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Toronto 18 ringleader no longer shows signs of extremism, granted full parole: board
Toronto 18 ringleader granted full parole
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
One of the ringleaders of the thwarted Toronto 18 terror plot has been granted full parole after the Parole Board of Canada found he no longer showed "any signs of holding onto extremist beliefs or radical ideologies."
Zakaria Amara, who helped recruit members for a group that aimed to storm Parliament Hill and bomb several locations around Toronto, has been on day parole with multiple conditions for four years, and the board upgraded his release after reviewing his case last week.
In a written decision issued Friday, the two-member panel says Amara, 41, undertook a process to deradicalize while incarcerated and has used his day parole "for its intended rehabilitative purpose," demonstrating "positive change, both in attitude and in behaviour."
It says he was closely supervised while on day parole and his internet use, friendships and relationships were monitored, with no reported safety concerns or breaches.
The decision, which includes several redactions, says Amara now plans to live in his own home and continue to structure his time around his full-time job, attending a mosque, seeing his family and "appropriate leisure activities."
He is barred from communicating with anyone involved in criminal activity, including any of the others arrested in the June 2006 anti-terrorist raids, or come into contact with anyone with extremist ideologies, except in his work as a consultant with a specialized program.
He must also continue to participate in counselling and be subject to financial monitoring as well as restrictions on his phone and internet use.
The board's decision comes two decades after the dismantling of the homegrown plot that shocked the country and shifted public discourse around terrorism.
Amara and an accomplice recruited people for a group based on jihadist ideologies, planning to carry out terrorist acts to demand the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan.
The group eventually splintered in two, with Amara taking the helm of a plot focused on building truck bombs targeting the Canadian Security Intelligence Services headquarters, the Toronto Stock Exchange building, and a military base.
He was arrested on the day bomb-making materials were delivered to a warehouse.
Amara pleaded guilty to participating in a terror group with the intention of causing an explosion or explosions that were likely to cause serious bodily harm or death, and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years. He challenged the sentence but it was upheld on appeal.
The parole board document said his "problematic and extremist ideologies and attitudes" remained during his first few years behind bars, which also included several incidents of misconduct.
His ideology "began to shift" in 2014 and he was eventually transferred to a medium-security institution in 2019, where correctional officers reported he was "respectful, polite and quiet," the board said.
Amara was granted day parole for three months in 2022 and it was extended several times.
"During the latter part of your federal custody and for the past four years in the community, you have undertaken a process to distance yourself from extremist ideologies and others who share the same views," the board wrote.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2026.
By Paola Loriggio | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Police look to cause of fiery Calgary bus crash, try to identity third person killed
Cause of fiery Calgary bus crash unknown: police
Police are trying to determine the cause of a fiery bus crash in Calgary that killed three passengers and injured 16 others, including a police officer.
Two transit buses were involved in the chain-reaction crash with several other vehicles Thursday on a busy road in the city's northeast.
Police say the three who died were on a bus with natural gas tanks that ignited into flames and, within seconds, intensified and caused an explosion.
They say two of the victims have been identified and work to identify the third is ongoing.
The bus driver was able to escape, the driver of the other bus was taken to hospital with life-altering injuries, and the officer who rushed to help is recovering at home.
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas has said the officer ran onto the burning bus to save a child.
Police say it's too early to determine whether impairment, speed or distraction contributed to the crash.
By Bill Graveland | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Joly warns Stelco owner to protect jobs or face forced sale of Canadian assets
Joly warns Stelco owner of potential forced sale
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says the U.S.-based owner of Stelco must uphold job commitments it made when it purchased the Ontario-based steelmaker or risk being forced to sell its Canadian assets.
In a speech at the Canadian Club in Toronto on Friday, she also raised the possibility of the federal government taking equity positions in strategic industries.
But Joly stopped short of explicitly saying Ottawa was prepared to take an ownership stake in Stelco.
The minister singled out Stelco owner Cleveland-Cliffs, accusing the American company of supporting U.S. tariffs that are damaging its own Canadian operations.
Stelco announced plans on Sept. 28 to lay off up to 500 workers across its Hamilton and Lake Erie facilities, citing the ongoing trade crisis, weak demand and continued import pressure.
Stelco’s Hamilton Works produces cold-rolled and galvanized steel. The company said it would indefinitely idle both operations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2026.
— By Brett Bundale in Ottawa, with files from Tara Deschamps in Toronto
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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A Wedding Guest Cut The Newlyweds' Cake Just For Herself & TikTok Is Melting Down Over It
"You have no idea how angry this is making me."
Nothing says "pure chaos" like walking up to a newlywed couple's pristine wedding cake and cutting a slice for yourself — before they even get a chance to taste it.
TikTok user @mediocrehailey sparked a major outcry on the app recently, after posting video of herself cutting the first slice of her friend's wedding cake before the bride and groom could even get their moment with it.
And while that sounds like a major power move, it seems she did it entirely by accident.
"Me! A guest at my friend's wedding," reads the caption over her video of the incident, which has gone viral online. "Ignoring the brownie table and confidently cutting myself a slice of HER WEDDING CAKE, thinking uh-oh! They forgot to serve it to everyone else!"
The video shows her not only cutting a slice for herself, but then licking her fingers and dancing away to the DJ's next song, completely unaware of what she's done.
Yikes.
"I know better now," continued her caption. "I hate myself!"
How do you even recover from that, or begin to apologize to the newlyweds?
People did not hold back in the comments, with many ripping her for somehow not reading the room at the wedding. Others were shocked that she shared the embarrassing video on TikTok, where it now has over 5.8 million views.
The top comment under the video read: "You couldn't pry this information out of me if I did this to someone at their wedding," because some things are just better to keep to yourself.
"You have no idea how angry this is making me," wrote another user.
Many users said they would "no longer be on speaking terms" with someone who did this at their wedding.
Another pointed out that "someone was even recording this instead of running up and stopping you."
"Was this your first wedding??" asked another commenter.
Safe to say that people were angry, but it looks like the bride herself managed to get over it.
The poster apologized to the bride and groom in her caption, and the bride showed up in the comments to accept the apology.
"As the bride whose cake this is - SHE IS FORMALLY FORGIVEN AND HAS LEARNED HER LESSON IN WEDDING ETIQUETTE," she wrote.
Phew!
Despite the bride being over the whole kerfuffle, some people are still trying to wrap their minds around the blunder in the first place.
"Omg, so I see that the bride commented forgiving you, but I still need to go through my own emotional process with this one," wrote one user.
So the next time you're at a wedding, learn from this TikToker's mistake and don't help yourself to a slice of cake!