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Toronto man who deliberately shot an unarmed stranger given life sentence – Toronto
A Toronto man who shot and killed an unarmed stranger has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years.
Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell called the murder of John Wheeler “profoundly serious” give it was the result of the fact that 18-year-old Christopher Mitchell wanted to avoid potentially being apprehended by police for a break-and-enter.
Last October, Mitchell pleaded guilty to second-degree murder admitting that on Aug. 12, 2020, he shot and killed Wheeler with a shotgun outside the apartment building at 1350 Danforth Rd. where Wheeler lived.
Mitchell and another person attended the apartment complex with the intention of breaking into a convenience store. They were in an alcove near the store when Wheeler emerged from the lobby of the apartment building to make his way to work.
Wheeler glanced in the direction of the alcove and looked at his phone before moving to the driveway to wait for his ride to work. Mr. Mitchell believed that Mr. Wheeler was contacting the police. Mr. Mitchell removed a shotgun from the duffel bag he was carrying. He crept up behind Mr. Wheeler and shot him in the back.
Wheeler, a 45-year-old man who delivered drywall for a living, had texted his friend to tell him he was outside and ready to be picked up.
In victim impact statements delivered in court Monday, Wheeler, who was 45 and the youngest of 12 children, was described as a kind, funny, hardworking and generous man.
Reading from her reasons for sentence, Forestell said, “The loss of a loved one is always difficult but when that loss is the result of senseless violence it is even more painful. In addition to the impact on the family and friends of Mr. Wheeler, crimes like this one impact the entire community. A good, hardworking man waiting to go to work was shot and killed in a targeted manner.
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“This type of offence undermines our collective sense of safety and security in our community.”
A psychological report prepared by Dr. Giorgio Ilacqua found that Mitchell, the eldest of four siblings, suffered significant physical abuse as a child. As a result, he was placed in group home and foster care by age 15 because of the physical abuse.
Court heard that Mitchell was raised by his mother because his father was in the criminal justice system and has had no contact with his father for the last five years. He also also been diagnosed with mental illnesses and a substance abuse disorder.
“At around 12 years of age, Mr. Mitchell began to hear voices. He was assessed at one point at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. However, he did not receive any treatment or medication for these conditions until after his arrest on the charge before me. He is presently taking antipsychotic medication and antidepressants,” Forestell said.
Court heard Mitchell has also abused substances since age 11. Mr. Mitchell admitted Ilacqua that he became involved in criminal activity in his teens and that this included selling drugs.
Mr. Mitchell left school after Grade 10.
While attending school he was frequently suspended, including for fighting, stabbing and guns. Since his incarceration, Mr. Mitchell has completed high school and has begun college-level courses. While in custody, Mr. Mitchell has also pursued Bible study.
Ilacqua administered a series of psychological tests. He diagnosed Mitchell with post-traumatic stress Disorder with psychotic features, depression, anxiety and substance use disorder. He relates these conditions to Mr. Mitchell’s dysfunctional childhood and the abuse that he experienced.
The risk assessment conducted by Ilacqua places Mr. Mitchell at high risk for future involvement in the justice system but Ilacqua opines that appropriate monitoring, structure and intervention could likely decrease the risk.
During an interview with Global News outside the courthouse, Wheeler’s niece said the family was anxious for the sentencing to be finished after nearly five years. Arlene Stuckless said she was angry for years and has been through an emotional rollercoaster.
“There are a lot of people who could be watching this right now, going, ‘Oh, this poor family, it’s not going to happen to us’ but you don’t know honestly,” said Stuckless.
Stuckless said she is hopeful that Mitchell can be rehabilitated and wants to see more social services for young men like Mitchell who come from broken homes.
“They’re only outlet is to be running on the streets and then they get hooked up with the wrong people, they get their hands on that gun and they think they’re big tough guys and they’re not,” said Stuckless.
Wheeler’s niece said the family believes a life sentence with a parole ineligibility period of 18 years is a sentence that should give Mitchell time to work on himself.
“For him to be incarcerated that long — hopefully, he doesn’t get involved with the wrong people and go to the wrong path and he takes the time he’s given and he does something good with his life and then when he does getting out of jail, he can help other young, maybe,” Stuckless added.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
First Nations in Ontario and the Manitoba Métis Federation say nearly $1 billion in federal funding went to a group they allege is fraudulently claiming Métis identity.
The Chiefs of Ontario, which represents 133 First Nations in the province, shared with The Canadian Press data on more than 20 years worth of federal funding provided to the Métis Nation of Ontario.
It suggests that $819,836,061 went from Ottawa to the MNO — an organization First Nations leaders say has no legitimacy and threatens their rights.
“This data shows just how badly First Nations in Ontario are being harmed by the diversion of government funding to the MNO and away from the needs of First Nations and other legitimate groups,” the Chiefs of Ontario said in a media statement.
“The question is, why is the Crown sending hundreds of millions of dollars to the MNO when there is overwhelming evidence contradicting their claims?”
The data indicates the money came from several federal departments, including Indigenous Services Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations, Parks Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The MNO also received funds from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the Impact Assessment Agency related to the potential impacts of projects in their communities.
The conflict between First Nations, some Métis groups and the MNO stems from a 2017 decision by the government of Ontario to recognize six “new, historic” Métis communities in the province — and a 2023 federal government bill, which never passed, that would have affirmed the MNO’s right to self-government.
First Nations and other Métis groups say the communities represented by the MNO have no claim to Métis heritage and Ottawa and Ontario have no right to recognize them.
Last month, history professor Leila Inksetter of the University of Quebec in Montreal released a report drafted on behalf of the Wabun Tribal Council that concluded there is no evidence of a mixed-ancestry community in the Wabun Tribal Council’s territory in northeastern Ontario.
The MNO rejected that report, saying that despite years of outside attempts “to discredit” it, “nothing has changed.”
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“The facts of history will not change because a new ‘expert’ has been paid to peddle the same Métis denialism,” the group said in a media statement.
The MNO has cited a 2003 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada to recognize a Métis community in and around Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The case did not consider the six new communities recognized in 2017, but rather what may constitute a Métis right.
Another report, published last month and commissioned by Saugeen Ojibway Nation, also concluded there is no evidence of a distinct Métis community in their territory in southwestern Ontario.
“The historical evidence simply does not support this claim,” says the nearly 200-page report, written by two historians at the University of Toronto.
While the report says there were “certainly individuals and families of mixed ancestry” in the region, that can’t form the basis of a claim to a distinct community within Saugeen Ojibway Nation territory.
Jennifer St. Germain, MNO chief strategy officer, said Métis and First Nations “should not be working at odds as we are not enemies.”
“We have worked together throughout our shared history to push colonial governments to respect the rights of Métis and First Nations peoples, to properly invest in the programs that matter to our families and communities, and to uphold the honour of the Crown,” she said.
“When the MNO and Ontario First Nations work together, we make real change for the better for our children, families, and communities, as well as our lands and waters.
“It’s time to get back to the table rooted in our shared values of honesty, truth, and respect.”
The Chiefs of Ontario says that the academic research “merely reaffirms reality.”
“Not only are Ontario and Canada refusing to consult First Nations, they refuse to share the research they relied on or acknowledge the growing body of research and take steps to fix their mistakes,” the Chiefs of Ontario said in a media statement.
“It is extremely disappointing that Canada and Ontario … failed to do any adequate research before recognizing the MNO.”
Open disputes over claims to Métis heritage came close last year to ripping apart the Métis National Council, which once acted as a national voice for Métis but now has just two provincial members.
The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan withdrew from the Métis National Council last September, citing concerns about the MNO and claiming the council had failed to ensure the integrity of its citizenship registry.
The Métis Nation British Columbia withdrew from the council shortly after, saying it had lost confidence in the council’s ability to serve as a national advocacy organization.
Their departure came years after the Manitoba Métis Federation withdrew from the council, citing similar concerns.
Will Goodon, the Manitoba Métis Federation’s minister of identity protection and inter-Indigenous affairs, said the amount of public money available to Métis communities is limited and should not be shared with bodies that are not connected to what he calls the historic Métis Nation — largely recognized as descendants of the Red River communities in Manitoba.
One Parks Canada grant received by the MNO was meant to allow the organization to secure land and “support creation of an ecological corridor in the region along the north shore of Lake Superior,” says a federal document.
Goodon said that type of funding raises red flags for both Red River Métis and First Nations concerned about the prospect of the MNO seeking land in their territories.
The Manitoba Métis Federation said it’s also troubled by the fact that the federal government last week invited MNO leaders to a meeting to discuss its controversial major projects legislation.
The federation, which boycotted that meeting, said the MNO’s invitation undermined the integrity of the gathering and put the government’s major projects agenda at risk.
“Canada and Ontario are pushing pro-development agendas. They say they will consult with ‘Indigenous communities’ but, in Ontario, the only consultations that should occur are with the rights holders — First Nations,” the Chiefs of Ontario said in a media statement.
“Pan-Indigenous approaches do not work and only devalue the true rights holders.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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Landlord says B.C. billionaire’s plan for Bay properties ‘defies commercial common sense’
Cadillac Fairview says a plan from a B.C. billionaire hoping to take over 25 former Hudson’s Bay leases “defies commercial common sense” and thus, she should not be allowed to move in.
In filings made with the Ontario Superior Court on Saturday, Cadillac Fairview says it is “resolutely opposed” to Ruby Liu becoming a tenant at some of its malls because she has no detailed or credible business plan.
The mall owner also says Liu, who owns three B.C. shopping centres herself, has no brand, experienced staff or track record in retail.
Her business is “an empty shell without any guarantee of financial means beyond Ms. Liu’s bare assertion that she will keep it afloat,” said Rory MacLeod, Cadillac Fairview’s executive vice-president of operations, in an affidavit. “All of the indications are that (her company) will run out of money before the first store opens.”
MacLeod’s affidavit ups the ante in a battle that has been festering between Liu and landlords since the Bay announced in May that it had chosen her to buy 28 of its leases. The first three got court approval and were transferred in short order because they were at Liu’s three malls.
The remaining 25, however, have been much more fraught. Those leases cover some of the country’s most prized retail space and came with cheaper rent and very attractive terms for the Bay, which filed for creditor protection under the weight of tremendous debt in March.
For example, the Bay paid $1.3 million in annual rent for 152,420 square feet at Fairview Mall in Toronto, court documents show, which is a fraction of what non-anchor tenants would pay.
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Unable to get most landlords onside with a lease transfer, the Bay asked a court at the end of July to force property owners to accept Liu as a tenant.
Liu and the Bay have until next Tuesday to respond to Cadillac Fairview’s allegations. A judge will hear the matter at the end of the month.
Liu has said she wants to turn the Bay stores she is hoping to buy into her own department store named after herself. She has repeatedly told The Canadian Press her stores will not just offer retail space but also dining, entertainment, kids play and recreation areas.
MacLeod says she’s also talked of outfitting Bay spaces with grocery stores, educational centres, senior’s facilities, robotics and musical performances.
Cadillac Fairview says leases at the six malls she wants from the company — Fairview Mall, Sherway Gardens, Masonville Place and Markville in Ontario, Market Mall and Chinook Centre in Alberta and Richmond Centre in B.C. — don’t allow for anything other than a department store to be operated there.
“Despite her private assurances that she intends to respect the lease terms, Ms. Liu has consistently presented a different idea to the public, one that would not be compatible with the leases,” MacLeod said.
His affidavit also raised concerns with the timelines and budget in her business plan.
Liu has said she will be ready to open at least 20 stores within 180 days of obtaining leases and will spend $120 million on “overdue” repairs to roofs, HVAC systems, washrooms, elevators and escalators and $135 million on initial inventory.
Cadillac Fairview says her proposed timeline is “entirely unrealistic” for a new brand, let alone an established one, and her plan is underfunded based on the high number of repairs properties need and expensive terms suppliers will require her to agree to.
MacLeod estimates the stores will need more than $15.8 million in repairs before the end of 2026 to bring the leases into good standing. By 2027, Liu will need to spend another $5.7 million on repairs, not including taxes, permits or fees for expedited labour.
Over the next 10 years, he estimates Liu will be required to spend at least $43.1 million on the Cadillac Fairview leases alone.
He also took issue with her staffing estimations, which show she will need 1,800 employees to carry out her plan.
If all 1,800 are sales staff that would only leave 64 people on the floor of each of her 28 stores. Macleod said such staffing levels are “inadequate to support a countrywide chain” and “inconsistent with a retail location even a fraction of that size.”
“With my decades of experience in commercial real estate, it is apparent to me and Cadillac Fairview that (Liu) will fail and again leave these stores vacant,” he said.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
A heat warning has been issued for a large part of Ontario and Quebec, with the hot weather expected to last multiple days, Environment Canada reports.
Daytime highs of 30 to 35 C are expected with the humidex values of 35 to 40 C.
Overnight lows will be cooler but will still hover between 19 to 22 C.
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Temperatures are expected to cool mid-week, which will start to bring an end to the heat, Environment Canada said.
The organization warns that extreme heat can affect everyone’s health and people should check on older adults, especially those living alone and other at-risk people.
Signs of heat exhaustion might include headache, nausea, dizziness, thirst, dark urine and intense fatigue.
Call 911 or your emergency health provider if you, or someone around you, is showing signs of heat stroke, which can include red and hot skin, dizziness, nausea, confusion and change in consciousness.
Environment Canada says heat warnings are issued when very high temperature or humidity conditions are expected to pose an elevated risk of heat illnesses, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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