Maple Express | October 30, 2026 — Ontario transport minister confirms Bloor Street West bike lane removal is complete, says lanes caused congestion

1. Ontario transport minister confirms Bloor Street West bike lane removal is complete, says lanes caused congestion

Source: CP24

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced Friday morning that the removal and cleanup of bike lanes along Bloor Street West in Etobicoke is now officially complete. Speaking to CP24 Breakfast, Sarkaria defended the government's decision, arguing the lanes contributed to congestion and made it harder for people to reach local businesses. "We heard from residents. We heard from communities, and that's why we moved forward on this first part of removal on Bloor Street West," he said.

The removal began on Oct. 13 and was met with multiple protests and demonstrations during the first week of construction, resulting in several arrests. Sarkaria said the province will cover the cost of the work but could not provide a final price tag. "We've committed to paying for the cost of removal. We have multiple contracts that are in place right now. So once those have been completed... we will release all of those costs," he said.

Asked why the government pressed ahead, Sarkaria pointed to low cycling volumes and complaints from businesses and residents about worsening traffic. He said provincial video footage showed that on some days only three or four bikes crossed through those lanes, and that some drivers reported commutes lengthened by as much as 20 to 30 minutes. Responding to a report suggesting that removing protected bike lanes could increase collisions, he said the province is "not anti-bike lane" but believes lanes do not belong on major arteries, adding that diverting cyclists to secondary routes "would be preferable" and that the province will work with the city on alternative routes. The Ontario Court of Appeal cleared the way for removals in August, and Sarkaria said more removals are expected in the next construction cycle.

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2. Overnight fire hits trucking warehouse in Brampton

Source: CP24

A massive fire broke out at a commercial building in Brampton overnight, and fire crews were still working to extinguish it Friday morning. Brampton Fire and Rescue told CP24 that the fire broke out at a building at 70 Ward Road, near Humberwest and Williams parkways. CP24 reported that the building is a trucking warehouse at Ward Rd. and Sun Pac Blvd.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

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3. Toronto woman injured by fleeing getaway driver gets a $40,000 bill from the city

Source: CP24

Nancy Buckman, a now-68-year-old nurse practitioner in Toronto, told CP24 she was left with a serious neck injury after her vehicle was struck by the driver of a getaway car in December 2024 — and then received a $40,350.11 bill from the City of Toronto in July, nearly two years later. "I was actually in total shock, a complete shock. I mean, like I couldn't believe it," she said.

The collision happened near Fairview Mall as she was heading to a LifeLabs location. She started making a left-hand turn onto Fairview Mall Drive from Don Mills Road on a yellow light when, she says, she was struck "out of nowhere" by a speeding car. She later learned the occupants had allegedly been fleeing a jewelry store robbery at Fairview Mall and fled the crash on foot. Her 2021 Subaru Forester was totalled and she was taken to hospital with bruising on her chest and a serious neck injury that causes ongoing pain and requires regular physiotherapy. Insurance covered the car and, after a second assessment, her physiotherapy.

The invoice she received in late July included a lengthy itemization of the work and materials needed to replace a pole knocked over in the crash, and gave her until Aug. 22 to pay, warning of court action and a licence suspension. The city waived the deadline but did not relent on 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. The officer on scene told her he had no recollection of the accident, and after consulting several personal injury lawyers she concluded legal action would not be worthwhile. After a back-and-forth, her insurer agreed to pay the city's bill in full because she had been found at fault. In a statement, city spokesperson Kayla Lewis said, "We recognize this was a challenging experience for the resident," noting the city generally recommends forwarding such invoices to an insurance company.

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4. Smaller bars, bigger bills: what to expect for Halloween candy in Canada

Source: CP24

Canadians handing out chocolate this Halloween may be spooked by prices, as experts say rising cocoa costs continue to squeeze households and some shoppers are paying more for smaller treats. A Leger survey released Wednesday found 72 per cent of Canadians expect their overall Halloween spending to remain about the same as last year, even as the cost of treats rises.

Richard Powers, an associate professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, estimates Canadians are paying between 12 and 15 per cent more for Halloween chocolate than last year. "They can expect to pay more for less," he said. Dalhousie University's Sylvain Charlebois noted that in some cases chocolate prices are up 20 to 30 per cent. Powers said much of the increase stems from elevated cocoa prices after drought and extreme weather disrupted production, with manufacturers passing those costs along. Statistics Canada says every cocoa bean used in Canadian chocolate must be imported; in August 2025 alone, Canada imported over 110,000 tonnes of cocoa beans worth nearly $170 million.

Cocoa prices have started to decline, but Powers cautioned that relief will not be immediate, estimating it could take another 12 to 18 months for lower costs to reach consumers. Shoppers may also be getting less chocolate without realizing it: some manufacturers are shrinking individual treats or packages to hold familiar price points, a practice known as shrinkflation. Powers estimates families spending roughly the same as last year could receive eight to 10 per cent less chocolate by weight. "The number of units won't change. They'll just be a little bit smaller," he said. Statistics Canada says Canadians have been paying more for candy since 2020, with experts suggesting increases above 30 per cent. David Soberman, a marketing professor at Rotman, said recent reports suggest Halloween candy spending is down approximately 10 per cent, with some shoppers switching to gummies and hard candies or buying unbranded chocolate at discount retailers.

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5. Two men stabbed in unprovoked attacks in downtown Hamilton, suspect arrested

Source: CP24

Hamilton police say an arrest has been made in connection with two unprovoked stabbings in the city's downtown core. In a news release, police said officers received a report of a stabbing near 70 James Street at around 8 p.m. Thursday. A 37-year-old man was found with multiple stab wounds and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Moments later, another stabbing was reported near 94 York Boulevard, where a 39-year-old man was found with serious but non-life-threatening injuries and taken to hospital. "While police managed both incidents, officers who were en-route to the scenes located a male matching the suspect description. The individual was walking westbound on York Boulevard with a knife in hand," police said, adding that officers conducted a high-risk takedown and took the suspect into custody without further issue.

Investigators described the attacks as "unprovoked and completely random." The suspect has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault, failing to comply with a probation order and failing to comply with a release order. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Division 10 staff sergeant at 905-546-4725.

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6. Quebec woman left to finish her own rebuild after her contractor dies

Source: CP24

A woman in Longueuil, Que., was supposed to move into her new home in July, but her contractor died before the job was finished, leaving her to complete the work herself. Sue-Hellen Rivera's home was destroyed by a fire in 2024 — she said it was a total loss — and the rebuild started in January before coming to a stop in August when her contractor died.

"We looked it up and they didn't [go into] bankruptcy yet, so right now, legally, I'm still in a contract with them, so I have to do the job by myself," she said. Her contractor was the head of Covem Construction, whose Longueuil office displays a sign saying it is "temporarily closed," and calls do not get connected. Rivera said the company told her the inside of the house would be completed by October. She, her friends and family are now doing as many jobs as they can: she laid the ceramic floor in two bathrooms, painted the house with a friend, and her brother-in-law and sister did the stairs. Plumbing and electrical work will require paying professionals, and her two weeks of upcoming vacation will be spent working on the home.

Covem has been named in nine lawsuits this year, according to the Quebec Association of Home Construction Professionals. The association said there is automatic insurance coverage with the Régie du bâtiment du Québec for a new build, but because a home stood there before, this qualifies as a renovation — and "in Quebec, there is no automatic protection guaranteeing clients a reimbursement of their deposits or the completion of work in the case of bankruptcy or the death of the head of a company." Rivera said she has already paid $270,000 to the construction company and is living with her mother and working double shifts to cover the costs. Once she has enough money to finish the house, she plans to take Covem to court.

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7. Montreal police chief to address new misconduct allegations against officers

Source: CP24

Montreal police Chief Fady Dagher is expected to provide an update on new allegations of misconduct among his officers. The force said in a news release that an officer could face criminal charges after allegedly concealing evidence related to a situation involving domestic violence in 2025. Radio-Canada reported Thursday that an officer responding to a call in connection with conjugal violence allegedly erased evidence provided by the victim, and the report suggested the officer knew the alleged perpetrator.

The officers were stationed in the multicultural neighbourhood of Montreal North, where four different officers were suspended over allegations of racist misconduct earlier this year. Montreal police say Dagher will also provide an update into those investigations.

Police will also update the public on the suspension of two officers from a downtown station. One of those officers allegedly urinated on homeless people, while the second allegedly posed for photos mocking suspects under arrest in humiliating positions. This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 30, 2026.

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8. Permanent daylight time may carry health risks, experts warn

Source: CP24

The annual ritual of turning back the clock is coming up for many Canadians, with clocks in some parts of the country falling back to standard time at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday. Daylight time, which began on the second Sunday in March, ends with the change.

Starting this weekend, Ontario is moving some areas in its northwest region to permanent year-round daylight time so they align with Manitoba. Other areas have announced the same plans this year, including the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba. The B.C. government said in a March press release that the shift would "improve people's overall health, reduce disruptions for families, simplify scheduling and provide an extra hour of evening light during the winter months." Atlantic Canada, parts of Quebec and Labrador, most of Ontario and most of Nunavut are among those turning back to standard time. The Parti Québécois vowed Thursday to end daylight time, with Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon referring to studies showing the practice is "counterproductive for health and poses adaptation challenges for children." Saskatchewan and Yukon follow standard time year-round.

Patricia Lakin-Thomas, a professor of biology at York University in Toronto, told CTVNews.ca in a video interview Wednesday that switching twice a year is not good for people, especially in the spring. "We lose an hour of sleep, and since we all need more sleep, that's bad for us," she said. She called standard time "a more natural time when we'll be waking up closer to sunrise" and said people in areas that have permanently switched to daylight time are "essentially jet lagging" themselves. She said the spring change has been linked to a spike in "acute events" such as heart attacks, strokes, car accidents and industrial accidents, but that following daylight time all year is also unhealthy and may contribute to increases in cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases, with some studies suggesting cancer rates could rise as well. "We believe that year-round standard time — no switching — would be the best for our health," she said.

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9. A University of Calgary course on horror films finds the monster is really about us

Source: CP24

On a chilly pre-Halloween morning this week at the University of Calgary, 19-year-old film major Rane Gusdal watched the climactic last moments of her short film with her classmates: a video of her entrails being torn out of her stomach. The blood and guts were a crimson mix of bread, Nutella and jam. "I hope people felt grossed out and scared," she said. "I was trying to be dead, you know?"

Gusdal's group is one of several that submit short films for Julia Chan's course on the horror genre. In one group's skit, a member has their drink spiked and turns into a flesh-hungry monster with white-glossed eyes, ravaging the group in a dim, concrete-walled hallway. Gusdal said the spiked drink began as a way to create the monster, but the project grew into something with deeper meaning about the real threat of clubgoers being unknowingly drugged. Over the course, the class discusses how horror stories do more than scare people: they tell us about ourselves, our flaws and our culture.

"Maybe (horror films speak) to the fact that we need some kind of outlet to talk about what we're afraid of," said Chan, an assistant arts and film professor. She referenced scholar Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, who says monsters can show people about their culture and borders — zombies as metaphors for pandemic fears, Frankenstein for unchecked science, and digital threats for techno-fears. "The monster itself tells us more about us than it does about the monster," Chan said. Her favourite horror film is 1963's "The Haunting," a black-and-white ghost story that she says creates a frightening space through camera work and environment. Earlier this week, the class watched the 1978 slasher classic "Halloween" ahead of the holiday on Oct. 31.

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10. Skate Canada names Pascal Denis high-performance director, replacing Slipchuk after 20 years

Source: CP24

Skate Canada has named Pascal Denis its new high-performance director, replacing Mike Slipchuk, who has held the position for 20 years, the organization announced Friday. Denis's appointment takes effect Nov. 16.

Denis has worked with the Ice Academy of Montreal, helping develop elite ice dancers from around the world, and he has coached Les Suprêmes, a Montreal-based synchronized skating team, to five world titles. A former competitive ice dancer, he spent 10 years on Canada's national team and has more than 27 years of coaching experience. Slipchuk will remain with Skate Canada for the rest of the 2026-27 season to help with the transition.

Skate Canada says Denis will help develop the next generation of Canadian figure skaters ahead of the 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympics. The announcement comes as Skate Canada International gets underway Friday in Kelowna, B.C.

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