Maple Express | October 30, 2026 — Family speaks out after violent Bridle Path home invasion

1. Family speaks out after violent Bridle Path home invasion

Source: CP24

The family at the centre of an armed home invasion in Toronto's Bridle Path neighbourhood has spoken publicly for the first time. In a statement released Friday afternoon, David Morton — CEO of real estate services company The MAC Group — said what should have been the safety of their own home "became a terrifying and life-threatening experience." CP24 has learned that Morton, his wife Doriana Zohil-Morton and their two adult daughters were among those inside the home. Morton said the family is focused on recovery and supporting one another, while also voicing deep concern about rising violence tied to home invasions across Toronto.

Police said three masked suspects armed with handguns and a hammer broke into the home on Hyde Park Circle near Bayview and Lawrence avenues at around 3:45 a.m. Thursday, went to the second floor and entered bedrooms, demanded valuables and got into an altercation with the occupants. Multiple firearms were discharged. A 75-year-old man, a 26-year-old woman and a 28-year-old woman suffered gunshot wounds, while the man and a 64-year-old woman were also struck with a hammer. All four were rushed to hospital; two remained there with what police described as life-altering injuries as of Thursday afternoon.

On Friday, police released descriptions of the three suspects: males approximately 20 years old, last seen wearing dark clothing and face masks, who fled in a dark-coloured SUV and remain at large. Police said they should be considered armed and dangerous. The incident was the 119th home invasion reported to Toronto police this year, up 32.2 per cent from the same time in 2025. Police Chief Myron Demkiw said the impact on the family has been "devastating" and that experienced investigators and specialized teams are following every lead.

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2. Dump truck driver charged in death of Toronto traffic agent

Source: CP24

A 33-year-old Brampton man has been arrested and charged with careless driving causing death under the Highway Traffic Act after a City of Toronto traffic agent was fatally struck by a dump truck while on the job, police confirmed Friday. The collision happened at about 9 a.m. Thursday in the area of Millwood Road and Overlea Boulevard in the city's east end and was first reported as a pedestrian-involved collision. The victim was a 42-year-old traffic agent.

Investigators said the agent was directing traffic when a blue Kenworth dump truck travelling southbound on Millwood Road tried to turn left onto eastbound Overlea Boulevard and hit her during the turn. Despite life-saving efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver remained at the scene and was cooperating, Duty Insp. Peter Wallace said earlier. Mayor Olivia Chow identified the victim later in the morning and said she was "heartbroken."

The accused is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 28, 2027. The investigation is ongoing, and police are asking residents, businesses and drivers with security or dashcam footage of the collision or the surrounding area to contact Traffic Services.

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3. York Catholic board chair disciplined for breaking code of conduct

Source: CP24

The chair of the York Catholic District School Board has had her pay docked for 30 days and must complete board governance training within six months of a report's release after being found to have created a "toxic and poisoned" workplace. The 36-page report by board integrity commissioner Daniela Corapi examined two complaints filed in January by trustees Elizabeth Crowe and Theresa McNicol against Maria Iafrate. The complaints, brought separately but investigated together because they overlapped, spanned nine alleged breaches of the board's Trustee Code of Conduct.

Corapi found only three of the nine instances met the threshold for violating the code, all between October and December 2025 and largely centred on Iafrate's relationship with then-Director of Education John De Faveri. "Such conduct contributed to a toxic environment and cannot be minimized as mere error," Corapi wrote, noting that Iafrate made no admission of wrongdoing and had not shown remorse. The report describes a December 2025 incident in which a principal said they overheard Iafrate using profane and disparaging language about the director; Iafrate denied saying she wanted him fired. De Faveri retired in June.

The report was issued Aug. 25 but only recently made public; a board spokesperson told CTV News the delay was "in consideration of the timing" of the recent municipal election, when trustees were on the ballot. Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra said Thursday that reading the findings was "very, very, very frustrating," criticizing trustees who spend their time fighting each other instead of advocating for students, parents and teachers. Iafrate was acclaimed in Monday's municipal election. The board was placed under provincial supervision on March 5, 2026.

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4. Pedestrian struck in North York with serious injuries

Source: CP24

A pedestrian struck by a vehicle in North York on Friday has sustained serious injuries. Toronto police said they received a call at around 1 p.m. for a pedestrian struck in the area of Bathurst Street and Carpenter Road. Toronto paramedics said the pedestrian, an adult female, was taken to hospital with serious, possibly life-threatening injuries.

Police said the driver remained on the scene. No further details were released.

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5. Suspect arrested in sexual assault at Scarborough school open house

Source: CP24

Toronto police have arrested a suspect in a sexual assault that allegedly took place at a school open house in Scarborough. On Friday, police arrested and charged Riaz Ahmed, 78, of Scarborough with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference. He is scheduled to appear in Ontario court on Jan. 27.

Police said the suspect attended a school open house in the area of Guildwood Parkway and Livingston Road, where he allegedly sexually assaulted an underage victim on school property. The victim managed to stop the assault and the man fled on foot.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7474.

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6. Halloween weekend: UP Express suspended, GO lines adjusted

Source: CP24

Anyone planning to use GO Transit or UP Express to get into the city for trick-or-treating or Halloween parties this weekend should plan for disruptions. GO Transit says UP Express service is suspended all weekend for major track upgrades, with shuttle buses running directly between Toronto Pearson Airport Terminal 1 and Union Station Bus Terminal. The buses will not stop at Bloor, Mount Dennis or Weston GO stations.

GO trains will only run between Mount Pleasant and Mount Dennis stations. From Mount Dennis, riders are advised to take the Eglinton Crosstown LRT to connect to TTC Line 1 to Union Station. GO says crews are doing construction and maintenance work to support faster, more frequent service on the Kitchener line. There will be no GO service at Bloor Station, and select GO buses will run between Stratford or Kitchener GO and Hwy 407 Bus Terminal.

Other changes include hourly train service between Durham College Oshawa GO and Union Station to accommodate planned construction. On the Barrie line, weekend train service is reduced and replaced by GO buses running between Allandale Waterfront GO and Highway 407 Bus Terminal to connect to TTC Line 1; trains run between Allandale Waterfront/Aurora GO and Downsview Park, with no service between Downsview Park and Union Station. Southbound trains will depart Old Elm/Mount Joy GO up to 27 minutes later than scheduled. On the TTC, subway service on Line 2 between Jane and Ossington will start at 12 p.m. Sunday due to track work, with shuttle buses before then; Runnymede, High Park, Lansdowne and Dufferin stations will be closed.

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7. OPP officer charged with assault after Caledon arrest

Source: CP24

Ontario's police watchdog has charged an Ontario Provincial Police officer involved in an arrest that left a man seriously injured in Caledon. The Special Investigations Unit said there were reasonable grounds to criminally charge Const. Daniel Kooy with assault causing bodily harm.

The SIU said officers were investigating a dispute outside a residence in Caledon East and arrested a man for allegedly uttering threats on Dec. 26, 2025. The man suffered a serious injury during an interaction with the officer who was handcuffing him. Kooy is scheduled to appear before an Orangeville court in late November.

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8. Family of First Nation woman who died asks OPP to investigate

Source: CP24

The family of a northern Ontario First Nation woman who died after she could not get to crucial medical appointments following open-heart surgery has asked provincial police to investigate her death. Eva Mamakwa said her 31-year-old daughter, Miranda Mamakwa, died in September after Indigenous Services Canada's non-insured health benefits program did not arrange travel for followup appointments following her April surgery.

Miranda lived in Fort Severn First Nation, a remote fly-in community at the mouth of the Severn River on Hudson Bay, with her three children and her parents. The family alleges the program's Sioux Lookout branch failed to arrange travel to medical appointments on four separate occasions from May through August, including appointments with cardiovascular specialists. "This should never have happened to Miranda," her parents, Eva Mamakwa and Mike Bluecoat, said in a statement. "She should be alive today. We deserve to know how something like this happened."

The family's lawyer, Julian Falconer, said they sent a letter to police on Thursday with their request. The OPP did not respond to a request for comment from The Canadian Press. "We have created an apartheid system in this country as it relates to the delivery of medical services to Indigenous people. It must stop," Falconer said. Indigenous Services Canada says it is working to improve the medical travel service and implemented a simplified travel submission process in early October; Minister Mandy Gull-Masty has said her department is reviewing the circumstances. Miranda died of a brain hemorrhage on Sept. 8.

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9. Kentucky distillers say Canada's bourbon ban still stings

Source: CP24

Bourbon is a way of life in Bardstown, Ky., a town of more than 13,000 people about an hour from Louisville that calls itself the bourbon capital of the world. Kentucky distillers were hit hard in March 2025 when Canadian provinces pulled American alcohol and spirits off the shelves in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, and most still have the ban in place.

"Suddenly that was a revenue stream that we had just overnight lost and we're still trying to get it back," said Tom Bard, co-founder of the Bard Distillery, who opened the Graham, Ky. operation with his wife Kim in 2019. They sold products in British Columbia and Alberta and had plans to expand. Kim Bard said they keep telling people to "stop the roller coaster" because they cannot predict their income. To make up for lost revenue, the couple recently opened a satellite tasting room in Bardstown and is focusing on its home market.

The numbers show the damage. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States says U.S. spirits exports to Canada have fallen from US$232 million a year before the ban to US$72 million, a 70 per cent decline. Kentucky bourbon and other Kentucky whiskies exported to Canada dropped 42.4 per cent last year, from US$43.7 million in 2024 to US$25.2 million in 2025, according to the Kentucky Distiller's Association. Michael Bilello, president and CEO of the American Whiskey Association, said the entire supply chain is affected because whiskey takes years to age and producers must be able to forecast demand. Tom Bard said a trade war creates a "snowball effect" that hurts people on both sides of the border.

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10. Argonauts receiver Tyler Kahmann named CFL's top rookie

Source: CP24

Toronto Argonauts wide receiver Tyler Kahmann is the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie. He became the sixth Argonaut to receive the honour Friday and the first since cornerback Qwan'tez Stiggers, now with the NFL's New York Jets, in 2023.

The 26-year-old from Haysville, Kan., registered 77 catches for 1,092 yards and eight touchdowns in his first season, helping Toronto finish second in the East Division with a 9-9 record. The six-foot-three, 206-pound receiver earned 30 first-place, 11 second-place and three third-place votes out of 52 ballots from the Football Reporters of Canada, totalling 186 points of a maximum 260. He finished ahead of B.C. Lions linebacker Parker McKenna (106) and Winnipeg defensive back Major Williams (63).

The Argos host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East semifinal on Saturday.

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