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Ontario city pauses speed cameras after 32K tickets handed out in 3 weeks

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After more than 32,000 speeding tickets were handed out in just three weeks by new automated speed enforcement cameras in community safety zones, council in the City of Vaughan decided to pause the program

Mayor Steven Del Duca put forward the motion last week to pause the tickets until September, when council is due to receive a report from staff on ways the city can create more effective signage about the presence of cameras.

He said he had heard from a number of constituents, including a senior who had stopped going to bingo due to the tickets they were receiving.

“I have a motion … just for us to take a brief pause and go back to the drawing board and make sure that when we come back if council supports this, none of our residents can come to us and say this is not what it is supposed to be and that we are ironclad on this one,” the mayor told council.

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While almost all of the councillors were in support of the pause, few seemed to want the cameras to disappear from the landscape permanently.

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“For every complaint I get about the camera, I get a resident calling me and asking, ‘Why aren’t you putting one on my street?’” said Coun. Marilyn Iafrate. “So you know it’s here, we’re taking a pause, but they better be here to stay because otherwise, it defeats the purpose of what we’re looking for, which is a safe community.”


Over the summer months, when the cameras snap a pic of a speeder they will receive a warning in the mail rather than a fine. The city says it hopes the strategy will reduce driving speeds through awareness rather than punitive measures.

A report prepared by staff said that 12,733 speeders were caught in week one, while 11,769 tickets were issued during the second week. That number fell to 7,504 during the third week. The staff report said that two of the cameras were damaged during the three weeks. It is unclear how long the cameras were out of commission, but that may have contributed to the decline.

An automatic speed enforcement camera located on New Westminster Drive accounted for close to a third (9,877 penalty orders) of all the tickets issued, while other locations such as Kipling Avenue (6,004 penalty orders) and Ansley Grove Road (5,116 penalty orders) were also hotspots for speeders.

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One of the cameras clocked at least one driver doing 145 km/h in a 40 km/h on Peter Rupert Avenue, while others clocked into the high 90s on other roads as well.

The report did not say how much money was collected as a result of the infractions.

That said, it appears that the presence of the cameras was having an impact as speed rates fell by around 10 km/h at the locations of the cameras.

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Crown Royal bottler closing down Ontario plant, moving operations to U.S.

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Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.

The facility, which bottles Crown Royal products, will close in February in a move aimed at improving its North American supply chain.

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About 200 jobs will be affected.

“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement.

Diageo said it will engage with the community and find ways to support its employees through the transition, and work alongside Unifor to assist unionized workers.

The company said it will still maintain a “significant” footprint in Canada — including its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.

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McIntosh added the company’s Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled and aged at its Canadian facilities.

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Man faces attempted murder charge after two men struck by car in Toronto: police

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Toronto police say a 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking two men with his car Wednesday evening.

Officers say they responded to reports of a collision in the area of Don Mills Road and Gateway Boulevard in the city’s North York neighbourhood just before 10:30 p.m.

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Police say two men got into an argument, leading to one man getting into his car and hitting the other man with it.

They say the man then put his car into reverse, striking a second man.

A man in his 50s was transported to hospital with serious injuries and the second man, in his 20s, had minor injuries.

Police say the suspect from Markham, Ont., faces several other charges as well, including two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.


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Intruder in Ontario home invasion case carried a crossbow, court docs say

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A court document shows a Lindsay, Ont., man facing charges for allegedly breaking into an apartment was carrying a crossbow when he was confronted by a tenant.

The resident, Jeremy David McDonald, is also facing assault charges in the incident on Aug. 18 — a fact that has generated widespread interest in the case.

Police information filed in court alleges that Michael Kyle Breen damaged a window and screen at McDonald’s home and carried a crossbow.

The court document says the 41-year-old Breen is charged with break and enter, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.

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Police have said that Breen, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing next week, was already wanted for unrelated offences.

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McDonald, the 44-year-old resident, was charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after he allegedly “did endanger the life” of Breen.

Premier Doug Ford blasted the decision to charge the apartment resident, saying last week that it shows “something is broken.”

Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson wrote in a statement Wednesday that he recognizes the incident has generated significant public interest and “emotional” responses, but called some of the reaction “unjust and inaccurate.”

Robertson wrote that individuals have the right to defend themselves and their property, but the law requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced.

“This means that while homeowners do have the right to protect themselves and their property, the use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances,” he wrote.


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