Maple Express | October 4, 2026 — Debris From Missing Ontario Air Ambulance Found Off U.S. Coast; Six Still Missing

1. Debris from missing Ontario air ambulance found off U.S. coast; six still missing

The U.S. Coast Guard said late Saturday that crews had located a debris field off the coast of Nantucket, Mass., associated with a missing Ontario-based air ambulance that was carrying six people, including four Canadians, on a flight from Bermuda to Boston.

The Gulfstream G100, tail number C-GRJP, is owned by Hamilton, Ont.-based Latitude Air Ambulance. Operations manager Clarence Togeretz said the aircraft was carrying a patient and a family member, both Bermuda nationals, while the two pilots and two medical staff were Canadians. He said the company lost contact with the flight around 1:30 a.m. as it approached Boston, and reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard when the aircraft failed to reach the tarmac.

The Coast Guard said about 1,644 square miles had been searched over roughly 27 hours, and next of kin had been notified; search efforts would continue through the night. According to FlightAware, the jet dropped from 24,000 feet to 11,000 feet in two minutes about an hour and 23 minutes into the flight before levelling off and vanishing. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said he was closely monitoring, and Ornge, Ontario's air ambulance provider, said the flight was not related to its operations.

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2. Minister vows the Pacific Link pipeline will be built

Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson is promising the new Pacific Link oil pipeline to the West Coast will get built, regardless of future market shifts and geopolitical changes. "We are building pipelines, and we will build this pipeline for the people of Canada," he said in an interview airing Sunday on CTV's Question Period.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced Pacific Link would be the first officially designated national interest project under the Building Canada Act, with both levels of government setting a September 2027 timeline for construction to begin. Carney also insisted Thursday that "the Canadian taxpayer is going to make a lot of money off this pipeline." A government official said in a technical briefing that the early process is estimated to cost $4 billion between the two levels of government. Pembina Pipeline Corp. has expressed interest in a 10 per cent private-sector stake, with an option for up to another 10 per cent once the pipeline is operating.

Asked why Canadians should trust the pipeline will be built, Hodgson said the world is in "the worst energy crisis in the history of the modern world," as defined by the International Energy Agency, and pointed to the Trans Mountain Expansion Project as a good investment. He said shippers will likely hold an "open season" next spring to commit to long-term contracts; if they do not commit, he said, "We'll deal with that at the time."

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3. Alberta town's business owners worry as immigration referendum nears

In the southern Alberta city of Brooks, where immigration has helped fill jobs, attract doctors and reshape the local economy, a series of upcoming referendum questions is putting the province's immigration policies — and the people who rely on them — in the spotlight. Brooks Economic Development Officer Mitchell Iwaasa says finding skilled workers remains a challenge: "It's not just about having the people, but having the right people for the job."

Brooks was the first community designated under the Rural Renewal Stream of the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program, and has endorsed more than 300 candidates for permanent residency through it. Jasmeet Singh, 25, came to Canada from Delhi in 2023 and now works as an accounting technician at iThrive Bookkeeping in Brooks, on a work permit endorsed by the city. His employer, CEO Nancy Lassiter, said she struggled to fill the position locally.

Albertans will vote Oct. 19 on 10 referendum questions, five of them dealing specifically with immigration — including whether the province should seek greater control to reduce immigration to what the ballot calls "more sustainable levels," prioritize economic migration and give Albertans first priority for new jobs. Premier Danielle Smith said Wednesday the government is considering a health-care premium of about $1,900 for some temporary residents if Albertans support the proposal, though no final fee has been set and the referendum itself would not impose one. Nearly half of Brooks' population identified as a visible minority in the 2021 census, and about 36 per cent was born outside Canada; its largest employer, the JBS meat-packing plant, has more than 3,000 employees in a community of 17,000.

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4. Rock star endorsements in Toronto's mayoral race: do they matter?

Last week, Rush frontman Geddy Lee waded into the Toronto mayoral race, declaring in a series of social media posts that he would support Brad Bradford, incumbent Olivia Chow's main opponent. Lee said Toronto has been changing and "not for the better," adding that the two-term city councillor's "energy" and "fresh ideas" may be what the city needs.

He was not the first well-known Canadian musician to back a candidate. Earlier in the month, Blue Rodeo frontman Jim Cuddy endorsed Chow, appearing on stage at her reelection campaign kickoff in early September. Zac Spicer, an associate professor at York University's School of Public Policy and Administration, told CP24 that endorsements likely carry more weight in municipal elections than in provincial or federal campaigns. "In political science we have a sort of a well-worn term that endorsements matter most when voters know the least," he said, which is also why incumbency is a "massive advantage" municipally.

Spicer added that celebrity endorsements may get people talking, but endorsements from well-respected politicians, including former mayors, or community leaders may go further. Premier Doug Ford stopped short of endorsing Chow at a news conference last month, saying she was "doing an incredible job," and later said he had no plans to formally endorse any candidate. Voters head to the polls Oct. 26.

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5. Cyclist in his 70s seriously injured in Etobicoke collision

A cyclist in his 70s has been struck and seriously injured by a vehicle in Etobicoke, police say. The collision occurred in the area of Dixon and Royal York Roads shortly after 2 p.m.

Police say the cyclist was taken to hospital with serious injuries; Toronto paramedics say his injuries are possibly life-threatening. The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene, police say. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

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6. Longtime Toronto nightclub El Convento Rico closes after 35 years

El Convento Rico, a longtime staple of Toronto's nightclub scene, has announced it is closing after 35 years in business. "Tonight, we say goodbye to 750 College St.—a place that became so much more than four walls," a spokesperson said in a statement online Thursday. "It became a home, a stage, a refuge, a family, and a place where so many of us were able to laugh, dance, love, celebrate, and simply be ourselves."

The club, known to serve members of the LGBTQ2S+ and Latin communities, first opened in 1992 in Toronto's Little Italy, hosting drag shows and platforming local DJs, with energetic, eclectic music with Latin influences alongside mainstream club hits, until its sudden closure. The circumstances behind the closure are currently unclear; officials did not respond to CTV News' immediate request for comment.

"Thank you to our community. You gave El Convento Rico its soul. For 35 years, you kept the music playing, the lights shining, and the memories alive," the post read. "To every queen who stepped onto our stage, every artist who shared their talent, every staff member who gave their heart, and every person who ever walked through our doors—thank you."

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7. 48-year-old dead after police standoff in Whitby; SIU investigating

Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after a 48-year-old man died during a police standoff in Whitby on Friday night. The Special Investigations Unit says Durham police officers attended a residence on Macpherson Street to arrest a man who had outstanding warrants.

The SIU says the man interacted with officers inside and outside the residence, threatening to harm himself with an edged weapon, then fled into the residence and barricaded himself. Officers later entered the home and found the man unresponsive; he was pronounced dead at the scene despite life-saving efforts.

The agency has assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to the case. The SIU is called to investigate whenever police actions result in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

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8. Veterans twice as likely to develop ALS; society urges Ottawa to fund research

Military veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS, and researchers have been trying to figure out why. "It's a great mystery that we're trying to unravel — is it something about enlisting with the military or is it something about exposures experienced during the military," said Harvard University researcher Marc Weisskopf.

Retired Royal Canadian Air Force pilot Bob Gibson wants answers too. He spent 12 years serving, flying into "sketchy" areas including the Gaza Strip, Cyprus, Damascus and Addis Ababa, sometimes up to 18 hours a day flying the Hercules. For six years he shared troubling symptoms with a string of doctors across Canada before being diagnosed in 2023: "We got the bad news, I had ALS." There is no cure for the progressive neurodegenerative disease, which has affected his mobility. Gibson suspects exposure to different chemicals during his service may be a factor.

A recent study in the journal Neurology, conducted in part by Weisskopf, found the risk of developing ALS varies within military divisions, with those serving in the Air Force, Navy or Coast Guard potentially facing higher risk. In the U.S., the Department of Defense has committed millions to ALS research. Now the ALS Society of Canada is calling on Ottawa to commit $50 million to help fund critical research already underway. "Every Canadian needs to be concerned about ALS because they too are at risk of this disease, and we need answers for our veterans," said CEO Tammy Moore. Gibson has travelled to Parliament Hill to petition the government and plans another trip in October.

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9. France has not issued new snow crab licence off Newfoundland, Ottawa says

Canada's fisheries minister says France has not issued a new snow crab licence off Newfoundland, despite a surprising promise last month by French President Emmanuel Macron. News outlets including franceinfo and Radio-Canada reported that Macron had pledged to grant an exploratory snow crab licence along Canada's continental shelf to a fishing company in St-Pierre-Miquelon, a small French archipelago off Newfoundland's southeast coast.

Joanne Thompson said Friday evening the Canadian government has been in contact with French officials to confirm no new licence was issued. "Canada affirms our claim to the extension of Canada's continental shelf, which includes all snow crab in this area. Canada does not agree with any foreign snow crab fishing in this area," she said in a statement. She added that any licensing matters would be discussed through formal processes, and no such talks have taken place. Macron's promise appeared to catch Canadian officials off guard, especially as it was reported a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney met Macron in the islands — the first official visit to St-Pierre-Miquelon by a Canadian prime minister.

The countries have jockeyed for Atlantic territory for decades. St-Pierre-Miquelon is home to roughly 5,800 people, and fishing is a main economic driver. Both countries are signatories to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and have filed submissions to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf that remain unresolved. Kevin Anderson, head of the School of Fisheries at Memorial University's Marine Institute, said Canada still has a strong claim: "Canada has been fishing these crab in this area for a long time."

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10. Motorcyclist seriously injured in North York collision

A collision in North York has left a motorcyclist seriously injured, Toronto police say. Emergency crews responded to the intersection of Allard and Wilson Avenues, east of Bathurst Street, after receiving a collision call at 4:40 p.m.

Police say a motorcyclist was struck by a pickup truck, sending the rider, an adult male, to a trauma centre with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The driver and passenger of the pickup were also transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The cause of the collision is unknown.

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