Maple Express | September 23, 2026 — Sentencing hearing begins for Kenneth Law

Source: CP24

1. Sentencing hearing begins for Kenneth Law, who sold substances used for suicide

Friends and relatives of people who died using items bought online from Kenneth Law are expected to lay bare their loss in court in the coming days, as the Ontario man linked to dozens of deaths worldwide faces a sentencing hearing that began Wednesday (today). Law, a former chef from Mississauga, Ont., pleaded guilty in late May to 14 counts of aiding suicide in the deaths of 14 people in the province, including some who were minors. Prosecutors have said they plan to withdraw another 14 counts of first-degree murder tied to the same victims once he is sentenced.

Those found guilty of aiding suicide can face up to 14 years in prison, and Crown and defence lawyers are expected to present what they believe would be an appropriate sentence during the hearing. The hearing also gives loved ones an opportunity to tell Law and the court how his actions affected them.

According to an agreed statement of fact read in court after his plea, Law ran several websites used to sell sodium nitrite and other products that can be used for self-harm, sending about 1,200 packages to people in more than 40 countries, including close to 160 shipped to addresses within Canada. Between January 2020 and mid-May 2023, nearly $290,000 in sales from his companies was deposited into his accounts, and the statement said he was aware that buyers were likely to use the products for suicide. In a will, court heard, Law said he believed he was "helping people to alleviate their suffering while making a small modest profit." Though the charges relate only to Canadian victims, the deaths of 79 people in the U.K. linked to his products were also included in the facts of the case. Britain's National Crime Agency initially planned to request his extradition but agreed to have his offences addressed through the Canadian court process.

Source

2. Fire at Toronto Hells Angels retail store under investigation

An investigation is underway after a fire broke out at an east-end Hells Angels retail store Wednesday (today) morning. Toronto Fire told CTV News they were called to 98 Carlaw Avenue, south of Eastern Avenue, at approximately 6:22 a.m. Officials said flames were visible upon arrival; the fire has since been extinguished and there are no reports of injuries.

Carlaw Avenue is closed between Eastern Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard East while investigators work to determine the cause and origin of the fire. Toronto police said it is "too early" to determine if the fire is suspicious. The notorious motorcycle club opened the retail store at the Leslieville address in 2013, selling t-shirts, baseball caps and jackets branded with the number 81 — a code for the Hells Angels acronym. A fire was previously reported at the site around the same time two years ago. CTV News has reached out to the store's owner for more information.

Source

3. Toronto tech conference Elevate rebrands to Nrth, has plans to expand

Toronto tech conference Elevate is getting a new name. Organizers say they're rebranding the annual festival and the non-profit that hosts it as Nrth. They decided to change the name because they say the tech industry has transformed since Elevate's conception in 2017, and they want the event to evolve as well. In addition to rebranding the three-day conference, they plan to host more frequent events starting in 2027.

They announced their future plans and the new name Wednesday evening at the opening of the conference, where former Toronto Raptor Kyle Lowry and "Dragon's Den" star Arlene Dickinson were scheduled to speak. Over the next two days, executives from Canadian artificial intelligence firm Cohere, social media platform Reddit, cryptocurrency business Coinbase and geography tool MapQuest are expected to appear.

Source

4. Forget the tomato juice. What to do if your dog gets sprayed by a skunk

While skunks are active during the spring, they are also busy roaming neighbourhoods in the fall searching for food or a place to spend the winter, and they may end up wandering into your backyard at night. If you have a dog, you'll want to make sure your pet doesn't get sprayed. Duncan Graham of Whitby said his German Shepherd, Stella, was sprayed about two weeks ago.

He said it was about 10 p.m. when he let Stella out in his backyard. Moments later he saw the skunk, but by then it was too late. "She was only outside for about four seconds, maybe five, and I tried to get her back in. She came running back in, and it had been sprayed right on her face," said Graham. He said the smell was extremely strong, and the family wondered, "What do we do now?" He had heard about tomato juice, but according to researchers at Consumer Reports, tomato juice might mask the smell but won't eliminate it.

Consumer Reports instead suggests keeping the dog outside so it doesn't bring the odour indoors, then mixing half a litre of three percent hydrogen peroxide, two tablespoons of baking soda and a half teaspoon of liquid dish soap. Double these amounts for larger dogs, and make the mixture right before you need it — don't make it in advance, as it could burst in a closed container. Keep the mixture away from your pet's eyes and mouth, then wash them with pet shampoo and rinse thoroughly. Graham said his family found a similar recipe online to wash Stella, and the skunk smell is now almost gone, though he says it could last for two weeks or more. Skunks generally won't spray people and will only do so if they're startled; if you have skunks around, keep your dog on a leash, especially at night.

Source

5. 4 teens arrested after jewelry store heist at Place Rosemere

Four teenagers — three minors and an adult — have been arrested following a jewelry heist at Place Rosemère, about 40 minutes away from Montreal. "The suspects, who had fled the scene in a vehicle after the incident, were quickly located and apprehended thanks to a large-scale police operation," Thérèse-De Blainville police (RIPTB) said. "The vehicle used in the getaway was seized and will undergo a thorough forensic examination as part of the investigation." Police say they also gathered "several pieces of evidence" following the incident.

The operation involved a significant police deployment near Place Rosemère and Jean-Jacques-Rousseau High School in the neighbouring municipality of Boisbriand. "The speed with which information was shared among the various teams and the immediate mobilization of resources on the ground made it possible to quickly arrest the four suspects," said RIPTB Chief Inspector Karine Desaulniers. "The suspects were located and arrested just minutes after the incident." There were no reported injuries, but police note some people present at the scene were affected by the use of cayenne pepper and received assistance on site. Three of the suspects were released on a promise to appear, and the fourth remains in custody.

This is the latest in a series of alleged robberies targeting jewelry stores in the Greater Montreal area. Earlier this month, four teenagers and a 21-year-old were arrested after a smash-and-grab at a jewelry store in Montreal's Chinatown neighbourhood. In July, a jewelry store at Carrefour Angrignon in Montreal's LaSalle borough was also robbed, and a 16-year-old was arrested in connection with that case. Previously, four teens were arrested after an attempted jewelry store robbery in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Thérèse-De Blainville police dispatch centre at 450-435-2421.

Source

6. Amid campaigns to loosen nicotine pouch rules, Canada's health minister responds

Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel says she's not considering changes to regulations that restrict the sale of nicotine pouches, while tobacco control groups say the government needs to do more to tamp out the illicit market. Health Canada regulates nicotine pouches as an aid to quit smoking and restricts their sales to adults. They are not allowed to be sold for recreational use and must be kept behind the counter at pharmacies.

Only one brand has been approved for sale since 2024. Zonnic, made by Imperial Tobacco, is sold in four milligram pouches and flavours are restricted to reduce their appeal to children. Advertising and lobbying campaigns from Unsmoke Canada — part of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, the Canadian subsidiary of Philip Morris International — urge the federal government to allow the sale of pouches in retail stores, similar to cigarettes, as a way to control the illicit market. "That's not something I'm considering," Michel said on Tuesday.

The minister said she agrees the illicit market is an issue, noting pouches from brands like Philip Morris's Zyn are entering Canada and studies show they're making their way into the hands of Canadian youth despite the rules. Flory Doucas, co-director of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control, said there's not enough serious enforcement to control illicit sales happening both online and in storefronts. The National Post reported earlier this month that the Liberal government was open to loosening the regulations after convenience store industry lobbyists met with Prime Minister Mark Carney's chief of staff and other senior officials. The pressure has also come from the opposition: Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives pledged to "free the Zyn" during the 2025 election campaign, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wrote to Carney last March arguing the restrictions create barriers for adults who want to quit smoking and have driven growth of the black market. Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control and Action on Smoking and Health Canada said in a news release Wednesday that research shows nicotine pouch use is rising among young Canadians and warned that allowing more open sales will make the product easier for youth to access.

Source

7. Cineplex names Bill Walker as new chief executive, launches strategic review

Cineplex Inc. has named a new leader as the cinema operator embarks on a strategic review that could see the business sold. The Toronto-based company said Wednesday that Bill Walker, who was chief executive at Canada's second-largest theatre chain Landmark Cinemas during its 2017 sale to Belgian firm Kinepolis Group, would take Cineplex's helm immediately. Walker succeeds Ellis Jacob, Cineplex's longtime chief executive, who is retiring but will stay on as a strategic adviser for the rest of the year. Jacob has long been a titan of the Canadian cinema industry, involved with major players including Galaxy Cinemas, Alliance Atlantic and Cineplex Odeon.

Walker acknowledged he had "some big shoes to fill," but said he's excited to take on the top job because he's always admired Cineplex and is optimistic about the business, saying he is "joining at probably the best time in the last 10 years." He declined to say what specific changes he foresees, but said he would aim at investing in the audience experience, making sure customers feel value when they visit, and finding operational efficiencies.

The leadership change came as Cineplex also announced it has launched a strategic review. The options to be considered include a possible sale of the business, though Cineplex warned it can't promise the process will result in a transaction, agreement or any other specific outcomes. Cineplex board chair Phyllis Yaffe said in a statement that the appointment of Walker and the review will provide the company with leadership continuity and strategic flexibility, adding the review was necessary because the company's "current market valuation may not fully reflect the strength of its business and long-term prospects." The announcements come after Cineplex's $2.8-billion deal to sell itself to U.K. firm Cineworld PLC fell apart during the COVID-19 pandemic; Cineplex won a lawsuit over the failed deal but has said it is unlikely to recover the $1.24 billion in damages the court awarded it. Bloomberg reported earlier this year that Cineplex was sounding out peers Regal Cineworld Group and Cinemark Holdings Inc. to gauge whether they'd want to buy the company.

Source

8. 'They hallucinate, they lie': Why 'AI swarms' have some experts calling for stricter regulation

AI agents are getting better at working together, and in some cases, acting outside the scope of their instructions. It's something that has always been a possibility, but is now happening with greater frequency, raising fresh questions about oversight. "They hallucinate, they lie, they go off the rails," said tech expert Carmi Levy. "They exceed safety limitations that were put in place to keep them safe. They do things that we cannot explain. And we are seeing more evidence of this happening."

This summer, roughly 1,200 OpenAI bots hacked into Hugging Face, an open-source AI platform, dividing up tasks to execute the hack and hiding their tracks from human researchers, prompting calls for better regulation. "Right now, what's happening is fairly benign. There's no data being lost. No one's systems are really being broken into. No one's being harmed," Levy said. "But going forward, when this technology falls into the hands of the wrong people who have ill-intent, the results will be significantly different." While tech developers do implement guardrails, the Hugging Face incident shows "AI swarms" can now ignore prompts and defy human operators.

AI and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon said the federal government has passed legislation aimed at protecting privacy and data (Bill C-36), regulating digital safety (Bill C-34), banning deepfakes in elections and criminalizing AI-generated sexual abuse imagery, but critics say there is still no standalone, comprehensive AI law in Canada. Major AI CEOs are sharply divided: some, including the heads of Anthropic and OpenAI, agree more government oversight is needed, while others, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are opposed. Shion Guha, director of the Human-Centred Data Science Lab at the University of Toronto, believes the focus of regulation is in the wrong place and says more attention should go to AI's current safety gaps rather than vague future threats. In June, the federal government launched public consultations on AI policy, and that consultation period wraps Sep. 23. Solomon says he is also actively engaged with AI and innovation ministers in other G7 and G20 countries to develop more robust AI policies.

Source

9. Canadian and French publishers stand by author accused of using AI for prize-winning novel

The publishers of an award-winning novel by Haitian Canadian author Thelyson Orelien have defended the writer against accusations he used artificial intelligence to write it, and said they stand behind him. Orelien denied using AI tools to write "C'etait Ca ou Mourir" ("It Was Either That or Die") on Tuesday, a day after a little-known X account called "Balance ton Claude" said that running passages through AI detection tool Pangram showed the novel "was written almost entirely by artificial intelligence."

The controversy has ignited a debate about race, literary merit and originality that has roiled the French literary establishment. The novel — Haiti-born Orelien's first — has been longlisted for the prestigious Goncourt prize and won several others. It tells the story of a Haitian migrant who travels north through Latin America and the United States to Canada. Orelien told French daily Liberation that the accusations had come as a surprise, even if he had faced racist attacks ever since arriving in France. "I did not expect attacks of this kind. I am not sad, but angry," he said, adding he is putting together a dossier with his publishers in France and Quebec to prove that what he says is true.

"We stand alongside Thelyson Orelien," Canadian publisher Editions du Boreal said in a statement. Orelien's French publisher, Grasset, condemned any malicious claims over AI usage, describing them as "deeply hurtful to a writer with an exceptional career." Reuters was unable to determine who is behind the "Balance ton Claude" account. Pangram says it is 99.7 per cent accurate in detecting AI writing, although some experts have questioned the reliability of AI detection software. Philippe Claudel, president of the Academie Goncourt which hands out the top French-language literary prize, said no decision had been taken on whether to remove Orelien's novel from the longlist, and that the next meeting is on Oct. 6. He said it was "almost inevitable" that questions over AI authorship were here to stay and that a charter was needed that "makes it possible to distinguish what has been produced by AI from what has been produced by a human."

Source

10. S&P/TSX composite down more than 400 points, U.S. stock markets also lower

Canada's main stock index was down more than 400 points in late-morning trading Wednesday (today), weighed down by losses in the base metal sector, while U.S. stock markets also fell. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 402.34 points at 35,933.27. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 190.70 points at 51,672.99, the S&P 500 index was down 38.21 points at 7,726.43, and the Nasdaq composite was down 236.46 points at 27,007.82.

The Canadian dollar traded for 70.93 cents US compared with 71.10 cents US on Tuesday. The November crude oil contract was up 80 cents US at US$91.32 per barrel, and the December gold contract was down US$59.30 at US$4,317.10 an ounce.

Source