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Ford government agrees to fee cancelling $100M deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink

The Ford government has negotiated a break fee to cancel its $100 million contract for Starlink internet, Global News has learned, officially ending its deal with Elon Musk-owned SpaceX.
The now-defunct agreement between Ontario and SpaceX was first signed in November to provide satellite internet to roughly 15,000 homes in the north of the province.
A spokesperson for the provincial government confirmed to Global News the deal had ended.
“Our government has cancelled the Starlink contract,” they wrote in an email. “We are seeking an alternate solution as we continue our efforts to secure long term, stable high-speed internet access across the province.”
Ending the deal meant the province had to pay a fee, although it is unclear how much that was.
A senior government source, speaking on background, told Global News negotiations with SpaceX to settle on the fee had gone well, but still left Ontario on the hook.
They said the cost of the cancellation was “not zero,” stressing it was substantially less than the $100 million valuation of the original deal.
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
A deal that hinged on Donald Trump
Ontario’s $100-million agreement with SpaceX was announced just days after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential race, with the help of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.

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On Nov. 14, when the Ford government unveiled its agreement with SpaceX, Musk had been a major figure in Trump’s campaign and was preparing to take on an even bigger role in his new administration.
The agreement was announced at the same time Ontario was mounting a “charm offensive” directed at Trump, hoping to convince him to work with the province and not to slap massive tariffs on Canadian goods.
It didn’t work, however, and months later, tariffs were levied on some Canadian products.
When tariffs were unveiled, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced retaliation, including the fact that he would “be ripping up” the $100 million agreement with Musk.
“It’s done,” Ford said in March. “We’re not going back there, it’s done.”
At the time, Musk responded on social media with two words: “Oh well.”
The Cancelling Starlink Act
Working out how to end the lucrative agreement with Musk’s company proved more complicated than simply declaring the plan at a news conference.
According to sources and documents, the government toyed with the idea of introducing legislation to end the agreement.
A law was considered under a working title, the Starlink Cancellation Act, to end the contract. A senior government source said it would have had the advantage of allowing Ontario to indemnify itself if SpaceX tried to sue it for backing out of the deal.
It could also have provoked the U.S. company to refuse to work with the province in the future, or even cancel other contracts it has in Ontario. Some northern health care facilities, for example, use satellite internet to deliver services.
By negotiating a deal with Starlink, instead of unilaterally cancelling it, the province is able to ensure other agreements aren’t touched, and the two parties could work together in the future, sources indicated.
Cancelling the deal does leave 15,000 homes in northern Ontario which had been promised high-speed internet without it.
The government has not said which companies it is considering to pick up the hole left by the end of the Starlink agreement or when it plans to sign a new deal.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the situation meant Ontario residents are without internet service, and Musk is making money off a deal he didn’t even have to fulfil.
“This should have been done a long time ago and the premier should have secured a proper deal for those in Northern and rural communities who still don’t have the reliable internet that they were promised by this government,” she said in a statement.
“Handing over hard-earned tax dollars to Elon Musk’s company was never the right approach. Months have passed and we still don’t have a plan or even a process that’s calling for home-grown solutions.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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Supreme Court won’t hear case of Ontario man who fatally shot Indigenous man

The case of an Ontario man found guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an Indigenous man has come to a close after Canada’s top court declined to hear it.
The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected a leave to appeal request from Peter Khill, who shot and killed Jonathan Styres after finding the man breaking into his truck in the early morning hours of Feb. 4, 2016.

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As is its standard practice, the high court did not give reasons for its decision to not hear the case.
Khill was charged with second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty, testifying that he acted in self-defence and in accordance with his military training.
In 2022, a jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder but guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter. He was sentenced to eight years behind bars.
Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed his appeal regarding his conviction but reduced his sentence to six years.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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Ontario city facing full $18.3M cyberattack bill after insurer denies claim

Hamilton taxpayers are looking at fronting the full cost of a devastating 2024 cyberattack after the city’s insurance company denied its claim.
Councillors were told at the general issues committee meeting on Wednesday that the city’s claim was denied because multi-factor authentication had not been fully implemented at the time of the attack.
According to the city’s insurance policy, no coverage was available for any losses where the absence of multi-factor authentication was the root cause of the cyber breach.
“I understand why Hamiltonians are frustrated — this was a serious and costly breach,” Mayor Andrea Horwath said in a news release Wednesday.
“We expect our public systems to be strong, secure, and dependable. This incident highlights that the city fell short of that standard — and we’re not okay with that.”
Attackers demanded $18.5M in ransom
On Feb. 25, 2024, Hamilton experienced a cyberattack that disabled roughly 80 per cent of its network and impacted services like business licence processing, property tax, transit planning and finance and procurement systems for weeks.
A few systems were unrecoverable, the city said, including permit applications and licensing, fire department records management and traffic signal system management.

The attackers launched a complex ransomware attack through an external internet-facing server, the city said. After covertly studying the city’s systems, they encrypted systems and data to render them unusable and attempted — but failed — to destroy all the city’s backups.
The attackers demanded a ransom of roughly $18.5 million in exchange for a decryption tool to unscramble the city’s data. The city did not pay the ransom, adding it contained the incident within two days and managed to provide critical services throughout.

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“Paying the ransom would have increased the City’s risk and financial exposure,” the city said in the news release, saying technical advisers added decryption tools from cybercriminals are very often unreliable.
“Even with a working tool, safe restoration would have taken significant time and money. Additionally, paying ransom funds could fuel future cybercrime and support international organized crime and terrorist organizations.”
City has spent $18.3M in upgrades so far
Mike Zegarac, general manager of finance and corporate services, told councillors on Wednesday the city would have to incur costs regardless of whether it had paid the ransom.
To date, the city has spent $18.3 million on immediate response, system recovery and third-party expert support. There may be additional invoices still to be received for some items that will be included in future reports, staff noted.
Of the $18.3 million, $14 million has been spent on external experts who have helped the city’s response, redesign and future strategies, staff added.

At the general issues committee meeting Wednesday, Ward 2 Coun. Cameron Kroetsch took issue with the “looseness” of Hamilton’s cyber strategy.
“There weren’t protocols in place for many parts of the city, including how we connected to devices … and there was virtually no training provided whatsoever to councillors with respect to what to do here,” he said.
“This didn’t happen due to councillors’ negligence of any kind, or councils for that matter. But there have been several reports I’ve monitored outside of being an elected official where I saw recommendations being made to address this, and the investments not being made to pick up with those for whatever reason … we knew we had these problems with place … this has to be taken more seriously.”
Ward 9 Coun. Brad Clark said he found it “very frustrating” that multi-factor authentication wasn’t put in place years ago after learning from a staff member at the meeting that Hamilton’s insurance company sought it in late 2022.
When its claim was denied, the city obtained a third-party review of the decision and did not pursue further legal action as it learned the insurer’s action was based on coverage terms.
“The city had full knowledge we were not compliant with the exclusion in 2023,” he said.
“How does council find out it wasn’t done if staff doesn’t share it with us? I find it immensely frustrating there has been zero accountability on this; this chamber, we’ll be held accountable in a year and a bit; front bench and all the staff, no accountability for this incident. I can’t explain that to my residents.”
The city has since said it has enhanced its cyber controls and renewed its insurance coverage.
In her statement, Horwath said Hamilton will learn from the incident.
“We acted swiftly, and we’re moving forward with focus and determination. This is also a clear and indisputable reminder that timely investments in public infrastructure help prevent far more costly reactive responses down the line,” she said.
“The City of Hamilton is rebuilding with resilience and future-proofing in mind, while strengthening our systems, improving protections, and ensuring better service and safeguards for our entire community.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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Teen accused in Quadeville attack on girl to make next court appearance in August

A teenager accused in the attack on an eight-year-old girl in Quadeville, Ont., that investigators initially linked to an animal is set to return to court next month.
The 17-year-old suspect made a brief appearance Thursday at the courthouse in Pembroke, Ont., where he stood in shackles as his case was put over until Aug. 21.

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The teen, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, faces charges of attempted murder and sexual assault with a weapon.
He was arrested last Tuesday, after investigators discovered there was no trace of animal DNA from the girl’s wounds, and remains in custody.
Police initially believed the girl was attacked by an animal, after the child was found with life-threatening injuries on June 24 in the small community in eastern Ontario.
Quadeville residents pressed OPP officers at a town hall last weekend about why investigators initially suspected an animal attack and told people to keep their small children indoors.
Police have said that they never ruled out other possibilities, and that their initial theory was supported by medical and pathology experts.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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