Timmins councillor wants community safety to be council's top priority
Break-ins have become a problem at McDonald's Guardian Pharmacy and Variety Store is located in South Porcupine's downtown area.
People who work there said the business has been broken into seven times over the past four years -- and three of those instances have been in the past two weeks.
“Each instance is being investigated by the Timmins Police Service," said Marc Depatie, communications coordinator for the Timmins Police Service.
“We haven’t fully determined whether or not one person is responsible or if this is a number of persons who’ve decided to target this particular business in South Porcupine.”
To harden the target, the owner is installing bars on the doors and windows.
This situation makes Timmins councillor Steve Black want to do what he can to make Timmins a safer place. He brought up the issue of community safety at a recent council meeting and said he'll be proposing some resolutions.
“I’m working on them. There’s going to be some for enhanced coverage on the policing side. There’s going to be some for the province for changes to the criminal justice side," Black said.
"There’s going to be some asks for additional city support in this area and keeping our downtown areas clean and safe, as well."
In the meantime, he said he wants to hear from more business owners and residents about their experiences with crime. Timmins police officials said they do, as well.
“We strongly urge that any suspicious activity that you notice in your neighborhood or in the business community ... should be reported to police for investigation," said Depatie.
"We are endowed with certain authorities that allow us to interrogate persons and determine the legitimacy why they’re at a given location.”
Black said community safety should be the No. 1 priority for the current council.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.