Toronto island airport to be designated a special economic zone | CP24 Live at Five for May 28, 2026

Añadido: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]A 14-year-old girl missing for nearly two weeks has been found safe. Police say they're trying to determine if there's any criminality involved in her disappearance.

[00:00:09]>> And the search for a man in Lake Ontario is now a recovery operation.

[00:00:14]>> And the province plans to designate the Toronto Island Airport a special economic zone this after taking over the land.

[00:00:21]>> This is Live at 5.

[00:00:32]Hi everybody. I'm Liz West.

[00:00:34]>> I'm Bquard Savage. Welcome to Live at 5.

[00:00:36]Nearly 2 weeks after she went missing, a 14-year-old North York girl has been found safe. The CP24's Melissa Dugen joins us live from Earl Bells Park.

[00:00:45]Melissa, >> Bakari, here at Earl Bells Park. This is one of the last places where Esther was spotted nearly 2 weeks ago. Relentless search efforts. That's what Toronto police said just went underway over these last couple of weeks to locate this 14-year-old girl. This story captivating the attention of so many.

[00:01:05]Toronto police confirming she was found at a home in Toronto around 1:00 this afternoon. She is said to be safe. Her condition, we're hearing more about that from police.

[00:01:17]>> She appears to be in good physical health. That said, as you'd expect, she has been taken to hospital to be examined both physically as well as for medical staff to assess what emotional toll the situation may have caused her.

[00:01:35]Now, what led Toronto police to this home where Esther was found and no details coming today from officials when it comes to that. Toronto sources are Toronto police sources rather telling CP24 that home located in Atobbico because of this prolonged disappearance.

[00:01:53]Toronto police confirming that they are looking into whether there is any criminality involved but at this point no charges, no arrests, no suspects in this case as the probe does continue.

[00:02:04]Toronto police also acknowledging the community efforts, the tips that came in helping in this search for the missing 14-year-old. We were hearing from members of the community here today at Earl Bales Park. When they found out this news, they came here to get more details from Toronto police. Many of them thanking other people in the community for helping out with this search effort as well. And all of them expressing relief. Have a listen.

[00:02:30]>> Very excited, very happy. The community is very happy. It's a big thing in our community that she's found. Thank God she's safe. I don't think any injuries and it's just very big. A lot of people were looking for. I was looking for a lot of people in the community was looking for her.

[00:02:44]>> It was a community effort. Um, you know, me personally, I did the same thing as everybody else. Search on foot, uh, search in our cars, put up posters. We searched and comb this park at night.

[00:02:54]And uh like I mentioned to you before off camera um one of the beautiful things about the volunteer effort was that a lot of the volunteers did not even know the family at all.

[00:03:03]>> The Jewish community is really important to me and I my advocacy to the Jewish community is very important to me. So I I always show up for my community.

[00:03:15]>> We are getting reaction as well from Esther's parents. Uh they shared a statement late today. Let me reveal some of that to you. It says there are no words to describe the relief we're feeling knowing that SD has been found safe for the first time in days. We could hug our daughter and breathe again. To be clear, while this is the end of the search, SD still needs proper medical care, evaluation, and support.

[00:03:37]And our families focus on making sure she's surrounded by the love and care she needs in the days ahead. But they also add that they are incredibly grateful to have her at home. Bari and Liz, the family also thanking the community for supporting them through this time, for pitching in in search efforts, also thanking Toronto police and thanking the Jewish community for their support as well. Back to you.

[00:04:00]>> Reporting live from Earl Bells Park, CP24's Melissa Dugen.

[00:04:05]>> And in other news, a search for a man who went missing after an inflatable boat capsized off Cherry Beach is now a recovery operation. Crews are continuing to scour Lake Ontario following the incident that happened around 1:45 yesterday afternoon. That's when a man in his 40s and a dog were rescued after the boat that they were on lost air and began to sink. First responders have been unable to find a second man who was aboard the vessel. Police say neither man was wearing a life jacket.

[00:04:36]I can tell you our marine unit has been using a dive team and their boats to locate the male who remains missing. The marine unit officers will also be utilizing various underwater equipment such as a side scan sonar which performs an ultrasound of the lake as well as an ROV, an underwater remote operating vehicle.

[00:04:57]>> Immediate search underwater search and rescue by uh our unit at the marine unit happened uh right away. Um, and again it's 35 feet and we were immediately uh deploying uh underwater search and rescue tools that we use because we believe when they're not wearing a life jacket they're going to be uh on going right down to the bottom. Um and we immediately uh so Coast Guard uh was assisting with the search later on and we had um all of our all of our units out to do to continue the search all night uh till it turned sorry turn turned uh d dark uh and then we continued today with the dive team. And while neither man was wearing a life jacket, police say there was one in the boat.

[00:05:38]>> And four teenagers there in hospital after a single vehicle crash in Durham Region. They saw two of them thrown from the vehicle. Traffic 24 over the scene on Myrtle Road this morning in North Whippy. The vehicle flipped over to its roof a few meters from the road. Police say a 16-year-old girl was airlifted to hospital in Toronto with critical injuries. Two men, 18 and 19, seriously injured and a 14-year-old boy taken to a local hospital for treatment. The posted limit on that roadway is 70 kilometers per hour, but as you can imagine at 5:30 in the morning, nobody on the roadway, uh, clear visibility. Somebody could take the opportunity to travel an extremely high rate of speed. Whether they were doing that now, that that remains up to the investigators and they will figure that out through their investigation as they, you know, uh, track exactly how the vehicle traveled along the road and onto the roadway. I can't give you an exact speed, but as you can imagine, like I said, you know, that early in the morning, nobody on the roadway, chances are somebody was speeding.

[00:06:31]>> And Durham police, they're still investigating the crash. Right now, it's 506 19°. This is live at 5.

[00:06:37]>> And up next, thousands of healthcare workers marched to Queens Park for a rally today.

[00:06:47]The Ford government has passed a bill that allows it to take over Toronto stake in Billy Bishop Airport. and CB24 CA Lou joins us live with the passage of Bill 110 and this is despite local opposition CA.

[00:07:03]Okay, we'll come back to that in just one moment.

[00:07:07]In the meantime, demonstrators they rallied at the Ontario legislature today protesting the Ford government's handling of the province's health care system. Crowds gathering outside of Queens Park as part of a demonstration organized by the Ontario Health Coalition. Protesters opposing what they're calling an unprecedented privatization of core hospital services. They're accusing the province of taking funding, staff, and services away from public hospitals and moving them into private for-profit clinics.

[00:07:42]>> I mean, the Ford government has pushed the public hospitals into deficits on purpose. They're funded at the lowest rate of any hospitals in the country per person and and they're forcing them to make cuts while they're shifting literally this year alone $300 million to open 61 new private clinics that only locate in urban centers only in southern Ontario that charge extra user fees that are actually illegal um in in Canada. We under the public health system under the Canada Health Act, no one's allowed to charge a patient for a surgery.

[00:08:16]We should be serving those who really need the care, not just ones who can pay for it because a lot of things that are privatized become unaffordable for regular people.

[00:08:26]>> Is unbelievable and and we need to stand up and and let him know that this is not acceptable. Healthc care is for everyone, not just the rich.

[00:08:35]>> We don't need an Americanstyle healthcare anywhere in this country. You want to pay for your healthcare, go down to the states. They'll take your money gladly. Bring a credit card. but not ours. So this is all our tax money going to the private healthcare instead going to the public to cover whatever we we need to you know especially in our age you know we're getting older you know we need more service we for the healthcare and that's what's Doug Ford is doing you know >> and we will stand every day in opposition to this government's carving up of our health care system >> so I want to ask do this.

[00:09:18]Are we going to let Ford privatize healthcare in this province?

[00:09:24]>> And a statement from Ontario's health minister's office reads in part, "The claims made by the Ontario Health Coalition are misguided. Ontario is proud to have one of the largest publicly funded health care systems in the world. And our government continues to make record investments, including over 101 billion this year to connect people to the care they need when they need it.

[00:09:46]>> And the poor government passing a bill allowing it to take over Toronto stake in Billy Bishop Airport. CP24 Caloo joins us live with the passage of Bill 110 despite local opposition. procedure.

[00:09:58]>> Mari Liz, this has been quite a controversial topic, but Premier Doug Ford says this bill is needed to expand Billy Bishop Airport. His goal here is to expand the runways at Billy Bishop.

[00:10:11]That way, larger jets can take off and land, something that isn't possible right now. And he would also like to like it to be a busier airport. Right now, about 2 million passengers use Billy Bishop every year. He would like that number to be closer to 10. And he also today with the passing of this bill has designated this area as a so-called special economic zone. That would give the province the power to override some local laws in order to speed up expansion. But not everyone is on board here, including local residents. The mayor, Olivia Chow, opposition parties, they have called this a land grab. And for more reaction today, I am joined live by Ontario NDP leader Maritt Styles. It's great to have you on with us this afternoon. Now, the premier here is saying this is needed for economic growth, but why do you see this as a land grab?

[00:11:04]>> Well, first of all, it's explicitly a land grab. Um, he's named the island and many parts of the island uh that he intends to take over and do anything he wants to with it. And it's outrageous, right? I would say in fact it's probably Doug Ford's worst idea, but of course I'm actually quite sure he's probably got even worse ideas up his >> eyes.

[00:11:24]But look, uh, you know, there's there's no business case here at all. Uh, what this is going to mean is more traffic, more pollution. Uh, it's going to be bad for Toronto. Um, and I'm hearing, and let's be really clear, Toronto, the people of Toronto have said absolutely no question. We do not want this. uh and it's going to cost the people of Ontario $5 billion. The government has admitted that that's about $900 per household across the province of Ontario. So, every single Ontarian is going to be paying for this.

[00:11:56]And what have you heard from people in Toronto and Ontario when it comes to their concerns of uh Doug Ford taking over this land and expanding the airport here?

[00:12:06]>> Well, first of all, I think most people are saying this is not our priority. Why is Doug Ford so obsessed with downtown Toronto? Uh we have a health care system where people are still being treated in hallways. In fact, it's even worse than it was 8 years ago when he promised to fix the mess. Uh we have schools class sizes are too large. Our kids are not getting the support they need. And in Toronto, you know, people are already having to wait hours and hours to get home. I I met a nurse uh just yesterday at Mount Sino. I was getting a blood test. She told me it took her two and a half hours to get home to Scarboro to Gildwood. uh from work that day. Like that's outrageous and that's what's on people's minds. Not um a a new expanded airport so that wealthy people can land their luxury private jets. It doesn't make sense. Um it's going in the wrong direction for this city and the province. And we have bigger and better and more important priorities right now.

[00:13:01]>> And we know the federal government ultimately has the final say when it comes to aviation. And you have also asked for Mark Carney to step in. How would you like to see the federal government intervene here?

[00:13:12]>> Well, absolutely. I sent a letter to the prime minister uh several weeks ago asking please uh to intervene and to reject this. Now that the bill has passed uh Doug Ford's government, every conservative MPP voted for it today. So, it passed. Uh now the ball really is in uh Mark Carney's court and he really does need to step in. Absolutely. The federal government has the power here to stop this in its tracks. Um, you know, uh, the ball does not move forward. This project does not move forward if Mark Carney, if Prime Minister Mark Carney says no. And so I'm asking as well that every one of the Liberal MPs, the government MPs here in the city of Toronto need to lend their voices now.

[00:13:54]Need to call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing. Let's not waste any more time. We need less chaos, not more in Toronto right now. Uh, make life easier for people. just just make sure that this is canceled immediately.

[00:14:08]>> Okay. Ontario NDP leader Maret Styles joining us live today. Thanks so much for your time today and perspective.

[00:14:14]>> Thank you.

[00:14:17]>> Well, Bari Liz, like she mentioned, the federal government ultimately has the final say and we do know those consultations will be beginning in the summertime. So, we'll be definitely following this closely. Back to you.

[00:14:27]>> Okay, reporting live CP24 Culu. Right now it's 5:16 20° feeling more like 21.

[00:14:32]This is live at 5.

[00:14:33]>> And coming up we're going to talk to former mayor John Torey about some of the stories Torononians are talking about including Olivia Chow announcing her reelection bid.

[00:14:50]Welcome back. We're starting a new segment on Live at 5. It's called Talking Toronto with John Tori. and we're taking a look at what this week's news means for the GTA with former Toronto Mayor John Tori.

[00:15:05]John, thanks so much for being with us.

[00:15:06]We really appreciate it.

[00:15:08]>> My pleasure.

[00:15:09]>> Okay, we're going to start with Mayor Olivia Chow announcing her reelection as uh for mayor in the uh October election.

[00:15:17]How is as someone who's been elected three times, how does it change your dayto-day when you go from being an acting mayor to a candidate? Well, you hope as little as possible because what you'd like to do is have people see you as the mayor u and uh because that's an advantage to you, but uh what she's going to have to do is be careful as she makes announcements that she's not too political about it. Uh she should just function as the mayor and do things in a matter of fact way as the head of the government as opposed to a candidate for mayor. And that means, for example, when she made that announcement about transit safety this week, um she really has an obligation going forward now to spell out how much they cost and where the money's going to come from because it'll all fit into one assumes a financial plan that she will have. Mr. Bradford's got the same problem. He's made a number of announcements with no notion whatsoever of where the money's going to come from or how much they cost. And so that's all going to change because the press, if anything, will keep after them about this. And she's going to have to be careful not to overstep uh being the mayor. I mean, there's two sides to it.

[00:16:13]I mean, when you are the mayor, you get asked about the good things that you announce and whatnot, but you also get asked about bad things that happen in the city because you're still accountable for them. But it'll be interesting to see how things unfold from here.

[00:16:23]>> Okay. Now, we have to talk about Billy Bishop Airport, the special economic zone designation. And Premier Ford saying that Ontario is the 19th largest, you know, GDP uh economy in in the world. So, we have to talk about this.

[00:16:37]How integral is Billy Bishop to growing that to to making Toronto even bigger?

[00:16:41]And you know, can it be done without the expansion?

[00:16:45]>> Uh, I don't really think so. There are regulatory reasons, for example, why the runways have to be extended that are in place now that have nothing to do with jets or no jets or expanding the airport. But I think the airport expansion would be helpful to the economy. And I think we have to spend more time even during this municipal election, talking about the economy and how we get it stronger and back on its feet. But having said that, look, Mr. forward uh as part of the setup that I became very familiar with when I was mayor. He has the power to do almost anything as it affects the city of Toronto and that includes all of this. I think he'd be well advised to have >> either let's do FIFA >> consultation uh you know with people about this and he's got to address is include uh you know how many planes are going to be in the sky, how long are the runways going to go into Lake Ontario, what are we going to do at the foot of Bath Street with the sort of traffic chaos that you know we already have there leave alone with millions more people. So, I think there's a lot more to be discussed, but he had to get this legislation passed and now is going to be the time for the debate. I think the debate, frankly, helps Miss Chow because she'll be able to raise some of these concerns and sort of say, "Look, what are we going to do about this, airport or not?" And uh I think that will help her solidify her base, but we'll see what what unfolds.

[00:17:53]Right, John? I think we have time to ask you one more question. It's around FIFA.

[00:17:56]So, critics have some critics have said FIFA is happening to Toronto, not for Toronto. Do you think that the city's done enough to change that narrative?

[00:18:08]>> I think they've been trying their best.

[00:18:09]I mean, it's been a pretty loud course as it was for the Panm Games when I was mayor like 10 years ago. Uh people get all wound up about these things beforehand and then they have a great time when they actually happen and people celebrate and people and that's happened with World Cups when they weren't here. People celebrated in Toronto and made a big positive deal of it. So, I think it's going to be great.

[00:18:26]I think it's going to be great for the city. It's going to put us on the map around the world. Uh, and I think that all of these things that people are conjuring up that are going to go wrong are exaggerated and I think it'll just be a very positive event for the city.

[00:18:37]>> All right, that was Talking Toronto with John Tori. Thanks so much for being with us tonight, John.

[00:18:41]>> Great to see you again.

[00:18:42]>> My pleasure.

[00:18:49]>> And the pride flag flying outside Scarboro Civic Center ahead of Pride Month.

[00:18:58]The pride flag is more than a symbol. It represents creating a safer community where two as LGBTQ people can feel accepted for who they are, love who they want, and feel comfortable in their own skin. It stands for acceptance, freedom, and support.

[00:19:23]Well, the pride flag was raised at the North York Anatobico civic centers earlier this week. Right now, it's 5:25 20°. This is live at 5.

[00:19:32]>> A 14-year-old girl missing for nearly two weeks has been found safe. Police say they're trying to determine if there's any criminality involved in her disappearance.

[00:19:49]A 14-year-old girl missing for nearly two weeks has been found safe. Police say they're trying to determine if there's any criminality involved in her disappearance.

[00:19:58]>> And the search for a man in Lake Ontario is now a recovery operation.

[00:20:03]>> And the province plans to designate the Toronto Island Airport a special economic zone after taking over the land.

[00:20:09]>> This is live.

[00:20:22]I'm Liz West. Welcome to Live at 5.

[00:20:24]Nearly 2 weeks after she went missing, a 14-year-old North York girl has been found safe. And CP24's Melissa Dugen joins us now live from Earl Bills Park.

[00:20:33]And that was where she originally went missing.

[00:20:37]That's right, Liz. Nearly two weeks ago.

[00:20:40]I'm joined by uh CP24 crime analyst Steve Ryan right now. We're going to talk about this in just a second. You know, this is has people talking today knowing that Esther, 14 years old, found safe today. We're hearing from Toronto police. She was found at a home in Toronto again after a very long search.

[00:20:56]But one thing that stood out from Toronto police today, Steve, you know, they're talking about how did they come to this location? How did they find Esther? Police revealing few details about that at this point. Uh they say that they are looking into the possibility of any criminality because of the prolonged disappearance of this 14-year-old girl. Uh so tell me what's happening behind the scenes right now.

[00:21:17]>> Well, first off, some great police work by the Toronto Police and I'm sure the community's assistance as well. Given the fact that the police did not just address this as a good news story, saying we thank the the uh community for their their assistance and they've announced the uh findings of this 14-year-old and moved on from there.

[00:21:35]They're preserving the integrity of a potential criminal investigation. That certainly suggests to me that they are not comfortable right now concluding that nothing nefarious has happened. So, they're going to now conduct a criminal investigation to see if in fact there was anything criminal done that allowed for this prolonged disappearance of this uh young girl.

[00:21:52]>> One of the questions that Toronto police was asked as well was how did she get to this home? Uh police not saying how that happened, but they are pointing to what they're describing as a painstaking investigation. and I want to share more of what they had to say about the probe uh to to find Esther.

[00:22:08]>> We have been painstakingly conducting uh uh video canvases. From video canvases, we move into search mode, additional video located. We move into further search mode. It's a painstaking long process as you can appreciate, but that certainly contributed contributed to us to getting to where we are today.

[00:22:32]So, Toronto police talking there about how video played a role as part of this investigation. It's not clear if there was video that led them to uh the location where Esther was found, but we know a lot of tips came in along the way. You know, I asked Toronto police just how many tips they've received.

[00:22:47]They said many. They don't have an exact number here. Can you talk to us about the role that the community plays in in an investigation like this? Well, so any investigation where you're looking for a missing person, particularly a vulnerable person in a large area like the entire city of Toronto or beyond, you are going to rely on tips from the public coming in, and you will follow up with every one of those leads. But if this was as simple as a tip came in, they followed up on that tip, they found uh this girl, now she's been taken to a hospital to be checked medically, um if that was the end of this investigation, they would have announced that and they would have moved on to the next case.

[00:23:20]The fact that they are are holding a lot of the information close uh that tells me or suggests certainly that they are not comfortable of saying right now that there was no criminality involved and they certainly are going to make sure that there were no crimes committed that allowed for this girl to be missing for almost 2 weeks from her family. And something you mentioned there too about Esther's condition. Found saved physically she is doing well is what Toronto police are saying. Taken to hospital for an assessment that her emotional needs could be uh cared for there cuz that's going to be something obviously that's going to be uh something that the family is going to be dealing with at this point. This case has been getting so much attention. I wonder what that means for an investigation like this when it is so in the spotlight. Well, it certainly can be overwhelming with the amount of information that's coming in, but in an investigation like this, you want as much information as there is possible because you want to make sure that you check out every lead, the high priority and the low priority. But with regards to her condition, they she certainly will be examined by a medical doctor to make sure that she's in fact okay physically and her her mental health will be examined as well. Um but certainly uh this investigation there's a lot of unknowns right now that the police aren't disclosing and that certainly you would do that oftentimes if you are looking into a criminal investigation and you want to preserve the integrity of that investigation. You would just keep that information close to you while you sort out the details.

[00:24:38]>> And you sort of touched on it there too because I imagine there are people watching who want answers because they have been so emotionally invested in the story. And you make a great point and this is why it suggests to me that there is a likely chance that there could be some criminality only because there is such a great interest in the city with regards to how the police came upon her location and they don't want to disclose that and it's not because they're being uncooperative. It's because they've got a bigger picture ahead of them and that may be a criminal investigation. They want to make sure that any evidence that they have is preserved. So if they are talking to witnesses, the witnesses recount what they saw, what they heard, what they knew as opposed to just relaying something that was put out there in the media. TV24 crime analyst Steve Ryan breaking it down for us. We appreciate that. We should mention also that we did hear from Esther's parents today. They are sending a thank you out to the community, to the Jewish community, also to Toronto police for everyone's support for their efforts to help bring their daughter home safe.

[00:25:28]They're saying that they are relieved. I think that is a feeling that's shared by so many right now and they're grateful to have Esther back at home. Back to you, Lisa Picari.

[00:25:36]>> All right, thanks for that CB24's Melissa Dugen and Steve Ryan. Well, the search for a man who went missing after an inflatable boat capsized off Cherry Beach. It's now a recovery operation.

[00:25:46]Crews continued to scour Lake Ontario following the incident. It happened around 1:45 yesterday afternoon. A man in his 40s and a dog were rescued after the boat they were on lost air and began to sink. First responders, they've not been able to find a second man who was aboard the vessel. Police say neither man was wearing a life jack.

[00:26:06]I can tell you our marine unit has been using a dive team and their boats to locate the male who remains missing. The marine unit officers will also be utilizing various underwater equipment such as a side scan sonar which performs an ultrasound of the lake as well as an ROV, an underwater remote operating vehicle.

[00:26:27]>> Going out on this water with an inflatable dinghy and in these conditions uh you need to be wearing your life jacket. it's too late and it's this water is cold and you're going to have that panic as soon as you hit the water and you can't reach your life jacket at that point. So, that's uh the the huge message here is to have your life jacket on when you're operating on Lake Ontario.

[00:26:47]>> And while neither man was wearing a life jacket, police say that there was one in the boat.

[00:26:52]>> And four teenagers are in hospital this after a single vehicle crash in Durham Region that saw two of them ejected from the vehicle.

[00:27:00]Chopper 24 over the scene on Myrtle Road this morning in North Whippy. The vehicle flipped over onto its roof a few meters from the road and police say a 16-year-old girl was airlifted to hospital in Toronto with critical injuries. Two men, 18 and 19 years old were seriously injured and a 14-year-old boy was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

[00:27:22]>> I don't know whether they're wearing their seat belts at this time. That's something that uh we will examine as the investigation goes on. Um, but of course, you know, the chances of being ejected outside of a vehicle when you're wearing a seat se seat belt significantly less than not wearing a seat belt.

[00:27:38]>> The crash remains under investigation by Durham police.

[00:27:41]>> It's 537. Let's head live to the TTC Transit Control Center. This is where senior communications advisor Samantha TC joins us. Samantha, what's the latest?

[00:27:50]>> Afternoon, Bari. So, we do have a couple of things on the go right now. If you are taking transit, if you're traveling online 6finch west, there's currently no service between the Humber College and Martin Grove stations while the maintainer fixes some track switch issues over there. Now, we do have plenty of shuttle buses running to cover stops missed by LRT service. Now, if you are traveling on the eastern portion of line one, particularly if you're going southbound between Summer Hill and the Welsley station, you will see some delays there because our trains are traveling at reduced speed zones through the area. So, if you are traveling, make sure to leave yourself a couple of extra minutes. Now, if you are going to be headed out to the Bruno Mars concert over at the Rogers Stadium tonight, we have ramped up service along lines one and two, as well as local bus service over to the venue to get you there as quickly as possible. Now, if you're taking line one, make sure to get off at either Shepard West, Downs View Park, or Wilson Station. Those are the closest walk over to Roger Stadium. Now, when you're coming home tonight after the show, make sure to keep your ticket handy because if you are going to Down View Park, Wilson, or Shepard West stations, again, your ride home is free thanks to our friends over at Live Nation. Just show your ticket over to any of our TTC staff members. Now, that's it from us at Transit Control.

[00:29:02]I'll send it back to you both.

[00:29:04]>> All right, senior communications advisor Samantha TC. Thanks a lot.

[00:29:07]>> And a heads up about some weekend track work that's going to disrupt GO train service on two lines. So there will only be regular Lakeshore West train service between Mimiko Go and Union Station and Niagara Falls and Aldershot. Go buses will serve some of the Lakeshore West stations that don't have train service, but not all of them. And no train service on the Berry Go line this weekend. That's including at Downs View station for folks going to the concerts.

[00:29:33]That will impact people heading to Roger Stadium for the final Bruno Mars shows.

[00:29:38]Well, some relief at the pumps today and a bit more is on the way after 10 cent a liter drop today. A further 3cent cuts expected tomorrow. That's according to Dan McTagg with Canadians for Affordable Energy. That's going to take the price for a liter of regular to near $1.71.

[00:29:52]Diesel prices, they're down 7 cents a day. Mateg expects a further 5-cent drop tomorrow.

[00:29:58]>> It's 539. 20° out. This is live at 5.

[00:30:01]>> And up ahead, we're going to get reaction to the province's plans to designate the Toronto Island Airport a special economic zone.

[00:30:12]The demonstrators rallied at the Ontario legislature today to protest the Ford government's handling of the province's healthcare system. Crowds gathering outside Queens Park. It's part of the demonstration organized by the Ontario Health Coalition. Protesters are opposing what they call an unprecedented privatization of core hospital services.

[00:30:30]They're accusing the province of taking funding staff and services away from public hospitals and moving them into private for-profit clinics.

[00:30:38]>> They're push the public hospitals into deficit. You know, they underfund them.

[00:30:42]They fund our public hospitals and our public healthare at the lowest rates of any province in Canada. That's a political choice, not a necessity. Every province, even smaller provinces, do much better than we do in terms of funding. Uh and it's not just healthcare. It's all public services in Ontario funded at the lowest rate of any province.

[00:31:02]>> All the time, every day, we get calls, we get emails from patients, often seniors, because they've been charged illegally thousands of dollars in private clinics.

[00:31:14]>> Shame.

[00:31:16]They're charged outright. They're manipulated into believing they need to pay for unnecessary junk.

[00:31:23]Shame. Special lenses for patter surgery. They don't mean epics lie. They literally lie.

[00:31:32]>> A statement from Ontario's health minister's office reads in part, quote, "The claims made by the Ontario Health Coalition are misguided. Ontario is proud to have one of the largest publicly funded healthcare systems in the world. Our government continues to make record investments, including over 101 billion dollars this year to connect people to the care they need when they need it."

[00:31:52]And construction has been completed on the structure for new rental housing building in Scarboro. 26 Gilder Drive is near Egllandon and Midland and has 341 new rental units, includes 80 homes that are considered affordable. It's one of 44 plan projects as part of the city's rental housing supply program, which plans to deliver 11,000 new homes, including more than 6,200 rent controlled and or affordable homes.

[00:32:21]Think about at least 500 plus 600, some of them are bigger bedrooms, right? 6 or 700 people living here a few blocks from the Kennedy subway station.

[00:32:36]A place where you can raise your kids, watch them grow up, go to school, become a judge, maybe start families of their own. That is where hope comes in. making sure that people who grow up here and work here and contribute to our community will continue to build lives to make their lives so much better. And I think it's really important to recognize in a world that we live in today, creating hope, creating opportunity, creating a sense of purpose in people's lives is extremely important. It's actually priceless.

[00:33:14]And the city says 26 Gilder Drive is expected to be ready for occupancy in the second half of 2027.

[00:33:20]>> The Florida government has passed a bill that allows it to take over Toronto stake in Billy Bishop Airport. CP24 Cube joins us live with the passage of bill 110. CJ >> Liz, the for government says this bill is needed in order to expand Billy Bishop Airport. So under this law, he now has governance and control over Billy Bishop Airport pending approval from the federal government. And what his plan is is to build uh more areas where the jets can land so larger jets can take off and land at Billy Bishop Airport. He would also like to expand it so that 10 million passengers can use the airport every year. Right now it's around 2 million a year. He says this is huge for economic growth, but we are also getting a lot of push back from people who live in the area given the noise concerns of bigger jets and also the financial implications of this and simply uh the fact that this is a land grab is what Mayor Olivia Chow and Maret Styles Ontario NDP leader are calling it. And earlier today, we did speak to Mara Styles, who says that this is a land grab and she has concerns over how much this would cost and where Premier's Doug Ford's priorities are currently at.

[00:34:36]Take a listen to some of her concerns.

[00:34:39]There's no business case here at all. Uh what this is going to mean is more traffic, more pollution. Uh it's going to be bad for Toronto. Um, and I'm hearing, and let's be really clear, Toronto, the people of Toronto have said absolutely no question. We do not want this. Uh, and it's going to cost the people of Ontario $5 billion. The government has admitted that. That's about $900 per household across the province of Ontario. So, every single Ontarian is going to be paying for this.

[00:35:12]Now, the province has said it doesn't expect taxpayers to pay. They say airlines will be paying for this instead, but this is all dependent on the federal government as well. The federal government has the ultimate say when it comes to aviation matters.

[00:35:26]They'll be having consultation sometime in the summer. So Marett Styles, she wrote a letter to Mark Carney asking him to intervene. So as of right now, the ball is in the court of the federal government. But in terms of changes that we could see if this does go forward is Billy Bishop Airport being a lot larger, having more runways, larger jets, additional flights, and for people that live close to this area, you'll hear a lot more of this. You know, that the sound of flights uh coming in and out of the airport. But Bkari Liz, summertime is when those consultations will begin and we'll see if the federal government has any say in this.

[00:36:04]>> Reporting live, CP24's Caloo. Well, Ajax M P M P M P M P M P M P M P M P M P M P MPPP Rob Zjanic wants to be the next leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.

[00:36:12]>> People are looking for something different, for hope, for competence, and for solutions because we can do better than this.

[00:36:20]>> There's nothing we can't achieve.

[00:36:21]>> Sir Janick releasing this video on social media this morning as he announced that he's running for the party's top job. He joins former Liberal MP NI Baines, Atobbico Lakeshore MPPP Lee Farracloud, and former political staffer Dylan Miranda in the race for the leadership. And party members are set to select a new leader November 21st.

[00:36:41]>> And new numbers this week suggest Premier Doug Ford is recovering to some degree after being hammered over a short-lived jet purchase. According to an Avocus survey, if a provincial election were held today, 41% of respondents would vote for the PC party.

[00:36:57]That's compared to 31% for the Liberals.

[00:37:00]Another survey released almost a month ago by Laza's own strategy showed the PC's trailing the Liberals by two points. And while 37% of respondents approve of the government's performance, 41% disapprove.

[00:37:14]>> And Ontario's doubling down on the defense sector over the next decade.

[00:37:17]Premier Ford announcing a 10-year plan called the Ontario Defense Industrial Strategy at the annual defense trade show that's happening in Ottawa. The framework outlines the opportunity to capitalize on increased defense spending both within Canada and by allies around the world with NATO members poised to spend trillions on security projects in the coming years. Ontario's workforce, tech sector, and critical minerals make it well positioned to benefit from that spending. Ontario is home to massive deposits of critical minerals needed for vital defense manufacturing. And our clean nuclear power generation, including the first small modular reactors in the G7, means we have all the electricity we need to power Canada's defense industry for decades to come.

[00:38:06]And the premier says that the strategy could add $400 million to provincial coffers every year by 2035 while making Ontario a key player in the defense industry.

[00:38:16]>> And Canada may suspend tens of thousands of international immigration documents for people connected with regions affected by Ebola. Now, the government has announced a 90-day suspension of the uh documents linked to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan. An immigration department spokesperson stressed the measures are based solely on country of residence, not nationality. So, people from those three countries who are not currently residing, and any of them will not be affected. It's 551 20 degrees out. This is live at 5. And coming up, a milestone for the Toronto Zoo's baby giraffe.

[00:39:05]Fourtime Stanley Cup champion Clo Lemieux has died. Just this past Monday, he carried the pregame torch into the Bell Center. That ahead of the Canadians game three against the Hurricanes.

[00:39:16]Lemieux was selected by Montreal in the second round of the 1983 draft. He won championships with the Canadians, Devils, and Avalanche. He also had stints in Phoenix in San Jose. Clo Lemieux was 60 years old.

[00:39:30]>> Well, Canada is through to the semi-finals at the men's hockey world championship after shutting out the US in quarterfinal action today.

[00:39:37]>> Celebrating with time, celebrating.

[00:39:39]Walks in, shoot, scores.

[00:39:41]>> Mlin celebrating, opening the scoring on the power play with less than two minutes to go in the first period. Dylan Holloway would find the back of the net in the second to extend the lead. And Canada would add a pair of empty netters in the third on the way to a four- nothing victory.

[00:39:55]>> And the Blue Jays on the road in Baltimore tonight after winning their series against the Miami Marlins.

[00:40:04]>> Fly ball to right field. It will score.

[00:40:09]>> What a beauty has Okamoto driving in the gamewinning run with a solo homer in the sixth inning. The Jays were out hit 11 to five, but managed to escape with the 2-1 win. Tyler Rogers was brought in to close out the game in the ninth, recording his second save of the season.

[00:40:25]Toronto will send Patrick Corbin to the mound tonight, while Baltimore will counter with former Jay Chris Basset.

[00:40:33]And the Blue Jays have called up one of their top prospects for tonight.

[00:40:37]Infielder Charles McAdoo has been selected to the major league roster from AAA Buffalo. The 24year-old has eight home runs, six steals this season with the Bisons. Mcadoo was a 13thround pick by the Pirates in 2023 and was traded to the Jays a year later.

[00:40:53]>> Ernie Clement, the kind of player that every team needs. We're talking about consistency, versatility, and a work ethic that shows up every single day for the Toronto Blue Jays. We actually had a chance to catch up with Ernie Clement and find out what the city means to him and why he's embracing every moment in Toronto.

[00:41:20]ERNIE CLEMENT WITH A FLY BALL TO LEFT DEEP AND GONE.

[00:41:27]>> AND he set a new postseason record.

[00:41:30]>> I always loved baseball. That was my first love. Uh, always. My mom, Julie, and my dad, Peter. Just two of the best human beings I've ever met in my life.

[00:41:37]I'm I'm so lucky to have them. They've taught me so many lessons along the way and and just encouraged me and and they're just the best.

[00:41:44]>> I love everybody back home and the support just means the world to me.

[00:41:47]>> You know, I'm lucky I I had to play other sports cuz baseball uh you know, you can't play all year round up in Rochester with the weather.

[00:41:53]>> Ernie Clement slides at home.

[00:41:56]>> Hockey was something that I did in the winters cuz you know, you can't play baseball in the winter. And uh I I I love the game.

[00:42:04]>> You know, I still play and watch I love the game of golf. That's something that I think a lot of people know now. I've picked that up in the last few years, ever since, you know, co there was no baseball, so I had to find something to do and and I love being outside on the golf course. We go over to Earls a good bit. If we get an off day or an early game and want to go grab dinner, we'll we'll go there or Barbarian Steakhouse. Just a lot of good spots. You can't really go wrong.

[00:42:31]>> Favorite moment as a blue? probably George Springer's uh homer in uh ALCS game seven.

[00:42:37]>> Why do you love Toronto?

[00:42:39]>> I feel like I relate to a lot of the people here. The hockey is thing is one thing, but I care so deeply about this team and everybody on it and and I feel like, you know, a lot of the fans who who are here in Toronto feel the same way about these guys. If I wasn't playing on this team, I'd still be a huge fan of of the Blue Jays.

[00:43:01]>> And Hamilton, Shay, Gilders, Alexander, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. They can reach the NBA finals for the second straight season with a win tonight in San Antonio. OKC leading the Western Conference Finals three games to two.

[00:43:14]The winner of the series will face the New York Knicks who swept the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Thunder beaten the Pacers in seven games in last year's finals.

[00:43:23]>> And the Pride flag flying outside Scarbo Civic Center ahead of Pride Month.

[00:43:33]>> The flag was raised at a ceremony this morning and Mayor Olivia Chow declared June as Pride Month in Toronto. The pride flag will also be raised outside Toronto City Hall on Monday.

[00:43:44]>> And a milestone for the Toronto Zoo's baby giraffe. Amara stepping out into her outdoor habitat. For the first time, that happened this week. She had a chance to explore all kinds of new sights and sounds alongside her mom. The calf was born February 22nd, making her indoor public debut March 13th. And you know what? I think this deserves a trip to the zoo. Shall we do CB24 live on the road from the zoo?

[00:44:08]>> We absolutely could. And we have to have that baby in the shot. Why are baby everything so darn cute? It's 559, 20° out. This is Toronto's breaking news.

[00:44:16]CB24.

[00:44:18]>> Thank you for watching. CTV News at 6 is next.