Don't call 911 to complain about where neighbours throw snow: police
Timmins is under a fresh new blanket of snow this week and police are issuing a reminder to the public not to call 911 with complaints about how neighbours are managing their snow clearing.
Police officials said after every dump of snow, its 911 call centre receives on average about 40 calls and is reminding people the emergency phone number is not a complaint line.
"That’s for emergencies. Someone dumping snow in your driveway does not meet the threshold of an emergency," said Marc Depatie, the communications coordinator for the Timmins Police Service.
Depatie said pushing snow onto city-owned sidewalks or streets is against the municipal bylaws, so there is no need to call 911.
However, he said, putting snow on someone else's property turns into a neighbour dispute and suggests people work together to resolve disagreements they have over snow before involving police.
"There is no bylaw that prohibits anyone from dumping snow into their neighbour’s yard. This is where it does become a police matter. More often than not ... if someone feels intimidated or threatened or if they don’t have the lawful enjoyment of their property any more, then that can become a police matter and we will react to those situations."
- Download our app to get alerts sent to your device
- Get the latest newsletter sent right to your inbox
Timmins psychotherapist Jeff Baldock said it would be a good idea to build relations with neighbours and discuss their snow shovelling plans in the off-season.
"Have conversations, share a gift with them ... to build that relationship, so when communications need to happen, they happen in a more amicable way," Baldock said.
For whatever reason is standing in the way of resolving a neighbourly dispute over snow, Baldock suggested people find it in their hearts to forgive wrongdoers.
"If we hold tension towards our neighbour, just in our heart, in our mind and we’re not letting it go, it’s kind of interfering with our mind’s and our brain’s ability to solve problems," he said.
"Start with, I’m going to let this go, I’m going to forgive my neighbour, this is not the end of the world, we will get through this, and we’ll get through this winter and this snow thing like we do year after year."
Timmins police said it has not had to charge anyone based on complaints from neighbours about snow, but officers have had to investigate incidents of people uttering threats to their neighbours over snow disputes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Nine suspects arrested in $24M gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport: Peel police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Australian clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says
The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police began arresting suspected rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.
500 Newfoundlanders wound up on the same cruise and it turned into a rocking kitchen party
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
Liberals must now sell a budget they say will help younger Canadians catch up
It's now up to the federal Liberal government to sell a spending plan it says will help younger Canadians catch up to their elders.
Ontario woman out $30K after investing in mortgage company accused of being unlicensed
An Ontario nurse is fighting to recover tens of thousands of dollars in savings she invested in a mortgage company that has since been accused of operating without a licence.
Canada is expected to win 22 medals at the Paris Olympics
Canada is expected to win a total of 22 medals, including six gold, at the Paris Summer Olympics, which open on July 26.