Users of Toronto transit may soon be compensated if they are left waiting too long for their ride.

On Wednesday, Toronto City Council voted to explore the possibility of refunding TTC riders if they are delayed 15 minutes or longer.

The motion was proposed by Councillor Brad Bradford.

Bradford intended his proposed measure to be a full money-back guarantee, but council voted to amend the proposal. Now, the TTC Board will “evaluate and consider” how a refund program could work.

Transit riders deserve better than what they are getting today, Bradford said during the council discussion.

“We’ve all had the experience when … you go down into the subway, and then the subway’s not running. And people amass on the platform, and it gets increasingly crowded and increasingly uncomfortable. You’re looking around for an information update, and it’s always a question of how long am I going to stay here waiting before I head up to the surface and then, elbows up, try to compete with everybody to get jammed on a bus?”

When somebody is paying for a service, said Bradford, that service “ought to be delivered.”

Other cities such as London, Philadelphia and

Washington D.C

. already offer refunds to commuters who experience significant delays.

Back in the Toronto region, the GO Transit system has also implemented a similar policy. 
 

Meanwhile, said Bradford, the TTC collects two thirds of its revenue from the fare box, but ridership still hasn’t returned to pre-covid 19 levels. “Fare box revenue is really important. So we need to get people back to transit.”

The council vote came amid rider complaints about slow and delayed service on a newly opened light rapid transit line in the northern part of the city.

Toronto engineer Asha Asvathaman recently launched a website called TTC Delay Insights, aiming to bridge the gap between TTC data and commuters by exploring patterns and station stats and highlighting problematic hotspots.

• Brad Bradford: Toronto transit violence is rising — Mayor Chow can’t pretend otherwise
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Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

A 77-year-old woman with advanced Alzheimer’s has been granted protection “against the likelihood of death at the hands of her husband” by the B.C. Supreme Court.

The case involves a woman, identified as E.W., and her husband, identified as T.W., in court documents. T.W. is a strong advocate for medical assistance in dying (MAID) and even spoke openly about a “Death Plan” for his wife, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2017, Justice B. Smith wrote in his

reasons for judgment

.

The “Death Plan,” as it was described by T.W. to family, friends and healthcare workers, was to “end” E.W.’s life if she became ineligible for MAID (which she eventually did) and then “take his own life.”

The issue was brought to the Supreme Court after the Vancouver Island Health Authority, a publicly funded health care provider, raised concerns about the well-being of E.W. “E.W. never expressed agreement with the Death Plan. On the contrary, E.W. was understandably upset by it. E.W. expressed to (their daughter) S.T. that T.W. was trying to kill her,” the court document says.

After E.W.’s diagnosis, healthcare providers suggested that she and her husband plan for future care, as her illness was progressing.

In November 2018, the couple and their daughter, S.T., made a representation agreement — a legal document that authorizes a person to be a substitute decision maker in B.C. law if a person cannot speak for themselves, according to B.C. Centre for Palliative Care.

T.W. was selected as E.W.’s authorized representative, and their daughter was an alternative.

E.W. was deemed eligible for MAID in the summer of 2020, according to the judgment. However, in September 2021, she told one of the doctors who assessed her “that she was not interested in receiving MAID in circumstances related to worsening memory or confusion.”

In a report from the doctor to Island Health, E.W. was later assessed as ineligible because “she was incapable of providing the requisite consent.”

The report determined that if “T.W. learned that E.W. was ineligible for MAID, he planned to carry out the Death Plan, which he referred to as a “dignicide.” It also said that at the time, E.W. “expressed that she was not ready to die” and that due to her “cognitive impairment…she was a vulnerable adult at risk of abuse and neglect.”

Island Health decided to petition for E.W.’s protection.

“Island Health did not believe that E.W. was then being abused or neglected by T.W., but was concerned that E.W. did not perceive herself as having any cognitive or functional limitations and therefore was unable to take care of herself in relation to the Death Plan,” wrote Smith in the judgment.

During wellness checks, T.W. told nurses about plans he was actively involved in to prepare for both his and his wife’s deaths. This included “paying for funeral services and grave sites, selling assets and distributing the proceeds, preparing obituaries and creating memorabilia as part of their collective legacy.”

In 2022, Island Health exercised its emergency powers to move E.W. from their home to a nearby hospital, as specialists said her condition was worsening. She remains in a facility.

In court documents, T.W. was described as “dominating” discussions about end-of-life planning. The couple’s daughter spoke to her mother alone to determine what she wanted. E.W. told her daughter that “if she ever became highly dependent on others, she wished to go into long-term care, as she would ‘not want to burden family with her care.’”

In the Dec. 17 document, the court ordered that the couple’s daughter replace her father as E.W.’s personal representative. T.W. was found to be unsuitable.

Critics of MAID have pointed to how it can affect vulnerable people. Commenting on a post about the case on X, British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society

wrote

: “Pretty sure this is what they told all of us…They caught this case, but how many other ‘dignicide’ (that’s apparently a new slang for murder) cases did they miss.”

Advocates say it allows eligible people the

option to die with dignity on their own terms

.

Parliament

passed federal legislation

allowing eligible adults in Canada to request MAID in June 2016.

• More than 16,000 Canadians died by MAID in 2024 — 5% of all deaths in Canada: report
• Dementia patient gets MAID after family member brought forward the request

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

A 26-year-old Toronto man has been arrested and charged with ISIS-linked terrorism offences and two other men are charged for alleged hate-motivated extremism targeting women and members of the Jewish community.

The federal terrorism investigation and related probes by Toronto police and Peel police follow violent incidents of armed men trying to abduct women from the street, one in May and two in June.

The RCMP charged Waleed Khan, 26, of Toronto with various terrorism charges including participating in the activities of a terrorist group and conspiracy to commit murder, for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group.

The charging information names ISIS as the terrorist entity, also known as the Islamic State or ISIL.

Khan was also charged by Toronto police and Peel police, along with two other Toronto men — Osman Azizov, 18, Fahad Sadaat, 19.

The Peel charges, in August, are for kidnapping, firearms, auto theft, and others.

Toronto police also charged the three men for separate but similar attacks. The Toronto charges include kidnapping, attempted kidnapping with firearms, conspiracy to commit sexual assault, and hostage taking classed as hate-motivated extremism.

Khan has additional Toronto police charges including possession of weapons, assault with a weapon, careless use of a firearm and other weapon and theft charges.

The arrests are related to attacks in Toronto where armed men appeared to be hunting women for capture and abuse.

“We have arrested three individuals for offences targeting women and members of the Jewish community,” said Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw.

On May 31, a woman was approached by three men, one of whom was armed with a handgun and another with a knife, in the Don Mills Road and Rochefort Drive area of Toronto, police said. The suspects attempted to force her into a vehicle but fled when interrupted by a passing motorist.

On June 24, two young women were targeted in Mississauga on Ellesboro Drive near Swanhurst Boulevard. Three masked men pulled up in an Audi SUV armed with a handgun, a rifle, and knife, and chased the women and tried to grab them, police said. The men again fled after being interrupted by a passerby.

Peel Regional Police connected the two attacks and a joint investigation identified and arrested the suspects, police said. The joint probe was codenamed Project Neapolitan.

Khan was arrested for the Mississauga incident on Aug. 18, and at the time, Peel police said they were searching for two more suspects, described as Middle Eastern males, late teens to mid-twenties.

In Khan’s Toronto home, police said, they found two loaded prohibited firearms: an AR-style rifle capable of automatic fire and a pistol, both equipped with prohibited high-capacity magazines, along with over 110 rounds of ammunition. At the time of arrest, Khan was on probation for prior violent offences and prohibited from possessing firearms.

In late August, the two other men, Sadaat and Azizov were arrested.

“The evidence gathered expanded the scope of the investigation to include additional offences motivated by hate — particularly targeting women and members of the Jewish community. Investigators also uncovered links to terrorism, prompting a separate but parallel RCMP investigation,” Toronto police said in a release.

Friday’s announcement comes five days after the devastating massacre at Bondi Beach in Australia when two suspected jihadists shot and killed 15 people and wounded dozens more at a Jewish community event celebrating Hanukkah.

A court-imposed publication ban is in place in the Canadian charges preventing publication of some details in the case.

Khan’s terror-linked charges focus on alleged actions between June 17 and August 17.

“Waleed Khan did participate in the activities of a terrorist group by making himself, in response to instructions from any of the persons who constitute a terrorist group, available to facilitate or commit a terrorism offence or an act or omission outside Canada,” reads one charge.

“Khan did commit an indictable offence, to wit conspiracy to commit murder, for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group,” reads another.

A charge of participating in the activities of a terrorist group alleges he provided property to be used to carry out terrorist activity or benefit someone carry out a terror activity, and another to fund a terrorist group. One charge alleges providing property to fund a terrorist group and another for using social media accounts to the benefit of a terrorist group.

He is also charge with conspiring with persons known and unknown to commit murder.

The federal charges were laid by the Central Region’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET), which is an RCMP-led joint task force focussing on threats to national security, criminal extremism and terrorism.

The RCMP said the investigation is ongoing.

Jewish community leaders are grateful for police arrests but fear danger looms.

“The details of the investigation indicate a grave threat, involving the Islamic State and attempts to target women and Jewish Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area,” said Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

“This goes far beyond the safety of any one group. It is a matter of national security and public safety. There is a ticking time bomb in our country that our leaders must confront before it’s too late. As we saw in Sydney, we are one intelligence failure away from a devastating loss of life. A lack of urgency on the part of our leaders puts Canadians in danger.”

• Terry Newman: Liberals give $100K to antisemitic group to fight antisemitism
• Jewish model who spoke out about antisemitic Uber incident in Toronto receives death threats on social media

• Email: ahumphreys@postmedia.com | X: AD_Humphreys

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

The Jewish community is afraid to use Uber after “disturbing reports of mistreatment and intimidation by drivers,” says the founder of Canadian Women Against Antisemitism, as the rideshare company tells National Post it’s in “listening mode.”

While scrolling on Facebook recently, Esther Mordechai said she noticed posts by Jewish Canadians concerned about using Uber. She has been an activist and advocate for the community for decades. She is also the executive director of

B.A.M. Canada

, an organization dedicated to supporting marginalized Jewish women and the community.

“I had seen dozens of posts of people asking for alternatives (to Uber), and this is not okay,” she said. “The government is silent, and silence normalizes hate. History shows where that leads: 1930s Germany. Intimidation, denial, indifference. Calling it out is how we protect Jewish lives, and we’re also protecting and defending democracy and ensuring Canada never repeats that shameful path.”

Mordechai decided to write a letter to Uber because she felt “compelled to demand accountability and concrete action … to ensure passenger safety.”

National Post has reported on three separate incidents involving Canadian Jews using Uber. A

Canadian-Slovakian model said she was kicked out of a vehicle in Toronto

in November for being Jewish. She has since received

death threats on social media

after speaking out. A Canadian couple said they were

refused a ride while travelling in Europe

in August after they told the driver they were from Israel, and another Canadian couple said that after a driver heard them speaking Hebrew in February he would not take them home from Toronto Pearson Airport.

A spokesperson for Uber apologized for the riders’ experiences and said appropriate action was being taken.

Speaking to National Post, Uber’s head of public policy and communications for the U.S. and Canada Adam Blinick said drivers receive anti-discrimination training, adding that the company “recently re-sent to drivers the community guidelines to ensure that they understand that they do have an obligation.”

“Discrimination on our platform has no place,” he said.

When asked if Uber would say, definitively, that it is against antisemitism, or hate of any kind, and that the company would root it out, Blinick responded: “I don’t think there’s an issue with us saying that.”

The company has been speaking with Jewish leaders in the community, Blinick said. “I would say at a high level that we’re there in listening mode,” he said.

The main purpose of the discussions is to “understand the sensitivities and how people are feeling about things, and if we can be better partners in order to further enhance either communication or relationships or look at our policies again,” he said. He did not disclose when the discussions took place or with which Jewish organizations, citing that Uber did not get permission to share those details publicly.

The intention “was meaningful dialogue,” Blinick said.

Mordechai shared her letter to Uber with National Post.

“In Canada today, people are afraid to speak Hebrew in public, afraid to identify as Jewish, and afraid to disclose their identity while using ride-sharing services. This is not an abstract fear. It is a lived reality for many in the Jewish community. Following the recent tragic antisemitic incident in Australia, it is painfully clear that Canada is not immune to the same dangerous trajectory if institutions fail to act decisively,” she wrote.

“Uber has a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that all passengers without exception are safe and treated with dignity.”

She demanded that Uber “take immediate and visible action,” including enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for antisemitism, permanently removing drivers who engage in discriminatory or threatening behaviour, implementing mandatory training on antisemitism, and establishing a transparent and effective reporting and accountability mechanism.

Blinick said both drivers and passengers have to adhere to the community guidelines to use the platform. “It’s a two way street, and we want to make sure everyone on the platform feels safe and respected,” he said.

While the guidelines do not include language specific to antisemitism, they

say online

: “Do not discriminate against someone or act in a disparaging manner toward someone based on traits such as their age, skin colour, disability, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, national origin, race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, language, geographical location, or any other characteristic protected under relevant law.”

Blinick said the company has been told by lawmakers that it has been “too quick to deactivate or to cause drivers to lose access to the platform.”

“We think we take a very balanced approach,” he said. “There is equal pressure on the other side of things, where there are advocates, drivers themselves, and others that … want to ensure that our system is equally fair and does not side with one or the other.”

When an incident is reported, there is a team of dedicated staff who conduct a review, which can include speaking to the driver, the passenger and reviewing relevant footage or audio recordings. Blinick said Uber does not share information about the outcome of an investigation, barring an “extraordinarily definitive” incident.

“If we confirm behaviour that violates our guidelines, consequences may include permanent loss of access to the platform,” an Uber spokesperson said.

Blinick highlighted tools to help passengers feel safe, including an audio recording tool through the app that was launched in 2023. It is encrypted and only shared with the company if the passenger wants to do so.

“We do have a sizeable team that is charged with investigating all of these complaints, and are not shy about taking action,” he said.

• Toronto model says she was kicked out of Uber for being Jewish
• Jewish model who spoke out about antisemitic Uber incident in Toronto receives death threats on social media

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Good news, cheese lovers. A study out of Sweden has found that eating high-fat cheese is associated with a lower risk of all forms of dementia.

Published in the

journal Neurology

under the somewhat staid title “High- and Low-Fat Dairy Consumption and Long-Term Risk of Dementia,” the long-term study followed the lives (and sometimes deaths) of 27,670 Swedes over a period of about 25 years.

The participants were 61 per cent female, with an average age of 58.1 years when they started the study between 1991 and 1996. The dementia research team piggybacked on the

Malmö Diet and Cancer

cohort, which was originally set up in the 1990s to study long-term connections between nutrition and cancer.

Dietary intake was evaluated using a comprehensive diet history method that combined a seven-day food diary, a food frequency questionnaire and a dietary interview. Dementia cases were identified through the Swedish National Patient Register until Dec. 31, 2020. The researchers looked for all-cause dementia, a blanket term that includes Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia and other conditions.

They found that eating 50 grams or more of high-fat cheese daily correlates with a lower risk of developing dementia. High-fat cheeses are those with more than 20 per cent fat content, including cheddar, brie, parmesan, mozzarella and gruyere.

More specifically, the risk of developing dementia was calculated at about

10 per cent for those who ate 50 grams or more of high-fat cheese per day, compared to about 13 per cent of people who ate less than 15 grams a day.

Even after adjusting for age, sex, education and overall diet, people who ate more than 50 grams of high-fat cheese per day had a 13 per cent lower all-cause dementia risk than those who ate less than 15 grams.

“For decades, the debate over high-fat versus low-fat diets has shaped health advice, sometimes even categorizing cheese as an unhealthy food to limit,” said nutrition epidemiologist Emily Sonestedt of Sweden’s Lund University in a

press release

about the findings.

“Our study found that some high-fat dairy products may actually lower the risk of dementia, challenging some long-held assumptions about fat and brain health.”

No such association appeared for low-fat cheese or cream, any kind of milk, or fermented milk products such as yogurt and kefir. Butter showed mixed results, including a possible increased Alzheimer’s risk at high intake compared to people who did not eat butter.

“Not all dairy products are equal when it comes to brain health,” said Sonestedt. “The few studies that have investigated this have found a correlation with cheese, so more research is needed to confirm our results and investigate whether certain high-fat dairy products really do provide some protection for the brain.”

The

World Health Organization

estimates that 57 million people were living with dementia in 2021, with an estimated 10 million new cases diagnosed each year. A 2022 study in

The Lancet

medical journal estimated cases could rise to more than 150 million by mid-century.

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Tax changes reflective of inflation are afoot for Canadian workers in 2026, potentially leaving more money for them after federal and provincial taxes.

Last month, the Canada Revenue Agency revealed updated income tax brackets, basic personal amounts, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) thresholds and more changes set to take effect this year.

Here’s what to know.

Inflation down, tax bracket thresholds up

Income tax brackets are indexed to inflation data from Statistics Canada’s consumer price index (CPI) and the rate for 2026 was

recently announced as two per cent

— down from 2.7 per cent in 2025. As a result, thresholds for Canada’s five progressive tax brackets will increase as of Jan. 1, with certain credits, such as GST cheques and the Canada Child Benefit, going up on July 1.

In theory, and provided one’s income doesn’t increase drastically in 2026, it could mean a little more take-home pay after taxes.

In May, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that his government would

cut the lowest incoming tax bracket

one percentage point — from 15 per cent to 14 per cent — making good on a promise made at

the outset of the federal election

. He said the move, which was estimated to cost $6 billion annually, could save the average family of two about $840 per year.

The

Parliamentary Budget Office later estimated

only $280 in savings for the same family.

Because the changes came in mid-year, the lowest tax rate was set at 14.5 per cent for the 2025 tax year.

In 2026, employees will be taxed 14 per cent on the first $58,523. Income from that amount up to $117,045 is taxed at 20.5 per cent; from $117,045 to $181,440 at 26 per cent; and from $181,440 to $258,482 at 29 per cent.

Anything above $258,482 is taxed at 33 per cent, the highest bracket.

Basic personal amount increased

As it has done in successive years, Ottawa is also increasing the basic personal amount (BPA), the amount of income you can earn without having to pay federal income tax. The non-refundable federal tax credit is automatically available to all taxpayers.

The new BPA limit for 2026 is set at $16,452, meaning if you earn that much or less, you won’t pay any tax. Using the 14 per cent rate as opposed to the tax bracket, anyone earning $181,440 or less gets the full amount of $2,303. People earning $258,482 or more are afforded the minimum BPA of $14,829, for a credit of $2,076, and those in between will be credited an amount somewhere in between.

For instance, someone earning a salary of $86,000 annually pays no tax on the first $16,452, 14 per cent on the next $42,071 ($5,889.94) and 20.5 per cent on the remaining $24,477 ($4,955.40). That means they’ll pay $10,845.34 in federal taxes.

Someone grossing $386,000, meanwhile, pays no tax on the first $14,829, but will end up paying roughly $93,000 in taxes.

CPP ceilings rise

Contribution rates for the

Canada Pension Plan

, for both employees and employers, are static at 5.95 per cent, but the year’s maximum pensionable earnings (YMPE) is rising to $74,600, up from $71,300 this year. The basic exemption amount of $3,500 is also unchanged.

Also known as the first earnings ceiling, YMPE is the maximum salary portion on which you need to contribute to the plan.

As of next year, the maximum annual employee and employer contribution is $4,230.45, up from $4,034.10 in 2025. Contribution maximums by self-employed persons are $8,460.90, up from $8,068.20.

Those over that $74,600 YPME will also pay an additional four per cent, to a max of $416, on earnings between $74,600 and $85,000 in what’s known as the

second ceiling.

For the self-employed, the rate is eight per cent, to a max of $832.

More money for parents

The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is going up again in July 2026.

Families with children under six can receive up to $8,157 per child, up from just under $8,000 in 2025. Families with kids between six and 17 are eligible to receive up to $6,883, an increase of $6,748 this year.

The actual payment depends on family income, ages and the number of children, with full benefits going to families below about $38,237 of adjusted net income, $750 more than in 2025.

Minor adjustments to EI premiums

Employment insurance premiums are also set to change a little in 2026,

according to Employment and Social Development Canada.

Premiums for everyone will only apply to the first $68,900 in gross earnings, up from $65,700 this year and $63,200 in 2024.

If you live anywhere but Quebec, your employer must deduct $1.63 for every $100 earned until you hit $1,123.07, the maximum contribution for 2026. That’s down from $1.64 and $1,077.48 this tax year.

For the Quebecois, where the province’s parental insurance plan allows for a lower rate, they must deduct $1.30 from every $100 until they hit $895.70. It was $1.31 and $860.67 in 2025.

The cross-Canada employer’s rate, 2.28 per cent up to a max of $1,572.30, remains unchanged.

RRSP and Old Age Security 

CRA also

announced new limits on registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs)

in November, allowing Canadians to put a bit more in them.

The new maximum is $33,810, up $750 over last year, but is still limited to 18 per cent of your 2025 income.

Come 2026, the income threshold at which Old Age Security benefit clawback begins increases to $95,353. Any amount above that will result in reduced OAS payments.

Provincial tax changes

A few provinces also instituted tax changes in 2025 that will carry over into 2026 and beyond,

according to CRA.

Manitoba has frozen indexation of its BPA and tax brackets, with a 2026 basic amount of $15,780 and new brackets of 10.8 per cent below $47,000, 12.75 per cent from $47,000 to $100,000 and 17.4 per cent above $100,000.

Nova Scotia will drop its income-tested BPA and apply the maximum amount for everyone in 2026 and P.E.I. is raising its BPA to $15,000.

Saskatchewan, meanwhile, will continue scheduled $500 increases to basic personal, spousal, dependent and senior amounts, lifting its 2026 BPA to $20,381.

• CRA has made ‘important changes’ to the 2025 income tax package. What Canadians need to know
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Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Toronto model Miriam Mattova says she has received death threats on social media since coming forward about an antisemitic incident involving an Uber driver last month.

“It affects me emotionally and psychologically, and it forces me to become more cautious in my daily life,” she told National Post.

“When you see what has happened recently in Sydney or at (Brown) University this week, it becomes impossible to dismiss these threats…These incidents show us exactly where unchecked hate and intimidation can lead.”

On Sunday, 15 people in Australia

were killed in a terror attack

while celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach. Two students were

murdered in another incident at Brown University

in Rhode Island over the weekend. Police have identified a person of interest in the Brown shooting but have not said whether they have determined a motive.

In late November, Mattova said she

was kicked out of a vehicle by an Uber driver for being Jewish

. She was left at an intersection in downtown Toronto in the middle of the night. The company told National Post earlier this month that it was “deeply sorry” for her experience and that they contacted Mattova “directly” and took “appropriate action on the driver.” Uber did not say what action was taken.

Since then,

more Canadian Jews have come forward

to share their experiences with Uber. That includes a Jewish couple who were travelling in Europe in August when they said an Uber driver wouldn’t take them because they were from Israel, and another Jewish couple who said an Uber driver refused to take them home from the Toronto airport in February after he heard them speaking Hebrew.

Although many people showed support for Mattova online, she also faced a deluge of antisemitic hate messages and death threats. “Should have just slit your throat lol,” one person wrote to her on Instagram.

“(I’m going to) kill you someday,” another person wrote.

She was called a “dirty Zionist Jew,” “baby killer” and an “unhuman terrorist” for sharing her support for Israel. One person sent her a private message with an image that said: “Murderer rot in hell.”

Another person commented that Mattova was a “shameless genocide lover,” and added, “one day you’ll reap what you sow.”

“So happy the Uber driver kicked you out for being a Jew,” one person wrote.

She reported the threats she received to Toronto police. She said it was “sobering” to learn how difficult it is to trace the people behind the accounts.

“Uttering threats is a serious criminal offence. All reported incidents will be investigated thoroughly,” Toronto police spokesperson Cindy Chung told National Post in an email. Anyone receiving a death threat via social media, email, or any digital platform should call 911 if it is believed to be an “imminent threat to your life or physical safety,” she said.

“Do not engage with or block the user until you have captured evidence. Take screenshots showing the sender’s handle, the platform, and the timestamp,” Chung said, who also advised people to file a report and notify police if personal information, including address or phone number, has been exposed.

Immediately “disable location services on your devices and review your privacy settings,” said Chung.

“They told me that I should either change my Instagram username or change my number, but I shouldn’t be doing anything to change my life because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Mattova said.

“Either social media companies take responsibility and implement meaningful verification and accountability mechanisms, or governments will have to compel them to do so.”

She added that what she’s demanding of companies doesn’t equate to silencing speech.

“It’s about ensuring that speech carries responsibility. Without that, the gap between online hate and real world danger will only continue to shrink,” she said. “When threats are ignored or impossible to trace, they become normalized. When they are normalized, someone eventually acts on them.”

As one solution that Canada could implement, Mattova pointed to a new law in Australia that bans teens under the age of 16 from top social media platforms. Companies such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are now blocking them from joining.

“It demonstrates that regulation and action is possible, and that when there is a political will, a meaningful safeguard can be implemented,” she said.

She also said that social media platforms need stricter policies when it comes to allowing people to create accounts. Although she reported the users who threatened her on Instagram to the platform, she continued to be harassed.

“If you go to a bar, you need to show a proof of identification. It should be the same for social media,” she said.

“Complete unaccountability has empowered keyboard warriors to normalize hate and escalate threats without consequences, which can empower certain individuals to much worse — incidents like we saw this week in Sydney.”

Accounts should be linked to verified identification or financial credentials “to ensure traceability and accountability.”

Meta, the company that owns Instagram, did not return National Post’s request for comment in time for publication. It says

online

: “We remove content that could contribute to a risk of harm to the physical security of persons. Content that threatens people has the potential to intimidate, exclude or silence others and isn’t allowed on our services.”

“Like many individuals who publicly advocate for Jewish causes, I receive a significant volume of death threats and online abuse, and I am actively working to shift the narrative from reaction to prevention,” said Mattova, adding that online hate doesn’t only stay online.

“The violent rhetoric…it becomes a casual thing, and even threats start to feel casual and acceptable for the people making them,” she said.

“We are already seeing the consequences.”

• Toronto woman says Uber driver refused to take her home after she spoke Hebrew
• Toronto model says she was kicked out of Uber for being Jewish

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.