OTTAWA – Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government will be holding the Palestinian National Authority to account on its commitment to hold legislative elections, after the president postponed the vote until next year.

“We are certainly holding (the Palestinian Authority) to account,” said Carney, during a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday.

“We’re supporting efforts to have those elections and to have free and fair elections in Palestine, and we’ll continue to do so,” he added.

Last July, Carney announced Canada would officially recognize the state of Palestine , led by the Palestinian Authority. Carney has said Canada remains committed to a two-state solution, which is “critical for peace, stability and security in the Middle East and beyond.”

The recognition was predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to several reforms, including reforming its governance, holding general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and demilitarizing the Palestinian state.

However, Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently postponed legislative elections that were set to take place next month to September 2027. Reporting by the Associated Press indicates that decision was made following a discussion between Palestinian factions, including the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad Group.

The Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee blamed Israeli military raids, settlement expansion, withheld tax revenues and lack of progress on Gaza reconstruction as the reasons for the postponement.

Israel Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Abbas is evading democratic accountability.

“His attempt to drag Israel into this, falsely claiming that Israel imposed obstacles to holding elections, is yet another ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and accountability,” he said, in a post on X on Oct. 10. “Just like the other lies about ‘reforms’ that were never implemented — ending payments to terrorists and their families, and stopping incitement in the Palestinian education system.”

Abbas has been president since 2005 and is now in the 22nd year of a four-year term. Abbas has repeatedly cancelled elections before, including in 2021, citing conflict with Israel over voter participation in East Jerusalem.

Last week, foreign affairs ministers from the United Kingdom, Australia and France, issued a joint statement saying they “deeply regret” Abbas’s decision not to move forward with elections.

“We call on the Palestinian Authority to reconsider the decision to postpone elections and to take the necessary steps to hold legislative and presidential elections, without further delay,” the statement issued on Oct. 13 said.

The ministers also said the “significant challenges and impediments have affected the ability to conduct elections” and called on Israel “to refrain from actions that could impede the conduct of elections, including the practical arrangements necessary for all Palestinians to participate.”

The federal government has pledged nearly $600 million in aid for Palestinian civilians since the Israel-Hamas war started in October 2023. Carney recently announced $100 million in aid at the United Nations General Assembly last month, with $80 million in humanitarian aid, while the rest is intended for development funding in security initiatives.

Carney said difficulty remains in getting Canadian aid to people in Gaza, who are facing a humanitarian crisis.

“We have far more resources dedicated to support than are able to be delivered to Gaza,” he said. “So there are many things that are not working in within Palestine, and there are many who are responsible for that.”

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OTTAWA — Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will have his very own “superminister.”

Catherine Gentilcore, the member of the National Assembly for Terrebonne, will be juggling the crucial jobs of Quebec deputy premier, minister of immigration and integration and minister responsible for Quebec’s access to independence.

On top of that, she will be acting as the government house leader — a crucial job as the Parti Québécois government will have to find dancing partners in a minority situation.

Before entering politics, Gentilcore worked as an administrator in Quebec’s cultural sector. She made her entrance in the provincial legislature after winning a byelection in 2025 and rapidly became one of St-Pierre Plamondon’s most trusted allies.

The PQ is promising to hold a third referendum for Quebec to separate from Canada after U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the Oval Office in January 2029.

St-Pierre Plamondon said on Wednesday that Gentilcore will be responsible for preparing for this commitment once the time comes. The PQ has already promised to put aside approximately $130 million to fulfill the promise of this referendum.

Reacting on X, Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard said the new premier wasted no time in reminding Quebecers of his true priorities.

“While challenges mount in healthcare, education, and housing, he has chosen to allocate taxpayer money to a minister tasked with laying the groundwork for a referendum,” Milliard wrote.

Gentilcore told reporters that she will be assisted by a team of officials to start the consultation process that will eventually lead to a referendum.

The premier said his minister will be “ensuring that the ensuing debate on Quebec’s independence is grounded in facts, the public interest, and our commitment to securing the best possible future for Quebec among the options before us.”

St-Pierre Plamondon also expressed the desire to have this democratic process unfold in the “best possible conditions.”

“You will therefore serve as the guardian of this space for reflection and as the manager of the critical preparatory stages of this project — leading up to the point when our government consults the people of Quebec regarding their future within Canada.”

The new premier is entrusting her, as minister of immigration and integration, with the complicated task of lowering permanent immigration levels to 35,000 people per year.

Gentilcore is expected to present Quebec’s annual immigration plan next month, as requested by law, once the work of the legislature resumes on November 24.

But most of her work will be carved out for her as she will be busy negotiating with opposition parties to garner support for the government’s bills.

The first piece of legislation from the PQ is expected to freeze the salaries of elected officials and senior executives of Crown corporations until the budget is balanced.

“Quebecers want Parliament to function. You will therefore have a mandate to collaborate with the opposition parties and ensure that progress is made, solely in the interest of the people of Quebec,” St-Pierre Plamondon told Gentilcore.

“You are, I believe, the best person to find common ground, while respecting the principles that guide our political action,” he added.

St-Pierre Plamondon promised a smaller cabinet. He named 22 ministers — six fewer than the CAQ government before him — so many of his picks find themselves juggling multiple portfolios and are expected to deliver targeted results in a short timeframe.

The new premier is himself the minister responsible for combatting homelessness, one of his core priorities. He is promising to reduce homelessness by 50 per cent.

As expected, Quebec’s Lieutenant-Governor was physically absent from the swearing-in ceremony, instead signing the appointment documents from her office.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Quebec lieutenant did not seem to really be bothered by the exclusion of the Crown’s representative.

“Frankly, I don’t think many people in Quebec are concerned about whether the Lieutenant Governor is on-site or in her office,” Joël Lightbound said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s the least of our priorities.”

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A crucial surveillance camera inside an Air Canada cargo warehouse was not working the day a crate carrying more than $22.5 million in almost pure gold and cash was stolen, a security slip hiding the identity of an airline insider who helped pull off the gold heist, court heard.

Parmpal Sidhu, a 56-year-old former Air Canada cargo warehouse employee, is accused of using his inside access to print off an official Air Canada air waybill that was used by a truck driver to collect the high-value crate stolen in the Toronto airport gold heist in 2023.

Sidhu has pleaded not guilty to theft and conspiracy and his ongoing trial in Ontario Superior Court in Brampton, Ont., featured internal Air Canada security video showing the crate being moved around the airline’s large cargo facility at Pearson airport, loaded onto a truck, and driven off.

Nowhere on the video footage, however, was anyone seen printing or collecting the waybill that was the key to releasing the crate to a gold heist gang instead of to Brink’s security guards, who arrived later to pick it up for a Toronto bank but learned it was nowhere to be found.

The court has heard that Sidhu’s employee ID number was used to access an Air Canada printer within the building to print it, but has also heard that airline cargo employees had woeful computer hygiene and routinely swapped and shared login credentials.

A Peel Regional Police detective, testifying on the witness stand for a second day Wednesday, revealed why the identity of who took the air waybill off the printer and got it into hands of the driver is in any doubt.

Sidhu’s lawyer, Shale Wagman, asked Det. Sarah Angevine about the police evidence in the case against Sidhu.

“There was no fingerprint of Mr. Sidhu on the air waybill,” Wagman asked.

“Correct,” replied Angevine.

“Do they have cameras at Air Canada cargo?”

“They do.”

“Was that looked at? Was that searched, the surveillance cameras?”

“I do recall that cameras in the area of where that printer was, that printed the waybill, was inoperable on that date,” she said. “Whoever picked it up from the printer was not captured on video.”

Court was not told how long that camera had been inoperable, how it failed, or who might know the status of internal security video monitoring.

Angevine was asked by Wagman about phone contact between Sidhu and another accused in the gold heist who was also an Air Canada employee at the time and was Sidhu’s manager, a man named Simran Preet Panesar.

Court heard earlier there was frequent contact between the phones registered to the two men, both texting and talking. Sidhu had more contact with Panesar leading up to the heist than he did with his wife, court heard.

Wagman suggested it wasn’t strange or odd for an employee and a boss to text and talk more with each other than with a spouse.

“Based on my experience and my relationship,” Angevine said, “I would say it’s a little odd, but maybe not for everybody.” She agreed, though, that it is not strange for a boss and employee to socialize outside work.

Sidhu was working a double shift on the day of the heist, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

He was on a dinner break at the time the gold was stolen, court heard.

The airplane carrying the gold shipment from Zurich, Switzerland, arrived shortly before 4 p.m., after a nine-hour flight on April 17, 2023. The driver arrived to pick it up around 6:30 p.m., had it loaded onto the truck and left the cargo facility at 7:30 p.m.

Angevine said the phones of the two were in contact multiple times throughout the day, starting early in the morning at 5:35 and continued periodically until 9:44 p.m.

Wagman asked about Sidhu being arrested in January 2024 and charged with mischief after allegedly damaging the front door of someone not accused in the gold heist. Wagman asked the detective if the wiretaps heard in court on Tuesday, appearing to show Sidhu angrily trying to get money and complaining of needing a lawyer, could have related to the mischief charge rather than the gold heist.

“Sure. It could be anything,” she said.

Late Wednesday, Cudjoe delivered his ruling on how to deal with the dramatic but problematic testimony from Arsalan Chaudhary, an admitted mastermind of the gold heist plot.

Chaudhary was the Crown’s star witness at Sidhu’s trial and the only witness with direct, first-hand knowledge of the plotting. He previously pleaded guilty and was brought to court from jail, where he is serving a four-year sentence.

During three days of frustrating testimony on the stand, he said he no longer remembers most of the evidence he provided three months ago and in the statement of facts he agreed to at his own guilty plea. He said he had PTSD from his ordeal, including being kidnapped in Pakistan and tortured into giving up his loot to save his life, and from poor treatment in jail prior to being ordered to testify at Sidhu’s trial.

“The Crown is highly skeptical,” prosecutor Tyler Powell said of Chaudhary’s claims that trauma and lack of sleep had eroded his memory on key information implicating others.

Prosecutors asked the judge to rely on Chaudhary’s previous statements and not just on his frail account from the stand, what courts call a KGB application.

Sidhu’s lawyers argued that Chaudhary’s prior statements were self-serving and against Sidhu’s interest but in favour of heist suspects who Chaudhary was close to, including a friend and his brother, “who he wanted to make sure was protected when he made his plea,” Cudjoe said in his ruling.

Charges against the friend, Amit Jalota, and his brother, Ammad Chaudhary, were dropped after Chaudhary’s evidence.

“He did not necessarily recant. He just refused to remember or to try to remember,” Cudjoe said of Chaudhary’s latest testimony.

Cudjoe ruled that some information from Chaudhary’s past statements was admissible at Sidhu’s trial — including that Chaudhary said he spoke with Sidhu three times on the day of the heist — because it was given by Chaudhary as both direct testimony at a discovery hearing prior to Sidhu’s trial and in the agreed statement of facts.

However, evidence in the agreed facts at Chaudhary’s guilty plea hearing of text messages between Chaudhary and Sidhu about melting gold, which were found on Chaudhary’s phone but not recovered from Sidhu’s phone, was too “problematic.”

“At this stage, I’m not determining what weight I will give to this evidence. I am only determining if it is safe to consider this evidence and still afford the accused a fair trial,” Cudjoe said.

Crown prosecutor Jelena Vlacic said there were no more witnesses being called in the government’s case. Wagman said the defence is not calling any witnesses. The Crown and defence will submit written closing submissions and court will reconvene next month.

• Email: ahumphreys@postmedia.com | X: AD_Humphreys

• Accused Toronto airport gold heist gang turned on each other in nasty fight for loot
• 'I did everything for nothing': Pearson Airport gold heist ringleader says fortune lost

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The mother of a convicted ISIS terrorist from Ontario — whose sentence was recently extended by 50 years for another crime — is running to be a Halton District School Board trustee in Milton, just west of Toronto.

Dr. Khdiga Metwally is a candidate for Milton Wards 1 and 2 in the Oct. 26 election. She says she has experience as a life skills teacher, a university department chair, author, speaker and human development instructor, according to her campaign website.

Her son, 28-year-old Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, was convicted in the United States for plotting to carry out 9/11-style attacks in New York City in 2016 on behalf of ISIS. The group is listed as a terrorist entity in Canada, and in the U.S. is designated as a foreign terrorist organization. El Bahnasawy was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2018.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), El Bahnasawy conspired with others online, using encrypted electronic messaging applications. He then travelled to the U.S. to “to conduct bombings and shootings in heavily populated areas of New York City.”

This week, he was sentenced to an additional 50 years for attacking two correctional officers in 2020. The DOJ said he used a weapon made out of a steel desk in his cell and stabbed one officer in the head and face. He then stabbed another officer in the hand.

“My son has a documented history of severe mental illness. Before the prison incident, we repeatedly pleaded with prison authorities to provide his treatment. We sent his medical records, explained which medications helped him and which harmed him, and offered to put them in contact with his psychiatrist,” she told National Post in an emailed statement.

“We warned that his condition would worsen without proper treatment and also asked the Canadian Embassy to intervene. Our pleas went unanswered, and he did not receive the care he needed.”

She said he was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the prison incident.

In a 2020 U.S. government report about terrorism in Canada, it said that El Bahnasawy’s parents “have alleged the RCMP knew of their son’s medical conditions and should have sought treatment for him.”

Metwally said the “painful experience” has strengthened her “determination, as a school board trustee candidate, to work so that no child or family goes through a similar tragedy.”

“I am committed to early mental health support, strong family–school communication, high academic achievement, and safe schools that protect students from drugs and other dangers. These are the priorities guiding my campaign to serve Milton families,” she said.

Metwally told local publication MiltonToday that bringing up her son’s mental health is “not about excusing wrongdoing.”

“It is about learning from what happened, protecting my son from his current situation and ensuring that he receives the appropriate and humane mental health care he needs.”

• ISIS terrorist from Ontario gets additional 50 years in U.S. prison for stabbing guard in the eye
• Canadian teen convicted of Manhattan terror plot takes on Omar Khadr's legal team

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OTTAWA — Multiple Government of Canada websites were pulled offline for “urgent maintenance” after two major cybersecurity flaws were discovered in a programming language that underpins the majority of web pages around the world.

On Wednesday, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomo n confirmed that the government had pulled an undisclosed number of its websites temporarily to patch the vulnerabilities revealed earlier in the day. The “critical” flaws were discovered in PHP, a popular programming language that supports a “substantial” proportion of websites across the world.

“Some Government of Canada websites have been temporarily taken offline as a precaution to protect government systems and Canadians’ information, following guidance from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security,” Solomon said.

He encouraged all Canadian website owners who also use impacted PHP websites to install fixes immediately.

On Wednesday, PHP issued an advisory as well as patches to two major cyber vulnerabilities that were sitting in its software code for years and were recently discovered by artificial intelligence.

According to various cybersecurity agencies worldwide, the flaws could allow hackers virtually unfettered access to an affected web server’s file system or databases.

PHP’s advisory left network defenders scrambling to either take their systems offline or develop a fix of their own until PHP released its own patches a few hours later. But the effects — and potential intrusions — caused by the major vulnerabilities likely won’t be discovered by impacted organizations for days or weeks.

Canada’s warning to quickly patch the two flaws discovered by PHP echoes stark advisories issued by European, American and Asian government agencies, underscoring how the critical the newly-discovered vulnerabilities truly are.

The website for the department of Industry, Science and Economic Development (ISED) appeared to be one affected by the vulnerability. On Wednesday, the department’s homepage displayed an error and told users that the “service is temporarily offline while we carry out urgent maintenance.”

Queries to ISED and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) were redirected to the Treasury Board Secretariat, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The CCCS joined international partners such as the United States National Security Agency in calling on all owners of websites using certain versions of PHP to patch their websites immediately or risk an intrusion by cyber threat actors.

The U.S. agency’s warning was extremely direct: patch your system immediately or take your website offline for the time being.

In its advisory, the CCCS also noted it had seen reports of evidence that the vulnerabilities could be exploited by criminal actors, but that there is “no active exploitation being identified at this time,” though “that can change quickly.”

Experts said that the vulnerabilities would have been extremely difficult for hackers to discover previously, but AI has since exponentially reduced the speed at which such issues are discovered.

Ramy Rahman, a senior engineer at U.S.-based cybersecurity firm ArmorCode, said in a release that AI now gives network defenders far less time to guard themselves when a new vulnerability is discovered.

“AI makes it easier to examine large amounts of code and revisit flaws previously considered too difficult to exploit. It also helps attackers reverse-engineer patches, shortening the window between a fix becoming public and an exploit becoming available,” Rahman wrote.

“Flaws we once thought were impractical to exploit are back on the table. The underlying risks aren’t new, but exploiting them is becoming easier and accessible to more people. We need to revisit old assumptions and get faster at patching.”

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Well before last week’s tragedy at CFB Wainwright in Alberta, the Royal Canadian Legion had already decided this year’s national poppy campaign would begin earlier than it traditionally has.

But now, with four more brave soldiers killed during training exercises at the Canadian Armed Forces base, Canadians should have even more reason to wear a poppy in honour of the country’s fallen service members this Remembrance Day.

Monday morning in Ottawa, attendees at the presentation of the first official poppy to Governor General Louise Arbour held a moment of silence for the four men and their scores of injured comrades.

“As we prepare to enter this year’s Poppy Campaign, this moment was a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by those who serve our country,” the Legion wrote on its social media channels.

“Our hearts are with the families, loved ones and military community affected by this tragedy. We Will Remember Them.”

A solemn and emotional moment at Rideau Hall today.
During the First Poppy Presentation to the Governor General, those gathered paused for a moment of silence to honour the lives lost and those injured in the tragedy at CFB Wainwright.

As we prepare to enter this year's Poppy… pic.twitter.com/HlIpAorM6W

— The Royal Canadian Legion (@RoyalCdnLegion) October 21, 2026

Here’s what to know about the 2026 poppy campaign.

Why is the Royal Canadian Legion starting this year’s poppy campaign early?

Before this year, the Legion adhered to a Canadian Armed Forces dress protocol that the poppy be affixed to uniforms starting the last Friday in October.

It was moved to Oct. 24 to “give more Canadians the opportunity to wear a Poppy, provide more time to raise funds in support of Veterans and their families, and make it easier for businesses, schools and community organizations to plan their participation,” the Legion wrote on social media last month.

The Canadian Armed Forces, meanwhile, announced last week that it would follow the Legion’s lead and require members to start wearing poppies on their uniforms as of Saturday.

“The October 24 start date will provide a consistent national period for remembrance activities in support of Veterans and their families,” the CAF wrote on Oct. 14.

What else is new about this year’s poppy campaign?

Aligning with the campaign’s Saturday start, the Legion will also launch the Don’t Forget to Remember initiative to mark its centenary this year.

It will include “the unveiling of a signature stand-alone display in Toronto’s Union Station, with other billboard and vertical versions circulating nationwide.”

“That same day, the Legion will unveil new technology in Canada — the first of its kind in a national fundraising campaign — which will facilitate a revolutionary and extremely convenient donation method.”

National Post has contacted the Legion for additional comment.

Beginning in 2026, The Royal Canadian Legion’s National Poppy Campaign will take place annually from October 24 to November 11.

The standardized campaign period will give more Canadians the opportunity to wear a Poppy, provide more time to raise funds in support of Veterans and… pic.twitter.com/SKXx782zwj

— The Royal Canadian Legion (@RoyalCdnLegion) September 8, 2026

Where does my poppy donation go?

While poppies are technically free, donations are welcomed and valued.

The money goes to a trust fund for the Legion in the area where the donation was made. That fund supports veterans, CAF and RCMP members and their families through financial aid, housing, healthcare, transition programs, education, accessibility, community services, disaster relief and Remembrance activities.

“Branch executives are accountable for Poppy Fund expenditures and are required to inform the public through local media of the results of their campaign, including contributions received and disposition of funds,” the Legion explains online.

Canadians can also donate to the National Poppy Fund online to help fund national programs and supports for veterans and their families.

The Legion says the national campaign generates close to $20 million annually.

Where can I get a poppy?

Like any year, it won’t be hard to find a poppy in Canada.

The Legion identified 29 major companies — mostly retailers and banks — collectively hosting thousands of poppy boxes, including Starbucks, which “will again collect local donations through point-of-sale systems,” and TD Bank, which will distribute poppies at all its Canadian branches.

RBC is also bringing back more than 2,000 of its Pay Tribute tap-enabled boxes “that enable Canadians to donate $5 with a simple tap of a payment card (credit or debit), or through their digital wallet on their mobile and wearable devices.”

Last year, those boxes alone brought in a record-setting $855,000, the Legion said.

Of course, poppies are also available at almost 1,400 Legion branches throughout Canada.

You can also get your poppy — and other Remembrance-related merchandise — at the Legion’s Poppy Store or its Amazon storefront.

The Royal Canadian Legion is on Amazon?

This marks the third year the Legion has partnered with the tech giant’s Canadian arm to sell poppies, with all proceeds supporting trust funds throughout Canada.

“People across our vast country can fulfill their wish to wear a Poppy, including where there are no Legion branches or it is more difficult to find one,” the Legion said.

Last year, more than 50,000 poppies were distributed this way, about double the amount in the inaugural year.

Shoppers can donate $5, $10 or $20 for a traditional poppy, or pick up a more permanent 24K gold-plated poppy pin for about $22 after taxes. (Shipping is extra if you’re not an Amazon Prime member.)

They also sell a variety of Remembrance Day lapel pins, magnets and lawn signs, along with scarves, headwear, cross-body bags, mugs, and tote bags bearing the iconic flower. Also on offer are poppy-shaped LED lights and 1,000-piece puzzles marking the Legion’s centenary.

All of the products are also available at The Poppy Store.

My poppy keeps falling off — how can I keep it on?

If you don’t mind spending a few more dollars at the Legion’s storefront, you can get a 10-pack of black butterfly pin centres for about $23 after taxes that prevent the poppy from falling off.

For those seeking a more frugal approach, there are other ways to secure the poppy.

As reported by National Post in 2019, some people have been known to stick a piece of pencil eraser or duct tape on the pointed end of the pin to keep it from falling out — and keep from getting stabbed by it. You can also bend the pin with a pair of pliers once inserted or better weave it into the fabric.

Some people swap the original pin for a safety pin, while others use a Canadian flag pin in the centre.

As for where the poppy is worn, the CAF has its own dress instructions on placement, but the Legion advises regular Canadians to wear it as close to the heart as possible on the left side of the chest.

• Chris Selley: Of course the poppy is political. That's not a bad thing
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While suspects in the Toronto airport gold heist were under intense, around-the-clock police surveillance, one of them franticly made increasingly angry and desperate phone calls chasing down money, feeling cheated and abandoned by his friends, court heard.

“It’s already falling apart,” a caller identified in court as Parmpal Sidhu said over the phone nine months after more than $22.5 million in gold bars and cash was stolen after arriving at Pearson airport on a flight from Switzerland.

As a police net tightened around them, suspects fled Canada, tried to dodge surveillance, hired expensive lawyers and viciously turned against one another, police wiretaps show.

“Everybody’s on their own. Everybody’s worried about themselves,” he said in a call. “Everyone got money and I’m stuck here,” he said in another.

Sidhu was an Air Canada employee in the Pearson airport cargo warehouse from where the crate was stolen on April 17, 2023. He was arrested April 5, 2024, one of the first of nine men to be charged and the first to plead not guilty and face trial in the spectacular case. Only about a kilogram of the gold has been recovered.

His trial on Tuesday in Ontario Superior Court in Brampton, Ont., heard a handful of the thousands of wiretap recordings Peel Regional Police made in their probe.

“I am not paying 10 grand for this lawyer. I am going to make a f–king deal. I’m in my car. My other phone is here. It’s probably tapped. I got a tracker on my phone. I am fed up of the lies,” he said in a call.

“You guys literally threw me in the ditch. That’s what you did.

“I’ve been trying to get you guys to do the right thing. Nobody’s listening to me, and now I’m the one who’s getting all the f–king heat.”

The phone calls, by a voice identified by a Peel police officer as Sidhu’s, reveal a man facing a financial apocalypse. His credit cards were maxed; his American Express card had been declined; he took money out of his line of credit, “freaking out” his wife. He spoke of borrowing from his mother.

“I am not joking,” he said in one call, “I am telling you, I am in a hole, and I am going to have to look out for myself.”

Peel police Det. Sarah Angevine testified that people suspected of pulling off the largest gold heist in Canadian history were under police scrutiny, including physical surveillance, phone wiretaps and microphone probes planted in their homes and cars.

The wiretap recordings, most of which are partially obscured by background music and noise, show an apparent escalation of paranoia, anger, financial problems and efforts to be paid money.

Angevine said the people on the wiretaps often used code names or nicknames for people that police believed to be some of the others accused in the heist.

There are references to someone called by the Punjabi word for “Black,” believed to be code for Durante King-Mclean, the accused driver in the gold heist who is Black and the only person not of South Asian descent accused in the heist.

Someone named “Grove” is a reference to Archit Grover, Angevine said, who is accused of supplying the truck used to move the stolen gold from the airport warehouse.

There are also references to someone referred to as “Dubai.” Court heard earlier that Arsalan Chaudhary, who admitted he was one of the masterminds of the heist, had flown to Dubai after the heist.

“This is what Dubai doesn’t f–king understand: I’ll make sure if I lose my cut then f–king Grove will lose his too,” Sidhu is heard saying in one of the wiretaps, court heard. “You think Grove’s just gonna walk away unscathed? No f–king chance.”

He also complained of people leaving Canada after the heist — “who’ve just taken off and left,” he said. Grover, Chaudhary and the man who court heard was the second mastermind behind the heist, Simran Preet Panesar, a former Air Canada manager, are all known to have travelled abroad.

Sidhu complained in another call, “I didn’t know he was going to f–king vanish,” court heard. “His promises are absolutely, utterly worthless.”

He implored the person on the other end of one call to intercede on his behalf: “Make it clear. You need to explain the situation,” he said. He said the guy “didn’t believe me that I got charged.”

“You know how f–king angry it makes me, because I never cheated anybody.”

He also made apparent threats amid his anger.

“I’m going to f–king tear him apart now,” he said.

In a call on Jan. 14, 2024, he said he had been warned he “can’t go after them” or he risks being “arrested,” but that money was coming, however, it is “not going to be what you’re expecting.”’

By the sound of the calls, the payout never came.

In one call, he is heard musing with someone about sending a frightening message with what sounds like a drive-by shooting.

“Can somebody just go there and like spray them — not hurt anybody — but spray like the cars, the house, or something like that, or whatever. Something to worry?”

Court also heard that an analysis of Sidhu’s phone records showed he talked and texted with Panesar, his Air Canada manager and fellow accused in the heist, more than he did with his wife before the theft.

Court heard that three months before the Toronto airport gold heist, a bank draft for $30,000 was deposited into Sidhu’s bank account.

Const. Michael Asanin, a Peel police fraud investigator, testified that he examined 1,121 pages of bank records for Sidhu, spanning several bank accounts and pointed out a large bank draft deposit of $30,000 on Jan. 5, 2023, which was three months before the gold heist.

Sidhu’s lawyer, Shale Wagman, asked Asanin if he knew whether the gold heist plot was underway at the time of the deposit. He said he didn’t know.

Wagman asked him if the money could have an innocent source.

“I have nothing to say that this particular draft was or was not fraudulent,” Asanin said.

The trial continues.

• Email: ahumphreys@postmedia.com | X: AD_Humphreys

• 'I did everything for nothing': Pearson Airport gold heist ringleader says fortune lost
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A church north of Toronto whose leader has been accused by some former congregants of sexual or financial misconduct is facing dozens of municipal bylaw charges, including charges of operating illegally on protected Greenbelt land.

Even as Miracle Arena For All Nations church has battled Vaughan, Ont., officials over its presence on protected land, it has received promises to work for a Greenbelt zoning “exception” from a provincial cabinet minister who has frequently visited the church.

In total, City of Vaughan officials have laid 50 bylaw charges against Miracle Arena — owned and run by self-proclaimed “prophet” Martin Kofi Danso — and three current or former associates, the Investigative Journalism Bureau has found. Danso himself is not charged. The bylaw issues range from alleged zoning infractions to property standards and animal welfare charges.

Danso was the subject of an IJB investigation earlier this year into allegations of sexual and financial impropriety. He has never been criminally charged and has denied all the allegations.

The dispute over zoning for the land his church is built on goes back to 2020.

Danso said in a written statement that a church was allowed on the land based on a February 2020 zoning certificate he provided to IJB reporters. The document says a church is “permitted by the relevant zoning requirements.” But it cautions that site plan approval may be required and that the property may be designated as “protected countryside” under the Greenbelt Plan, which was established in 2005 and prohibits commercial development or expansion on protected lands.

The certificate also notes that “a building permit is required” before any construction or major alterations to the property.

Through his lawyer, Danso also said that the church is operating legally on the basis of a Sept. 19, 1988, City of Vaughan bylaw that zoned its location, 10800 Weston Rd., as agricultural, which also permitted a church and a dwelling on the property.

Vaughan city officials, however, told the IJB the “provincial Greenbelt Plan supersedes the city’s zoning by-law and does not allow for a place of worship on that property.”

Miracle Arena was “not lawfully established on this property…. It did not have planning approvals or building permits,” reads the City of Vaughan statement. Danso’s zoning certificate is only valid for six months and expired before the church was constructed in late 2020, the city statement says.

After the church was founded, then expanded, on Greenbelt land starting in 2020, Danso received support from Vaughan-Woodbridge MPP Michael Tibollo, now the province’s associate attorney general.

In June 2022, Tibollo addressed Miracle Arena congregants during his second visit in two months, pledging to assist the church in changing the Greenbelt zoning.

“One of the things we have always said is we will not touch the Greenbelt, but I think there are sometimes exceptions.… I will help and I made that commitment,” he said.

Tibollo has had public interactions with Danso at least 11 times between 2022 and 2025. He also introduced Danso on at least two occasions to Ontario Premier Doug Ford — by phone and at Tibollo’s own community summer barbecue — and encouraged other government ministers, including current Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce, to visit Miracle Arena. Scarborough Centre MPP David Smith is also among the politicians who have visited the church.

Tibollo did not respond to repeated requests for comment regarding his commitment to help change the zoning at 10800 Weston Rd. or his relationship with Danso. Ford, Lecce and Smith also did not respond to requests for comment.

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The bylaw charges against Miracle Arena are to be heard in court in November and December. According to information published on the City of Vaughan’s property bylaws page, complaints and violations require “significant” investigation before a fine or penalty is issued. Charges are laid as a “last resort.”

Twelve-acre plot in question

Ontario’s Greenbelt is a protected swath of farmland, forests and wetlands spanning two-million acres across southern Ontario.

Danso and his wife, JoAnne, purchased the 12-acre plot of land where their church now sits in May 2020 for $5.6 million. The real estate listing at the time shows the property was zoned as “Greenbelt,” “agricultural” and “heritage.”

At the time, satellite images show a house and large shed on the property surrounded by dirt roads and fields littered with trucking, shipping and construction equipment. Those structures pre-date the property’s 2005 Greenbelt designation.

Once the Dansos took possession, the property began a transformation.

In videos Danso posted at the time of purchase, he described his desire to develop the land into a community with a large church and amenities such as a shopping mall, condos, a school and livestock.

In 2022, Premier Ford opened parts of the Greenbelt to housing and development, but not the parcel of land where Miracle Arena sits. Ford reversed the decision to open the Greenbelt in 2023 after investigations by Ontario’s Auditor General and Integrity Commissioner found the process favoured politically connected developers.

In May 2022, MPP Tibollo attended Miracle Arena ahead of the provincial election. Speaking to the congregation , he called Danso “an incredible leader” while detailing his own track record in the private and public sector.

A month later, Tibollo returned following his reelection and publicly thanked Danso and his congregants for their support before making his commitment to assist the church with the Greenbelt zoning issue.

‘It was awful. It was smelling’

Miracle Arena’s challenges reach beyond alleged breaches of Greenbelt zoning restrictions.

In an address to regional council for York Region in September 2023, Danso raised safety concerns about the sanitary conditions of the property, notably the strain on its septic tank, at a time when the church was providing shelter to African refugees.

Despite the zoning issues, Danso asked the city to help connect the building to the municipal sewage system to relieve the pressure on the septic tank.

Fitz-Roy Gordon, a current candidate for York regional council in the Oct. 26 municipal election, was working with refugees at Miracle Arena at this time through advocacy organization ANCHOR, founded by him and his wife, Shernett Martin.

In an interview, Gordon and Martin said “hundreds of people” shared one shower at Miracle Arena and just a few toilets. Soon the septic tank was backing up and sewage was spilling over the ground.

“It was awful. It was smelling — it was unsanitary,” Gordon recalls. “I know that the region and the city wanted them (the refugees) off that land.”

In the September 2023 address to city council, Danso said, “We were told that we need a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) to address some of the issues on the property.”

Vaughan City records show the church told the city it was in the process of getting an MZO. But Michael Minzak, press secretary for Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack, told the IJB that “no (Minister’s Zoning Order) was ever issued or contemplated.”

Speaking again before York Region councillors in January 2024, Danso characterized city orders to stop Miracle Arena’s religious services and remove structures on the church property used to house asylum seekers as “discrimination” and accused public officials of abusing their authority.

“As a clergyman, nobody has the power to stop me from exercising my spiritual duties, especially on this land,” Danso said, drawing cheers from church supporters in the council chamber.

As the IJB previously reported, several members of the church are facing criminal charges of fraud, laundering and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence related to funding of refugee housing on the property.

That matter remains before the courts. Danso has not been charged. In a press release published at the time, Miracle Arena said “the alleged conduct was undertaken independently and without the knowledge, authorization, or involvement of the Church.”

The 50 alleged regulatory bylaw infractions the church now faces date back to 2023.

Sixteen of the charges against Miracle Arena and three of its senior associates are zoning bylaw infractions; eight have to do with property standards; four are alleged site alternation bylaw infractions; while 22 charges relate to animal welfare, including that the church allegedly failed to provide food, failed to provide care and failed to keep an animal pen in sanitary conditions.

In interviews, former Miracle Arena parishioners told the IJB that the animals kept on the property — mainly alpacas, a horse and donkeys — were rehoused elsewhere after at least one animal died.

Danso did not respond to questions about allegations of animal harm or where animals were sent.

“The current land use at the property is now before the court. It would be inappropriate to comment any further on that,” reads a statement from Danso’s lawyer, Aaron Crangle.

“(Miracle Arena) has spent a considerable amount of time and money to get the property into compliance with any concerns or orders.”

Alleged sexual misconduct and financial exploitation

The property disputes add to a controversy already surrounding Miracle Arena. A recent IJB investigation documented years of troubling allegations involving Danso and the church, ranging from allegations of sexual misconduct to alleged financial exploitation.

Several former parishioners told the IJB about alleged “grooming” behaviours by Danso. Some alleged Danso had non-consensual sexual encounters with them, including one woman who says she was a minor at the time.

Danso has never been criminally charged and previously told the IJB he denied all allegations of sexual or financial impropriety.

The church has continued to draw hundreds of parishioners to services. And as the church’s physical footprint has expanded on the Greenbelt, so too has its leader’s push for political influence.

“We need to help to do evangelism to take over the city,” said Danso in a September 2026 sermon in which he encouraged his flock to volunteer and knock on doors for certain municipal candidates. “We have to do everything we can to make sure we are taking over for the glory of God.”

“The Lord does not give a city to people by prayer,” he said in the September sermon. “Let’s do whatever we can to make it happen.… We must take it by force.”

In response to IJB questions, Danso’s written statement says “there is nothing wrong with MAFAN (Miracle Arena For All Nations) supporting politicians that have demonstrated support for the work that it has done.”

Among the candidates he has recommended to his congregants is Vaughan mayoral candidate Shelly Cerrelli, the sole opponent to incumbent mayor Steven Del Duca, who has clashed with Danso over his plans for long-term refugee housing on the Greenbelt property. Cerrelli’s campaign told reporters she has no connection to the church beyond visits made as part of her campaign outreach to faith communities across the region.

Her campaign listed several faith communities she has interacted with during the campaign and said she has not promised Danso or any religious leader or organization “favourable treatment” or “municipal approvals” in exchange for prayer, encouragement or support for her candidacy.

The IJB has identified at least three candidates receiving Danso’s support who have clear ties to the church. Robert Bazil, a candidate for Toronto City Council, and Andrea Francis Bucknor, a candidate for Peel Public School Board trustee, have both publicly identified themselves as members of Miracle Arena. Neither responded to requests for comment.

Another Miracle Arena-affiliated candidate is Matthew Boateng, one of Danso’s longtime supporters and a church minister. He is also running for Toronto Council.

He is listed as a board member for the church in charity documents and named as a defendant, along with Miracle Arena and two others, in the pending bylaw charges.

On his campaign website, Boateng cites his experience as “volunteer and ministry service with Miracle Arena for All Nations” and being a church “shelter supervisor.”

During a campaign launch speech in September, Boateng credited Danso and JoAnne Danso for being the people “that gave me this push to do this.”

IJB reporters sought comment from Boateng about the bylaw charges, his relationship with Danso and his campaign.

Boateng did not directly respond to most of the IJB’s questions, instead saying the inquiries were “harassment, voter intimidation and blatant election interference.”

The IJB also asked Boateng if Danso, Miracle Arena or other high-ranking political figures had donated money to his campaign.

Boateng denied receiving “the financial contributions in question,” but added, “according to the City of Toronto, any resident of Ontario who is a resident, can contribute to a municipal campaign.”

The Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB) at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health is a collaborative investigative newsroom supported by Postmedia that partners with academics, researchers and journalists while training the next generation of investigative reporters.

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In a province-wide address on Tuesday evening, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith vowed not to hold another referendum on the secession issue, while also urging separatist voters to “believe and hope in Canada again” following Monday’s referendum results.

In her first public remarks since referendum polls closed, the premier again sought to elevate the various deals and major projects her government has signed with Prime Minister Mark Carney in an effort to mend Alberta’s fractured relationship with Ottawa. Her comments came one day after Albertans voted with a decisive three-to-one margin to reject a proposal to hold a second legally-binding vote on whether to leave Confederation.

“And I want to make it clear tonight that for as long as I am premier, I will honour this mandate from Albertans and will not be holding another referendum on this issue,” she said. “It is time to move forward together as a strong and free Alberta within a united Canada.”

As of 7:00 p.m. MT on Tuesday, more than 1.95 million votes had been counted on the referendum’s 10th question, which asked whether Alberta should stay in Canada (Option 1) or hold a second vote on the matter (Option 2). Seventy-five per cent voted to stay in Canada while 25 per cent opted for the second option, with 90 per cent of voting stations reporting results.

Smith, who could now face an internal political reckoning from the very base of pro-independence supporters who helped get her elected, also made a plea to the one out of every four Albertans who supported Option 2.

“You love this province, and you want your family and neighbours to have every opportunity to succeed,” she said. “Many of you view Ottawa as having threatened your freedoms and blocked your path to prosperity. I acknowledge the legitimate frustrations you’ve felt — most especially during the Justin Trudeau Liberal-NDP coalition years.”

The premier based her optimism on a claim that the country has “changed significantly” in the last 1.5 years, evident in Ottawa’s newfound support for expanding oil and gas exports and its recent decision to designate Alberta’s proposed West Coast oil pipeline as being in the national interest. In recent months, Smith and Carney have announced various major projects such as the pipeline, a proposed passenger rail line between Edmonton and Calgary, and a recent $8-billion commitment toward four military bases in the provinces.

“So tonight I want to invite every Albertan who may still feel hopeless or frustrated with the past direction of our country, to believe and hope in Canada again,” Smith said.

“We are reversing course away from a lost decade and towards a bright future with Alberta’s prosperity at its centre.”

The premier called for patience among Alberta’s most disillusioned voters, who have for decades raised concerns over Ottawa’s mistreatment of the province. Many Albertans have long accused the federal government of choking off personal freedoms, overstepping its jurisdictional boundaries and enacting restrictive environmental policies that stifled oil and gas sector growth, and Smith suggested that frustrations over those matters won’t disappear overnight.

“I am well aware that not every grievance Alberta has with Ottawa has been resolved,” she said. “There are still many political and constitutional battles ahead of us. But I am also convinced that the federal government is no longer targeting and trying to phase out and eliminate Alberta’s largest economic sectors as they attempted to do under the previous prime minister (Trudeau).”

The premier also commented on the results from the referendum’s other nine questions, for which Albertans seemed mostly poised to support. Five of the 10 referendum questions focused on immigration rates, and proposed giving Alberta more control over immigration and limiting access to some public services for non-permanent residents, among other things. Voters seemed likely to support each of those five questions as of 7:00 p.m. MT, as well as supporting other constitutional questions proposing to, for example, work with provinces to abolish the federal Senate.

“Although results are still coming in, it appears that Albertans have directed the provincial government to take greater control over immigration so we can moderate the extraordinary population growth our province has experienced and prioritize jobs and opportunities for Albertans and Canadians,” Smith said. “They have given us direction to ensure temporary residents pay a portion of the cost of public services used by themselves and their families. They have spoken in favour of requiring proof of Canadian citizenship in order to vote.”

She said her UCP government would “continue to boldly assert our province’s autonomy” through provincial rights guaranteed to the provinces under the constitution.

“We will use every legal and political tool at our disposal to protect and advance the interests of Albertans,” she said. “And when Ottawa interferes with those rights, we will be unrelenting in our response.”

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OTTAWA — Unions called on the federal government to repeal Section 107 from the Canada Labour Code during committee testimony on Tuesday, as members of Parliament study a bill that seeks to clarify its uses for ending strikes.

“We’ve maintained … since (Section) 107 was starting to be used by this government, that governments should stay the hell out of bargaining,” said Mark Hancock, national president at the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

“The only place a collective agreement should be found, can be found, is at a bargaining table with both sides,” he added.

Committee hearings began in the House of Commons and the Senate this week, with testimony from expert witnesses, on the Liberal government’s latest major projects bill.

Bill C-39, which builds on the government’s Bill C-5, is intended to fast-track the regulatory approval process of all major projects, not just those deemed within the national interest.

This is achieved through the creation of “regions of national interest,” allowing construction to begin before an impact assessment is completed and giving ministerial discretion to override project conditions.

The bill also makes changes to the Canada Labour Code, including changes to collective bargaining and giving the labour minister “guardrails” on when they can intervene to end a lockout or strike.

Over the last few years, the Liberal government has relied on Section 107 of the labour code to end lockouts and strikes at airlines, ports and railways. There are currently four different court challenges brought forward by unions on what they view as the federal government’s misuse of Section 107.

In August of last year, the use of Section 107 was invoked by Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu to force 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants back to work, which backfired when flight attendants defied the order by the Canada Industrial Relations Board and stayed on the picket line. A deal was secured a few days later following hours of negotiations between CUPE and Air Canada.

Unions have maintained that the expectation of ministerial intervention in a strike or lockout leads to bad faith bargaining, because employers expect binding arbitration.

“When you have arbitration, not only do we believe that the court will find it to be unconstitutional, but it will also create an environment where problems stack up, labour relations deteriorate, and that will follow our business and our business reputation far more than any problem that this bill purports to resolve,” said Tim Perry, president of the Air Line Pilots Association.

Hajdu has said Bill C-39’s labour provisions give “guardrails” to her use of Section 107, including a special mediator report and a national interest test.

During her testimony on Monday, Hajdu said that a report issued publicly by the special mediator will have a shaming effect on employers, should the report show they are acting in bad faith. She also argued Bill C-39 protects the right to strike even “more vigorously” with those guardrails in place.

“So not only will the minister have that special mediators report, but all of Canada will know exactly what’s happening at that table,” she said. “That will be very illuminating for union members, for employee groups, employer groups, for customers, for shareholders.”

David Chartrand, Canadian general vice-president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said Hajdu can consider the report, but she is not bound by it.

“It’s economic harm that is one of the factors to be weighed, even though economic pressure is the very purpose of a strike, that is far too much power to place in the hands of one individual,” he added.

Perry said the national interest provision is far too broad and does not think the guardrails are sufficient.

Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, agreed with Perry that this will lead to bad outcomes in collective bargaining.

“I don’t believe for a minute that this legislation will improve the collective bargaining process,” she said. “I think this will improve employers to hold out and not to get to a deal.”

Hancock said the purpose of Bill C-39 is not to provide guardrails for the minister, but to protect the federal government from legal challenges.

“I think one of the things this government’s attempting to do is to to shelter themselves from court challenges, and I think they’ve done a decent job of that, but at no point will we, as the union, give up our right to strike, and no guardrails are going to take away our right to strike,” said Hancock.

The bill passed the House of Commons, with the help from the Conservative Party. However, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said his party plans to bring amendments to “protect the rights of workers.”

Notably, the Liberal government has not yet released a Charter statement on Bill C-39’s potential effects.

The legislative committee has given itself until Nov. 16 to hear from expert witnesses, before they begin clause-by-clause consideration of the bill.

Some experts during testimony in front of the Senate committee warned a bill of this magnitude warrants further study.

“The time frame for this review is really completely unrealistic and unfeasible,” said Arlene Kwasniak, University of Calgary professor, to senators on Monday. “I recommend that either you somehow make longer time frames or just reject the bill in its entirety and start over.”

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