CRIME &/or OPP Investigations: 1)Three arrested in Barrie human trafficking investigation 2) 13 people arrested in alleged violent crime network; YRP say 2 more sought;3) Supreme Court restores woman’s conviction for attempted murder of her mother; 4) OPP probing company that received Ontario government payments

1)Three arrested in Barrie human trafficking investigation

Courtesy Barrie360.com and News Release

By Newsroom, December 8, 2025

Barrie Police have arrested and charged three men in connection with a human trafficking investigation that began after a woman came forward in September, reporting she had been forced into the sex trade.

The investigation, led by the Barrie Police Service’s Human Trafficking Unit, was supported by the Provincial Human Trafficking Intelligence-Led Joint Forces Strategy (IJFS), which played a critical role in identifying and apprehending the suspects. The BPS Technological Crime Unit also assisted after several cell phones were seized as evidence.

Two 24-year-old men—one from Barrie and one from Toronto—face multiple charges, including:

• Human Trafficking
• Financial/Material Benefit from Trafficking a Person Over 18
• Procuring/Recruiting a Person to Provide Sexual Services
• Advertising Another Person’s Sexual Services
• Material Benefit from Sexual Services

A 34-year-old Toronto man faces the following charges:

• Pointing a Firearm
• Human Trafficking
• Procuring/Recruiting a Person to Provide Sexual Services
• Possession of Counterfeit Currency

Investigators believe there may be more victims and are urging anyone with information to come forward. Photos of the accused have been released to assist in identifying potential connections.

Anyone who believes they may be a victim or has relevant information is encouraged to contact the Barrie Police Human Trafficking Unit at 705-725-7025 or email humantrafficking@barriepolice.ca.

How to Report Human Trafficking

If someone is in immediate danger or you suspect trafficking, call 9-1-1.

You can also contact the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010. This confidential, multilingual service operates 24/7 and connects victims and survivors with emergency services, law enforcement, and long-term support.

2) 13 people arrested in alleged violent crime network; YRP say 2 more sought

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, December 8, 2025

Police say they’ve arrested 13 people alleged to have carried out a series of violent crimes across Ontario and into Quebec over several months, charging them with more than 150 offences.

York regional police say the accused are part of an organized crime network that did not operate like a traditional street gang, but rather “a coalition of adult men from different groups and locations who would align themselves for profit-motivated violence.”

They say two more suspects are sought in the investigation, which involved law enforcement from several jurisdictions.

Police say the incidents linked to the network include a home invasion in Vaughan, Ont., that culminated in the shooting of one of home’s occupants, a shooting in a crowded London, Ont., emergency room, and the shooting of a man in a Mississauga, Ont., parking lot.

They say people associated with the group were allegedly involved in a homicide in Rimouski, Que.

York police Supt. Simon James says the arrests have “significantly disrupted” the network and the charges laid are “substantial.”

The force’s chief, Jim MacSween, said the offences “run the gamut of violent crime.”

“These acts were brazen, they were brutal, and they’re completely unacceptable,” MacSween said in a news conference.

“When it comes to committing violence, these suspects certainly did not discriminate. They showed complete disregard for the value of human life and they left hundreds of victims in their wake.”

A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for the two outstanding suspects, a 24-year-old man with ties to Peel Region and the Greater Toronto Area and a 20-year-old man with ties to the Hamilton and Kitchener areas, James said.

The former is sought on more than 20 charges, including conspiracy to commit murder and robbery with violence, police said. The second suspect is wanted on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the Quebec homicide, they said.

3) Supreme Court restores woman’s conviction for attempted murder of her mother

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Jim Bronskill, December 5 2025

The Supreme Court of Canada has restored a woman’s conviction for attempting to kill her mother by injecting her with insulin.

In its decision, released Friday, the top court rejected the argument that the jury in the woman’s trial should have been instructed on the distinction between attempted murder and aiding suicide.

In June 2019, a neighbour found the woman — a nurse identified only as B.F. due to a publication ban — her mother and B.F.’s 19-month-old daughter unconscious in their home. All three had been injected with insulin.

Emergency responders discovered five empty insulin pens at the scene, along with a handwritten note.

B.F. and her mother made full recoveries. The child suffered serious injuries.

At B.F.’s trial, the Crown contended that an ongoing dispute over custody of the child gave the woman a motive for the offences.

The defence suggested B.F.’s mother could have injected herself, her daughter and her grandchild with insulin.

A jury found B.F. guilty of attempting to murder her mother and daughter.

The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed B.F.’s challenge of her conviction for attempting to kill her child — a decision upheld in the Supreme Court ruling Friday.

The provincial Court of Appeal allowed B.F.’s appeal on the attempted murder of her mother and ordered a new trial on the charge. It suggested B.F. could have given the insulin to her mother, who then might have injected herself in a suicide attempt.

In its decision, the Supreme Court said B.F.’s conviction on the attempted murder of her mother should be restored because the jury was properly equipped to decide her guilt.

Since B.F. was not charged with aiding suicide and it is not included in the offence of attempted murder in this case, the jury did not need to consider whether she was guilty of this offence, Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin wrote on behalf of the majority.

Justice O’Bonsawin also said there was “no air of reality” to a scenario in which B.F. aided her mother in self-administering the insulin with an intention to end her own life.

The trial judge was therefore correct not to address this scenario in his instructions, she added.

“The question of the legal relationship between attempted murder and aiding suicide has no bearing on the appeals,” she wrote.

4) OPP probing company that received Ontario government payments

Courtesy Barrie 360.com and Canadian Press

By Allison Jones, December 8th

The Ontario Provincial Police have launched an investigation into a company connected to the Skills Development Fund after the province found “irregularities” relating to payments it received from a different branch of government.

The government asked the OPP last month to look at the results of an audit on Keel Digital Solutions, which has been receiving funding from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities for student mental health and the police confirmed Monday they have decide to start a full investigation.

A routine audit in 2023 raised concerns, the government said, so a forensic audit was conducted. After that second audit wrapped up recently the government referred the matter to the provincial police.

“That process identified irregularities that led to a comprehensive forensic audit of the organization in question,” the government wrote in a statement.

“Within 24 hours of receiving this report, the referral was made. All payments associated with this provider are currently under review, and further actions will be taken based on that outcome.”

Keel Digital Solutions has been closely scrutinized at the legislature in recent weeks as a recipient of the Ministry of Labour’s controversial $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund.

Labour Minister David Piccini has come under sustained fire from opposition parties calling for his resignation, particularly since media reports say one of Keel’s lobbyists is a close friend of Piccini’s.

An auditor general’s report found the minister’s office has been heavily involved in selecting projects under the Skills Development Fund, doling out money to applicants ranked low by bureaucrats. Piccini has said Keel Digital Solutions is one such applicant that received a lower score.

The company wrote in a statement Monday that it strongly believes it has complied with all laws and contractual obligations.

“We welcome the OPP and will be completely transparent and cooperative,” Jay Fischbach, chief operating officer, wrote.

“We look forward to the government’s apology at the end of this; and we remain focused on facilitating mental health supports for the province’s most vulnerable communities.”

Keel received about $7.5 million in Skills Development Fund grants over the fourth and fifth funding rounds for a first responder mental health program.

One of the largest issues here, said Liberal parliamentary leader John Fraser, is that one ministry was giving the company money while it was being audited due to concerns raised by another ministry.

“I think most reasonable people would say, ‘If you don’t trust somebody you’re doing business with, why would you do more business with them?'” he said.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said it is time for some accountability.

“Let me be clear: Premier Doug Ford is responsible for this farce,” she wrote in a statement. “He can’t ignore the calls to fire this minister any longer. He needs to fire his minister, now.”

The auditor general found that the Skills Development Fund was not “fair, transparent or accountable.”

More than 60 of the lower-scoring applicants were approved after they hired a lobbyist, the auditor found, which has the opposition crying foul over what they call preferential treatment.

Piccini has defended the fund and the value of the programs his office chose. More than 700,000 people have been trained under the program and more than 100,000 people found work within 60 days, he said.