It took the jury 90 minutes to find the Crypto King guilty - Toronto Star

In today's First Up: Ontario's record $16.9-billion deficit and the latest from the Bridle Path attack.

Aiden Pleterski outside court in September.

Good morning. This is the Friday, Oct. 30 edition of First Up, the Star’s daily morning digest. Sign up to get it earlier each day, in your inbox.

Actor Patrick Stewart died Wednesday at 86. For many, he will be remembered as Professor X. For many more, he will always be Jean-Luc Picard, perhaps the best Hollywood model of leadership ever offered, rooted in wisdom and strength, wielded with fairness and compassion. My favourite quote from his time on Star Trek is “Things are only impossible until they are not.” But reading about Stewart’s life, another one seems appropriate for this occasion: “What we leave behind is not as important as how we’ve lived.”

As Captain Jean-Luc Picard always said when it was time to get a move on: Engage.

It took only 90 minutes for a jury to find Aiden Pleterski guilty. During his three-week trial, the self-described “Crypto King” represented himself while repeatedly telling the court he needed a lawyer. The 27-year-old, who lives in Whitby with his parents, was a “thief” who defrauded investors to bankroll a lavish lifestyle of exotic cars and jet travel, and to pay off astronomical credit card charges, Crown attorney Akshay Aurora said in his closing address Wednesday. A fraud conviction carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Police tape and television media near where four people were taken to hospital after a shooting inside a home near the city’s Bridle Path neighbourhood.

Premier Doug Ford at a press conference on April 16, 2026.

Once upon a time, Premier Doug Ford’s mantra was about fiscal responsibility. At his brother Rob’s side at Toronto City Hall, and in his earliest days as premier, he was all about slashing spending, cutting waste and finding efficiency. “Stopping the Gravy Train.” He preached all this in the name of keeping taxes low.  

My observation of the Ford brothers’ performance at city hall was that when they talked about cutting taxes, they were very popular. When they talked about cutting spending, they found themselves under siege.

All these years later, Ford seems to have found a formula to keep the part people like and skip the part they tend to protest. He’s still all about keeping taxes low — and even sending taxpayers an unexpected cash bonus in the mail sometimes. But at some point, he appeared to stop being concerned with spending less. The freedom to run up the provincial credit card by running deficits means he doesn’t have to balance low revenues with low expenditures. He can just borrow ever larger amounts of money.  

At first, this was justified by the pandemic, which saw Ontario deficit spending rise to record levels. Most voters thought that was reasonable. But after we emerged from that crisis, Trump launched his tariff war, which is now being used to justify new record deficits ($16.9 billion this year). There is no plan, my Queen’s Park colleagues report, to bring the budget into balance during this term of office. 

In his column today, Martin Regg Cohn says Ontario’s poor finance minister “can’t even begin to balance a budget while also juggling a politically irrepressible and fiscally irresponsible premier.” 

And perhaps that is fine? The politicians and voters who have historically complained the loudest about government deficits are the ones who are now running it up more than their targets ever did. Ford’s opponents would certainly question the effectiveness of his spending — we’re still treating hospital patients in hallways, still scrambling for classroom supplies — but they aren’t the ones who traditionally worried about racking up debt.  

Or perhaps it’s not fine. The parties traditionally accused of being “tax and spend” (as the label implies) did recognize some responsibility to increase revenue to pay for increased spending. Doug Ford’s new formula of “cut taxes and still spend” leaves us less prepared to pay off the debt, assuming it needs to be paid at some point.  

What do you think? Is the run of deficits reaching new records a necessary response to the turbulent times Ontario’s economy has faced? Or is it a convenient rationale offered by a politician who’s discovered the joy of living beyond his governmental means? Either way, is the deficit a big concern for you? Let us know in the comments section here.

JUSTIN LING: Trump knows how to whine and bomb, and not much else. He needs luck for Tuesday’s midterm elections.

ADAM RADWANSKI: Here are some questions as Mark Carney prepares to launch an updated airport privatization plan.

MARTIN REGG COHN: It is the best of budgets, it is the worst of budgets, even if not quite a budget. Mostly, it’s a missed opportunity.

John Haney, one of the co-creators of Trivial Pursuit.

Yesterday, I asked for your takes on Ontario’s proposed changes to the Blue Box program. Readers were passionate about the downsides of limiting the amount that gets picked up:

“My blue bin is rarely even half full... But my neighbours — many with kids — have lots of overflow. We flatten our boxes anyways. What are people going to do if overflow isn’t allowed? Maybe it’s the packaging that needs to change?” — Caroline

“The purpose of the change to the recycling system was supposedly to place the cost of recycling onto the producers. The theory was that when they had to pay the costs, they would find more efficient and less costly materials that are more easily recycled. That is not what is happening. The producers are complaining about the cost so services are being reduced, along with materials accepted for recycling.” — Carolyn

Before you go, the nominees for the Governor General’s Literary Awards were announced this week. Among the nominees was Nina Dunic, who happens to be a two-time winner of the Toronto Star’s short story contest (under the name Nina Dragicevic). We were into her writing before anyone. You can read her prize-winning stories: “Cardinal” and “Youth.” Or check out her big-prize nominated collection “Suddenly Light” here.

Correction: Tuesday’s edition of First Up said CPP and OAS payments were landing on that day. As noted in the article, the payments landed on Wednesday.

Thanks for starting your day with us. If you enjoy First Up, please share it with a friend. And let us know what you think of the changes we’ve made, and what you’d like to see. Email firstup@thestar.ca. I’m off for the weekend. I’ll see you back here Monday morning.