Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday there will be no New Deal 2.0 with Toronto, saying the city must manage its own budget amid tough provincial finances. A 2023 agreement that uploaded the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway offered Toronto major relief that largely expires this year, and city hall wanted a longer-term replacement as it faces a $1-billion shortfall. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy and Municipal Affairs Minister Rob Flack also dismissed a new deal. Ford left room for talks on public safety, including more subway police. Mayor Olivia Chow's office said she wants to meet on shared priorities.
Ontario Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn says he will not release a KPMG audit into student aid use at private career colleges. Preliminary findings were serious enough that the government referred the matter to the Ontario Provincial Police. Quinn has cited concerns about common ownership, links to immigration services firms, weak enrolment verification and clusters of OSAP applications from the same places. Court documents allege thousands of applications came from a single IP address; the schools deny wrongdoing. Progressive Conservatives on a legislative committee voted down a Liberal motion asking the auditor general to conduct a public investigation instead.
Bruce Power, operator of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station near Tiverton, Ont., faces two Fisheries Act charges after millions of fish died at the plant in early 2025. Fisheries and Oceans Canada estimates 3.3 to 4.3 million gizzard shad, drawn to warm discharge water during a cold snap, became trapped on intake screens. That was more than 200 times the plant's annual permitted limit by weight. One reactor shut down. Its own report blamed an organizational failure to adapt to climate change. Bruce Power says it has spent over $10 million on prevention and will appear in court November 24.
