The developer illegally selling pre-build homes

Plus, a police station death and Autumn Peltier's new message [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Toronto temperatures have been mild, [but look out for flurries as we step into the new year](. Here’s the latest on a Markham developer illegally selling homes, a man who died in a Toronto police station and Autumn Peltier’s new message. DON’T MISS TalkCondo/Screenshot star investigation [A Markham developer has been ordered to pay $180,000 for illegally selling homes]( Ideal (BC) Developments had collected more than $5 million in deposits from homebuyers in a pre-construction project north of Toronto — without obtaining a licence to sell or build new homes, Sheila Wang reports. Now, an Ontario court has ordered the Markham-based developer to pay $180,000 in fines and restitution for illegally selling unbuilt homes. [Here’s what we know about the investigation and what else this means for the developer](. - Go deeper: The court order comes two years after the Star first reported on [Ideal Developments’ financial woes and the cancellation of hundreds of pre-builds across the GTA](. - Now what? The province’s homebuilder regulator will equally distribute the restitution payment among the impacted homebuyers to partially cover their losses in deposits, according to the court order. Nick Lachance/The Star policing [Bradley Prebble died alone in a Toronto police station. Nine hours passed before anyone checked on him]( When Bradley Prebble arrived at a Scarborough police station on Oct. 13, 2021, there were signs his health was failing — the 48-year-old was unsteady, he told booking officers about his pain and numbness, and he moaned in agony when a cop touched his swollen right ankle. The father and TTC employee wasn’t offered medical attention, and he didn’t request it. By morning, he was dead, Wendy Gillis reports. He had laid unmoving in his holding cell for nearly five hours before anyone came in, according to a summary of surveillance video by Ontario’s police watchdog, the SIU. [Now, his family is haunted by the possibility that Pebble might be alive today if police had followed safety protocols](. - Context: “They were supposed to check on him and nobody came,” said Cathy Prebble, Bradley’s mother. Police are required to physically check on prisoners about every 30 minutes. - Word from the SIU: The SIU, which probes deaths and serious injuries involving police, cleared the senior officer supervising the cells of any criminal offence but uncovered “indiscretions” by booking officers tasked with monitoring Prebble. Jeremy Chan/Getty Images federal politics [She confronted Justin Trudeau when she was 12. Now Autumn Peltier has a new message]( At 12 years old, Autumn Peltier rose to international prominence for confronting the prime minister about his broken promises to Indigenous people, Joy SpearChief-Morris writes. The young girl from Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island told Trudeau in 2016 that she was unhappy with his choices and broken promises. In between tears, she managed to utter “the pipelines,” referring to Ottawa’s investment in the Kinder-Morgan transmountain oil pipeline expansion. Now at 19, her mission is shifting. Beyond being a water advocate, Peltier wants to advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and [find solutions to colonial systems that harm Indigenous people in Canada](. - Go deeper: “Across all the places I’ve spoken, all the people I’ve spoken to, I always like to preface that youth voices are the strongest — Indigenous or non-Indigenous — youth voices are the strongest and most powerful,” Peltier told the Star. - What’s next? For the first time, Peltier is telling her own story. She has signed with Penguin Random House to write a book for an adult audience and a picture book for children. WHAT ELSE Thousands donated more than $1 million to fund city services last year. [Here’s where their money went](. [Bay Street is seeing an exodus of young finance professionals]( as pay in the city stagnates and Toronto’s cost of living soars. Lose a limb or risk death? [These are the decisions that face many of the thousands wounded in Gaza](. When will interest rates finally start coming down? [Here’s when markets are expecting at least one cut](. Many Canadians are struggling with household debt — [but it’s not drowning us](. Police say a man has died after an altercation in Toronto’s west end. [Here’s what we know](. [The CEO of Exhibition Place wants to make it more inviting]( with a promenade and food hall. Foraging is on the rise as food prices climb. [Here’s how to do it safely in Ontario](. Your 2024 horoscope lookahead is here. [What’s next for you in career, love and money? ]( Toronto has a great concert scene. [So why was being a live music fan so awful this year?]( POV Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star [Is city hall letting developers off too easily when it comes to long-term road closures?]( CLOSE-UP Steve Russell/The Star YONGE-DUNDAS SQUARE: Maryam Faqiri, centre left, attends the final Justice for Soli vigil in Toronto on Dec. 16, to commemorate her son, Soleiman Faqiri, who was killed by Ontario jail guards. She stands with her son Yusuf, centre, and daughter Pelatin, right. [These are the mother’s memories of Faqiri — from a jolly baby boy to a kind young man and close friend](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_206148). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. BOXING WEEK SALE Only $1/week for 52 weeks [Get This Offer]( If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. [Unsubscribe From This Newsletter]( [Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts]( [View in Browser]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](