. Police Hunt Suspect After Alleged Sexual Assault in Etobicoke Parking Garage

Source: CP24

Toronto police are looking for a man wanted after an underage victim was allegedly sexually assaulted in an underground parking lot in Etobicoke on Tuesday. Police said officers launched an investigation Wednesday following reports of a sexual assault in the area of Dixon Road and Wincott Drive.

It is alleged the suspect was in an underground garage of an apartment building Tuesday evening and began conversing with the underage victim before sexually assaulting them. The victim managed to escape and the suspect fled the area. Police described the suspect as a male with a medium to large build and a black chinstrap beard, last seen wearing a black baseball cap, black jacket, black pants and black and red New Balance shoes. He also smelled of alcohol and smoke, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators.

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7. Knee Injury Makes Kawhi Leonard's Return Timeline Hard to Project

Source: CP24

The nature of Kawhi Leonard's knee injury makes it difficult to put a definitive return timeline on him at this point. TSN's Josh Lewenberg reports Leonard is expected to be re-evaluated next Wednesday, and a return to action will depend on how his swollen left knee responds to rest and treatment.

NBA on Prime's Chris Haynes reported Thursday that Leonard was expected to be sidelined for at least three or four weeks. ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday that Leonard will miss "a period of weeks," while the Raptors said he would be evaluated in one week and showed no acute injury in medical imaging. Head coach Darko Rajakovic reiterated Thursday that there is still no firm timetable; Leonard is getting treatment outside of Toronto and is responding well so far.

Leonard averaged 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds on 32.4 per cent shooting in two games this season. He will be sidelined through the Raptors' trip to Los Angeles this weekend, meaning he will not play against his former team, the Clippers, on Monday at Intuit Dome. The Raptors sit at 3-1 and host the Magic again on Friday in a back-to-back.

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8. 97 Dogs Seized From Fort McMurray Home, Woman Facing Charges

Source: CP24

A woman is facing charges after nearly 100 dogs were seized from a home in Fort McMurray earlier this year. On Aug. 25, Wood Buffalo RCMP and Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Bylaw Services executed a welfare check, followed by a search warrant, at a home in the Gregoire neighbourhood, and 97 dogs were removed.

Melanie Schneider, a spokesperson for the Fort McMurray SPCA, said Thursday that a 98th dog was rescued from the area days later. She said 61 of the dogs have found loving homes after receiving their required spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations and necessary grooming, while 25 are awaiting surgeries and three are in foster care for medical reasons.

"The dogs are making progress, and our team has been working hard to help them build confidence, learn to trust people, and discover that the world can be a safe and positive place," Schneider said, crediting volunteers who built extra kennels. On Wednesday, a 51-year-old Fort McMurray woman was arrested and charged with causing damage or injury to an animal and causing or permitting unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal. She has been released and will appear in court on Nov. 19.

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9. No Charges After Racially Charged Confrontation at Western University: Police

Source: CP24

London police say a man involved in a verbal altercation with a group of women on the Western University campus will not face charges. Much of the incident was caught on cell phone video, and while racist language can be heard, police say it does not constitute a crime but rather a hate incident.

"Hate crime is defined as a crime in the Criminal Code of Canada. It's a criminal offense. A hate motivated incident is an incident that does not meet the definition of a crime," explained LPS Acting Insp. Michelle Romano. The man, who identified himself only as Tom in an interview with CTV News and called himself a nationalist, invokes Christianity in both the interview and the video. Dean Kevin George of St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral said he finds it offensive when people invoke the name of Christianity to prop up their own hatred.

According to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, the nationalist movement in Canada is the largest it has ever been and poses a growing threat to public safety. London police said there were 70 hate or bias motivated crimes in 2025, with 53 charges in 24 of those occurrences, along with 98 reported hate or bias motivated incidents. The force recently increased its Hate Crime Unit to three full-time investigators and one outreach officer.

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10. Crown Still Weighing Whether to Drop Historical Sex Assault Charges Against Former OPP Officer

Source: CP24

A former longtime Ontario Provincial Police officer accused of historical sexual assaults will have to wait at least another week to learn whether the Crown plans to drop the charges against him. Theo Oderkirk, 51, left the Barrie courthouse with lawyer Alexa Banister-Thompson on Thursday afternoon, disappointed the Crown chose not to drop the charges as the defence had expected.

The Crown told the court it had advised the defence it planned to "not proceed" with the three sexual assault counts against Oderkirk, who is also charged with obstruction of justice, stemming from allegations between 2010 and 2019. The prosecution said it required an adjournment as it continues to assess the reasonable prospect of conviction and awaits approval from superiors to withdraw the charges after reviewing evidence and documents. Banister-Thompson told the court there is no new evidence against Oderkirk and called the complainant an "admitted perjurer."

The proceedings came two weeks after the Crown stayed separate historical assault and threat charges in Barrie against Oderkirk, who resigned from the OPP in September after 23 years of service. He had been in custody for eight months on the latest charges and was released following a bail review earlier this month. In August, he was given a conditional discharge and three years of probation in Perth, Ont., after being found guilty of two counts of breaching an earlier release by failing to abide by a non-communication order. The matter returns to court in a week, and the allegations have not been tested in court.

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