UPDATED at 2:30pm: City clerk Steph Palmateer now says signs aren’t allowed in that island, because “they pose a sight triangle safety issue”. If they had been there today, the city’s bylaw department would have removed the signs.
UPDATED: Lafleur mayoral campaign takes down its signs, unsure if the positioning was legal.
A forest of municipal elections signs was in the island at the Bruce Y on Saturday, gone Sunday. It turns out the mayoral campaign of Richard Lafleur removed the signs, not knowing if the positioning violated any rules, and not able to confirm on the weekend.
Neither City Hall or Timmins Police had received complaints or removed the signs themselves, so police passed it off as theft and vandalism.
Communications coordinator Marc Depatie says it’s a chronic issue every election, and signs take the brunt of people’s frustrations.
“Just because there’s a sign that perhaps isn’t in line with your political stripes doesn’t give you the right to do any undue harm or damage to those publicly erected signs,” he remarks. Depatie admits it’s not the crime of the century, but a lot of money goes into those signs. You could potentially face criminal charges that lead to fines, probation or jail.
“Public areas are designated as areas where they (candidates) can erect signs,” he adds. “As long as there’s no interference with public safety, then these signs can be erected.”
