Afternoon front page: Dramatic testimony at Pearson gold heist trial; Benchmark Canada series measures country’s performance; and more

It’s Tuesday, October 13. Here are the top stories we’re following today.

Arsalan Chaudhary is the star witness at the trial for an alleged co-accused in the gold heist, former Air Canada employee Parmpal Sidhu. Chaudhary said he and another man were behind the gold heist, but after they split the stolen gold and cash, worth more than $22 million, he left for Pakistan, where he was taken hostage. He said he was tortured and threatened with death until he revealed the location of his stash of gold in Toronto.

Benchmark Canada, a new project from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, brings together more than 40 different metrics that measure Canada’s performance across the economy, health care, immigration and others while comparing it with countries that face similar issues. Over the coming weeks, the National Post will examine many of those findings and report on what they mean for Canadians and the government that they have entrusted to use their tax dollars wisely and pragmatically.

Six Flags has temporarily closed nine roller coasters across six amusement parks “out of an abundance of caution,” including the two at Canada’s Wonderland, after a 42-year-old man riding the Goliath was reportedly thrown from his seat, fell, and hit the ride multiple times. Behemoth and Leviathan were both manufactured by the same company that made Goliath.

While the federal government is now threatening legal action against Stelco’s U.S.-based parent company for laying off 500 workers at its two Ontario plants, Poilievre is questioning whether the Liberals did enough to secure job protections for Stelco workers when it approved its sale to Cleveland Cliffs Inc. in 2024.

On Sunday, Carney thanked Trump for his leadership in securing an alleged “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine. But later the same day, Carney condemned Trump’s deal to purchase Russian diesel, warning that it would provide additional funding for the war on Ukraine. Kheiriddin writes that “Carney might have thought he could square the circle between supporting Ukraine, accommodating Trump and protecting Canadian trade. This weekend suggested otherwise.”