Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

A fire took place recently on Westminster North in Montreal West, Councillor Lauren Small Pennefather told the late October town council meeting.The property is near the Westminster rail bridge and is under investigation for a previous fire.

“The SPVM requested the assistance of our Public Security officers to help control traffic at Northview and Westminster, as Westminster was closed between Radcliffe and Westover,” she explained. “There is actually a criminal investigation underway by the SPVM, as the building was vacant due to an original fire that occurred two months previously. Luckily, nobody was hurt in either fire.”

The councillor, in her monthly report, also pointed out that car thefts continue to be “rampant.”

“It’s not only in Montreal West, it’s across North America,” she pointed out. “If you see some of the news specials on television, or on social media, this is a very significant issue and there have been vehicles in Canada that have been tracked to Africa, so this is not in isolation for the Town of Montreal West. There are certain measures you can take. There are certain devices that you can add to your vehicle that can assist if thieves try to break in. I suggest taking this up with your car dealership or your insurance company to get more information on how to protect your vehicle. We had the SPVM here in May to talk about this and some other security issues.”

Small Pennefather also informed the meeting that there were some car theft attempts on Oct. 22.

“Toyota Highlanders were targeted and another Highlander was stolen from the Westminster parking lot. One was targeted on Brock North as well.”

Police in other locales have issued alerts about thefts of Toyota Highlanders, saying the perpetrators use “relay and reprogramming technology” and that the targeting of these vehicles has been a growing trend this year.