Man charged in anti-G20 ATM graffiti
Councillor slams Ottawa's refusal to compensate for G20 vandalism
Police have charged a man with nine counts of mischief after several ATMs in downtown Toronto were vandalized with spray paint and marked with anti-G20 slogans.
Banking machines at Scotiabank, RBC and TD Canada Trust branches at Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue were vandalized overnight, Toronto police said Friday morning.
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ATM screens, keypads and the banks' outside walls and windows were covered with red and black spray paint.
In some cases, stencils were used to paint "Resist G20" or "Stop the G20" next to the machines.
A prisoner transport vehicle on St. Patrick Street was also spray-painted.
Police arrested Toronto resident Samuel Bradley Kadosh, 22, Friday morning and charged him with nine counts of mischief under $5,000.
Ottawa won't cover G20 damage
The incidents come one day after the city councillor for the area, Adam Vaughan, told CBC News that he was informed the federal government would not compensate Torontonians for any damage incurred to their property during the summit.
Vaughan said he received a memo from Foreign Affairs officials saying that people who have their property damaged will have to turn to their insurance companies if they want to be compensated.
The federal memo said businesses that are open during the summit can apply for compensation from the government if they lose customers because of security measures.
But even with that assurance, Vaughan said some of his constituents face a no-win situation.
"If they don't open up, they are not compensated for loss of business. If they do open up, they're vulnerable to property damage," he said. "It's a billion dollars to protect Stephen Harper and diddly-squat for the taxpayers in downtown Toronto."
When asked about the government's stance on the issue, Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro suggested the heightened security measures in the city core would be enough to protect property owners from damage.
Del Mastro, the parliamentary secretary for the minister of Canadian heritage, said "the security forces that will be in place in Toronto will be in place to protect those merchants, protect that property.
"And anybody that acts in such a fashion — in any fashion other than [acting] peacefully — will find themselves on the wrong side of the law in Toronto."
The G20 summit will be held at the Metro Convention Centre on June 26-27.
With files from CBC's Metro Morning