Evening Update: Nine confirmed dead after van strikes pedestrians in north Toronto

Good evening,

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Several confirmed dead, scores more in critical condition after van hits pedestrians in north Toronto

This is a developing story. For live updates, visit the main article for the latest updates. We also have a synopsis article on the go that will be updated frequently over the next several days — it our what we know so far:

• Multiple people are dead and at least seven are in critical condition after a white rental van mowed down pedestrians in north Toronto
• The van drove south bound on Yonge Street for three kilometres before coming to a stop on a sidewalk
• The numbers of people dead and injured are “just starting to come in,” said John Flengas, acting superintendent for EMS Toronto
• The driver of the van was taken into custody after he got out of the vehicle and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at a police officer, according to an witness and videos posted on Twitter.
• TTC service between Sheppard Station and Finch Station has been suspended
• The Toronto Maple Leafs, who host the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs tonight, issued a statement saying the game will continue with heightened security and their thoughts are with all those affected

Around 1:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, a white van, which had a Ryder Truck Rental and Leasing logo on its side, drove southbound on Yonge Street from Finch Avenue in north Toronto. The van, according to witnesses, was going at a speed of up to 70 kilometres per hour and intentionally hitting people on the sidewalks. The van made it roughly three kilometres before being stopped on the sidewalk near Poyntz Avenue. According to the witness, the driver travelled southbound veering wildly in the northbound lanes and mounting sidewalks.

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Peter Dalglish, Order of Canada recipient, arrested in Nepal and accused of accused of abusing children

On April 7, Dalglish, a leading international advocate for combating child poverty, was arrested at gunpoint in Nepal. The 60-year-old has spent decades working with children’s organizations and received the Order of Canada in 2016. Two boys, ages 12 and 14, who were in Dalglish’s house when he was arrested, have told police of his alleged sexual contact with them, a father of one told The Globe. Speaking from behind bars, Dalglish has denied any improper contact; his lawyer says he will plead not guilty (no charges have been filed yet).

Dalglish’s arrest has raised questions about his past humanitarian work: One international school in Thailand, which had already placed him under investigation last year, has removed him from its board of directors. And another school in Nepal says it banned him from its premises years ago over his alleged conduct toward children.

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It’s a boy for Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge

Prince William and Kate have a new bundle of joy, though as of this evening the name of their third child, an 8-lbs 7oz boy, has yet to be released. The baby was born at 1001 GMT (6:01 a.m. EST). William was present for the birth at St Mary’s Hospital in west London where their other two children, George and Charlotte, were also born.

Patrick Brown files $8-million defamation lawsuit against CTV

Former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown has filed a defamation lawsuit against CTV News over its reporting of what he alleges are false accusations of sexual misconduct. Brown alleges the network and several journalists involved in the story acted maliciously and irresponsibly in publishing the accusations brought forward by two women. In his statement of claim, Brown says CTV and its reporters failed to properly scrutinize and verify the allegations, which date back to his time as a federal MP. He further alleges the network gave him only hours to respond before broadcasting the story on Jan. 24. CTV says it stands by its reporting and will vigorously defend it in court.

Facebook agrees to join federal lobbyist registry

Facebook Canada is joining the federal lobbyist registry. Last week, Kevin Chan, Facebook Canada’s head of public policy, told MPs that he did not meet the threshold for registering even though he meets privately with Liberal cabinet ministers and provided Finance Minister Bill Morneau with tech support on how to use Facebook Live to promote the federal budget. Lobbying rules require corporations to register when the cumulative lobbying activities of all employees adds up to a “significant part of duties.”

Mr. Chan told MPs on April 19: “At no time has Facebook come close to meeting the threshold for registration as a lobbyist.” The company says Facebook does not meet the threshold for registration as a lobbyist , but a spokesperson said it will be registering in the interest of greater transparency.

The Globe ran a weekend editorial on the subject, calling for Facebook to register, arguing that for the public’s sake and, frankly, for Facebook’s, the federal lobbying commissioner should look into whether or not any of the firm’s employees belong in the lobbying registry.

MARKET WATCH

The close: TSX ends higher as oil prices support energy

Canada’s benchmark stock index ended higher on Monday, with gains in the price of U.S. crude oil driving up shares of companies in the energy sector.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 67.74 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 15,552.06. Eight of the 10 main industry sectors on the index were positive.

Wall Street struggled for direction on Monday, ending the session largely unchanged, as signs of waning smartphone demand weighed on the Nasdaq and as rising bond yields offset earnings optimism.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14.25 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 24,448.69, the S&P 500 gained 0.15 point, or 0.01 per cent, to 2,670.29 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 17.53 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 7,128.60.

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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL

Paralyzed Edmonton toddler moves from homemade wheelchair to treadmill

The Edmonton girl made headlines and melted hearts in 2016 with images of her expertly rolling along in a homemade wheelchair that her father fashioned from a foam baby Bumbo seat, a cutting board and bike wheels.

TALKING POINTS

The red flags ahead of Canada’s marijuana legalization

The central question facing the Liberal government as it seeks to fulfill its 2015 campaign promise to “legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana” is: Can they do it without making the situation worse? As the Liberal platform points out, the current regime has a lot of problems. It doesn’t keep pot away from kids, it puts large profits into the hands of organized crime and it traps a lot of people – disproportionately those from disadvantaged communities – into the criminal-justice system for what is, for the most part, a victimless crime.

From that perspective, legalization would seem to be a no-brainer. But it is always possible for even the most well-intentioned government to make things worse, and as Bill C-45 moves closer to becoming law, a number of warning flares are starting to go off. — Daniel Weinstock is the director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University, and Andrew Potter is associate professor at the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. They are the co-chairs of the coming conference Legalizing Marijuana in Canada: Policy Challenges

With beer-import ruling, the Supreme Court opens a provincial Pandora’s box

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in recent years has toed a fine line between strictly interpreting the law of the land and making law through judicial activism. In its April 19 decision on whether New Brunswick’s restrictions on the importation of beer into the province (R. v. Comeau) were unconstitutional, it did the latter in the name of the former. In other words, it rewrote the interpretation of the Constitution’s trade and commerce powers based on a narrow read of the case brought before the court. — Andrei Sulzenko was the federal chief negotiator for the 1994 Agreement on Internal Trade and is currently an Executive Fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary

Trudeau must win three fights, or he could lose to Stephen Harper 2.0

A year and a half before the next election, the Liberals are in decent shape. They have big trade wins with the European Union and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. They can point to pension improvements, a more-progressive tax and child-care system, funding for infrastructure, a national carbon tax to fight climate change and the Syrian refugee airlift, one of Canada’s proudest hours.

But the government confronts three major challenges. Failure on any one of them could fatally undermine public confidence in the Liberals’ ability to run the country. — John Ibbitson

LIVING BETTER

What conservatives can learn from the Roseanne reboot

Conservatives can learn a lot and Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford can both learn and take solace from it, writes John Doyle.

Perhaps the primary lesson to be learned is that there is a disconnect between voters and the political infrastructure. For Roseanne, the character, politics is rather like some distant game or TV drama being played out, at a great remove from daily life.

Dear adults: Here’s what kids think you should know about Facebook security

When it comes to online privacy, teens can, in some ways, be more conservative and more knowledgeable than their elders. After all, they’ve been drilled about the importance of protecting their online privacy from a young age.

In light of recent revelations about improperly obtained data from millions of Facebook users, we asked three tech-savvy teens to share their top tips for protecting digital privacy.

LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE

Ready for disaster: Why more people are preparing for the worst

As we have seen the fallout from natural disasters and other emergencies, from Hurricane Katrina to the Fort McMurray wildfires, despite the fears of the doomsday fringe, prepping for the majority of people is a matter of common sense

Apotex next: Can Barry Sherman’s company thrive again?

Scientist, deal maker, litigator: Barry Sherman was everything to the Canadian drug giant that turned him into a billionaire. Can the company thrive again now that he’s gone?

NBA and NHL PLAYOFFS

After hanging on by their fingernails Saturday night, the Leafs are back home tonight to try to stave off elimination one more time and force a Game 7 against Boston. The puck drops tonight at 7 p.m. EST.

After dropping both games this weekend to the Washington Wizards, the Raptors’ first round looks a little tougher. After blowing out the Wizards in Games 1 and 2, the Raps lost 122-103 on Friday and 106-98 on Sunday. The series is locked at 2 games apiece and Game 5 is in here Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST and Game 6 back in Washington on Friday, time TBD.

Meanwhile, with Nashville’s 5-0 win over Colorado yesterday, the Winnipeg Jets now have their matchup for the second round. No times or dates yet for that series but it’ll likely be by this Friday or Saturday.

Evening Update was compiled by Michael Snider. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.