HomeMy WebLinkAboutNA2005_07_08 The Pickering
40 PAGES ✦ Pressrun 48,600 ✦ Metroland Durham Region Media Group ✦ FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2005 ✦ Optional delivery $6 / Newsstand $1
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HOT AIR
A trip across
Durham
Page 16
COURT VICTORY OPG gets injunction against
striking Hydro One workers
Page 3
WHODUNIT
It Sounds
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Page 25
Residents recall
Marathon of Hope’s
journey through
Pickering area
By Jason Chamberlain
Special to the News Advertiser
AJAX — A quarter of a cen-
tury has passed, but no one has
forgotten.
It was slightly more than 25
years ago that Terry Fox began
his marathon of hope across
Canada, and though he didn’t
make it from coast to coast,
thousands from across the
country were still able to catch a
short glimpse of him and cheer
him along his way. In Durham,
many were on hand for his trek
through the region and still re-
member the day Mr. Fox’s path
took him through their com-
munity. In Pickering Village, to-
morrow (July 9) marks the 25th
anniversary of his visit.
“I was a superintendent with
the police force,” Whitby resi-
dent Dick Bodley recalls. “Duty
officers met him on the 35 high-
way, at the junction of Hwy. 2 at
Bowmanville. We were waiting
to escort him. It was the first
time a municipal police force
was involved, because the OPP
had picked him up at the pro-
vincial border.”
Terry ran into Pickering’s heart 25 years ago
Sales of invalid taxi
licences generated
as much as $250,000,
Durham police say
By Jeff Mitchell and
Danielle Milley
Staff Writers
PICKERING — A former Pick-
ering bylaw officer is accused by
Durham Regional Police of rak-
ing in as much as $250,000 by
selling fraudulent taxi licences
while employed by the City.
A man was arrested this week
following a lengthy investigation
into a scam in which unauthor-
ized taxicab licence plates were
sold to unsuspecting buyers. The
City has declared the plates in-
valid and is taking steps to re-
trieve them.
“The investigation is continu-
ing on in regards to various li-
cence plates that are out there,”
said Pickering chief executive of-
ficer Tom Quinn.
Prompted by complaints from
cab drivers, the City of Pickering
began investigating the issue of
taxi licensing internally.
“From the findings of the foren-
sic audit and council’s direction,
we turned it over to the police,”
said Mr. Quinn, who handled the
investigation out of his office.
Between January 2000 and Au-
gust 2003, prospective taxi op-
erators forked over large sums of
cash to buy licence plates from a
bylaw officer, say police, adding
the issuing of cab licences was
not within the scope of their re-
sponsibilities.
Ward 1 Regional Councillor
Maurice Brenner is chairman of
Pickering’s newly formed taxicab
advisory committee.
“It’s a turning point in the in-
formation going public,” he said.
Coun. Brenner spoke with
AN OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD EXPERIENCE
A.J. Groen / News Advertiser photo
PICKERING — The Pickering Public Library’s Petticoat Creek branch recently brought ‘Alister in Outer
Space’ to life for young visitors. Linda McDade, the children’s librarian, left, and Doug Miram, manager
of children’s services, told the kids’ tale.
Former City
employee faces
fraud charges
✦ See Pickering, Page 5
✦ See Terry, Page A5
A/P PAGE 2 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, JULY 8, 2005 durhamregion.com
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401
MORNINGSIDEKINGSTON RD
4695 Kingston Road, Scarborough
Appeal Court
imposes ‘blended’
sentence
By Jeff Mitchell
Staff Writer
DURHAM — Former
Crown prosecutor Bryan Da-
vies has lost his bid to avoid
a prison term on breach of
trust and fraud convictions.
But, in a decision released
Tuesday, the Ontario Court
of Appeal reduced the time
the prominent lawyer will
spend in custody, imposing
a “blended” sentence of real
jail time and house arrest.
Mr. Davies has been sen-
tenced to 12 months less a
day in jail on two charges
of breach of trust. That is to
be followed by 12 months of
house arrest for two fraud-
related charges.
Mr. Davies, 46, of Whit-
by, pleaded guilty to all the
counts in 2003. He was sen-
tenced by Ontario Court Jus-
tice Mary Devlin to two years
less a day in jail. Through
his lawyer, Marie Henein,
Mr. Davies appealed that
sentence before the Appeals
Court in early April.
In Tu esday’s ruling, Ap-
peal Court Justices Robert
Blair, Susan Lang and John
Laskin agreed with Ms.
Henein’s argument that the
lower court judge had failed
to place enough empha-
sis on Mr. Davies’s mental
health — he was diagnosed
with bipolar disorder in
1993 — in passing sentence.
The Appeal Court panel
found the judge “miscon-
strued” evidence at a sen-
tencing hearing, arriving
at the conclusion that Mr.
Davies’s criminal behaviour
was not directly attributable
to his illness.
The high court found
that Mr. Davies’s condition,
which manifested itself in
periods of hypomania,
played a significant role in
his transgressions.
“Much of the appellant’s
behaviour... was typical be-
haviour of a manic episode,”
the judges wrote. “There is
at least some relationship
between his illness and the
crimes he committed.”
Mr. Davies, a prominent
assistant Crown attorney
who built a reputation for
tackling tough cases and
working long hours, pleaded
guilty in February of 2003.
In an agreed statement of
facts read into the record at
that time, court heard how
Mr. Davies misused his au-
thority to extract payment of
debts for a client — whom
he later bilked of thousands
of dollars — and misappro-
priated court-ordered pay-
ments by accused people
whose cases were settled
without trials. Some of those
funds were given directly to
victims of crime for whom
Mr. Davies felt sorry, court
heard.
Mr. Davies also drained
a charitable fund linked to
Durham College of almost
$50,000, according to the
statement of facts.
In passing judgment on
what they called a “poignant
and disturbing case,” the
Appeal Court judges noted
Mr. Davies’s commitment to
his role as a Crown pros-
ecutor — a job he took on
after being suspended from
private practice for misap-
propriation of funds in the
early 1990s — and the high
regard in which he was held
by his peers.
The judges also noted
that while Mr. Davies mis-
appropriated thousands of
dollars, the actions were in
large part for the benefit of
others, rather than himself.
“... (Mr. Davies) is a man
with a deep-seated desire
to help others and the bulk
of the proceeds of his mis-
deeds were used by him for
charitable and other similar
purposes,” the judges wrote.
Nevertheless, Mr. Davies’s
offences, particularly the
breaches of trust committed
by a public official, warrant-
ed a jail term, the Appeal
Court ruled.
durhamregion.com THE NEWS ADVERTISER, JULY 8, 2005 PAGE 3 P
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Durham
Former Durham Region Crown receives jail time
By Jeff Mitchell
Staff Writer
DURHAM — Police are trying to
track down the people responsible
for a spate of paintball gun attacks
that have left several people in Dur-
ham Region injured.
As many as 10 separate incidents
have been reported, and several
people injured in the attacks, said
Durham Regional Police Sergeant
Paul McCurbin.
“It’s very disturbing,” Sgt. Mc-
Curbin said. “It could cause a lot of
injury.”
Police have issued an appeal to
the public for help in identifying sev-
eral suspects connected to drive-by
shootings recently in Pickering, Ajax
and Whitby. Victims have provided
varying descriptions of suspects and
the vehicles in which they were trav-
elling, leading police to conclude
they’re dealing with a number of
people, Sgt. McCurbin said.
Police are especially concerned
about a number of incidents in
which people have been hurt:
• On Friday, July 1, a 79-year-
old man was shot while standing
at the end of his driveway on Del-
aney Drive in Ajax. The man, who
sustained a cut on his forearm and
bruising to his hip after being hit
by paintballs, told police he saw a
dark-coloured vehicle approaching
before hearing a bang and being
struck by the projectiles.
• A 6-year-old boy was shot in the
neck while cycling with a 10-year-
old friend on Lax Avenue in Ajax
around 8 p.m., July 3. The young-
ster suffered broken blood vessels
and swelling to his neck, police said.
Suspects are described as two white
males and a white female in a silver
four-door vehicle.
Police are concerned about the
number of incidents they’re dealing
with, and the very real possibility
someone could be seriously hurt,
Sgt. McCurbin said. Anyone caught
shooting at people with the paint-
ball guns could be slapped with
criminal charges, he warned.
Police are also appealing to par-
ents to make sure their kids are
using paintball guns in a safe and
appropriate way.
Anyone with information is asked
to call police at 905-579-1520, or
Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
P PAGE 4 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, JULY 8, 2005 durhamregion.com
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Durham p olice officers alarmed at rising paintball gun attacks
PICKERING — A woman has
been charged and the Children’s
Aid Society contacted after police
officers retrieved an infant from a
sweltering car Tuesday.
Durham Regional Police got a
call about the infant from a con-
cerned passerby around 3 p.m. July
5. Cops responding to the Kings-
ton Road No Frills store found the
six-month-old boy in a baby seat
in the back of a BMW that had its
windows rolled up.
Officers opened an unlocked
rear door to pluck the child from
the humid car interior, police said.
Witnesses told police the child had
been in the car for at least 20 min-
utes before emergency workers
were contacted.
The child’s 28-year-old mother,
who is from Pickering, showed
up moments after the baby was
rescued and was arrested on a
charge of child abandonment. The
CAS was contacted and the baby
was turned over to his father after
being checked out by paramedics.
Pickering baby
plucked from car,
mom charged
Mr. Fox had some re-
quests for the policemen
who escorted him on his
run.
“He didn’t want any mo-
torcycles in front of him
because of the fumes, and
he didn’t want our cars to
be right beside him,” says
Mr. Bodley.
Joining Mr. Fox on his
run for a short while, Mr.
Bodley received a unique
view of the journey that
few shared.
“He had a motorhome
with him, and some staff,”
says Mr. Bodley.
“It was very important
to him that the spot where
he stopped was marked,
and that he’d start run-
ning again from the same
place.”
Mr. Bodley has good
memories of Fox. “It was
very impressive to see him
run. He was just a quiet
kid, and obviously in a
lot of stress, running on
that leg, but he was deter-
mined. When he left St.
John’s he had no doubt he
was going to see Victoria.”
Mr. Bodley’s daughter
Cathi Schoon also has
fond memories of seeing
Mr. Fox run through Pick-
ering Village. At the time
she was just a few days
away from giving birth to
her daughter.
“My mom was getting
her hair done and I was
there with her, and my
dad, who was escorting
him, he called us and told
us he was coming through.
It was nice to be there.”
Mrs. Schoon was struck
by Mr. Fox’s dedication.
“There was a lot of cour-
age and strength that he
had,” she says, recalling
the crowd of people gath-
ered to watch him showed
their support and respect.
“Everyone was cheer-
ing, everyone was behind
him,” she says.
In Pickering, the Terry
Fox Run Committee is pay-
ing tribute to the silver an-
niversary of Mr. Fox’s visit
to the city on July 10, 1980.
Pickering has proclaimed
July 10 as Terry Fox Day
and a rally gets underway
at 11 a.m. at the gazebo in
Esplanade Park, east of the
Pickering Civic Complex.
Te am Terry and several
dignitaries are to be bused
out to Kingston and No-
tion roads and then they
are going to walk back to
the gazebo, retracing that
portion of Mr. Fox’s run
along Kingston Road.
This is to be followed by
guest speakers and a free
Lick’s barbecue lunch. As
well, a large TV is being
set up at the gazebo to
show video of Mr. Fox dur-
ing the event.
durhamregion.com THE NEWS ADVERTISER, JULY 8, 2005 PAGE 5 P
Merle Robillard/ News Advertiser photo
Ajax resident Devon Schoon, left, was born just days after her mother, Cathi Schoon, watched Terry Fox
run through Pickering Village at Kingston Road and Church Street. They returned to the spot this week.
✦ Terry from page 1
Terry Fox was careful
to mark his running spot
members of the taxi indus-
try Thursday morning.
“(They) said it’s the be-
ginning of the unravelling
of what’s going on in the
industry,” he said.
Sales of the phoney
plates may have brought
in more than $250,000; the
taxi operators buying them
believed the transactions
to be legitimate, police
said.
The accused resigned
from the City bylaw de-
partment in October 2003.
“He left for other rea-
sons not connected with
this,” Mr. Quinn said.
The City is continuing
its internal review.
Over the past year “a vast
number of changes” have
been made in the bylaw
department: the City hired
new bylaw officers and a
new manager.
“This will never happen
again,” Mr. Quinn said.
Fraser James Copeland,
45, of Whispi Shore Road
in Lindsay, is charged
with breach of trust and
five counts of fraud over
$5,000.
He is scheduled to ap-
pear in Oshawa court in
Oshawa Aug. 15.
✦ Pickering from page 1
Pickering has been making
changes to bylaw department
Beach postings as of July 4
CLARINGTON
Bowmanville Beach East OPEN
Bowmanville Beach West OPEN
Newcastle Beach Central OPEN
AJAX
Pickering Beach OPEN
Rotary Park POSTED
UXBRIDGE º
Elgin Pond OPEN
WHITBY
Whitby Beach OPEN
OSHAWA
Lakeview Beach East POSTED
Lakeview Beach West POSTED
PICKERING
Frenchman’s Bay East OPEN
Frenchman’s Bay West OPEN
SCUGOG
Kinsmen Beach OPEN
Throughout the summer, the
Durham Region health department
is conducting bacteriological water
tests to determine if the following
beaches are safe for swimming.
P PAGE 6 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, JULY 8, 2005 durhamregion.com
EDITORIAL
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Municipalities
should shake a
PA W and make up
Pickering shouldn’t rule out current
animal services in possibilities
P ickering is continuing its journey toward a future
animal services system that sets it apart from the
current joint program with Ajax and Whitby.
But time is running out.
The current contract ends this year and options are
being explored for other partnerships in providing Pick-
ering’s animal control. The reason comes down to the fact
Whitby wants more funding from its partners due to the
fact the service’s operations are based there.
Pickering isn’t prepared to pay any more then it already
does under the expiring contract and is going elsewhere
instead — not just considering it, but firmly setting its
sights in another direction. Officials are exploring options
with Courtice and Scarborough facilities.
How firm is that stance? In Councillor Bill McLean’s
words: ‘The desire to go back to Whitby is not there’.
Now, if this is rhetoric and posturing as negotiations
continue or even some dialogue is ongoing among Ajax,
Pickering and Whitby to make a deal, bravo. There’s no
better bargaining position to be in than to have an alter-
native ready. At worst, using that as leverage should be
enough of a bargaining chip to get Whitby to back down
from its funding demand. But, it looks as though Pickering
really is opting out of PAW.
And that would be a mistake.
So quickly abandoning the PAW setup is only inviting
uncertainty and growing pains under a new program,
along with the fact nothing has been presented to show it
can be done more cost efficiently.
In addition, the public has not been consulted on which
direction it wants its animal services to go. Public meet-
ings need to be arranged with facts and alternatives laid
out in simple scenarios for people to consider.
In the meantime, Pickering politicians should use the
situation to their advantage and work on a deal with
Whitby to maintain a contract that will be of benefit to the
city.
Whitby and Pickering can check their egos at the door
and together save taxpayers some money and confusion
under any other setup that replaces PAW.
D evelopers’ methods of donating money
to hospital called into question
To the editor:
Re: ‘Developers insist without the permits, there’ll be no
hospital funds,’ News Advertiser, June 29.
It is inspiring to see such philanthropy from developers,
giving back to the community through the hospital. But usu-
ally people don’t demand what they should get first, before
giving back.
And why the rush? No doubt it is to meet an urgent need...
at the hospital.
Glenn Brown,
Pickering
NEWS ADVERTISER
Metroland Durham
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Janice O’Neil, Composing Manager
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sions have been chosen for publica-
tion.
J une was a sweltering month to be
sure.
Unusually, there were 13 days
when the temperature reached or ex-
ceeded 30 C.
Along with the heat and humidity
comes smog, a thick blanket of pol-
luted air that doesn’t just cover the
urban south, but on many days lately
most of Ontario south of Sudbury.
According to the Ontario Medical
Association, 210 Durham residents
will die prematurely this year due to
air pollution.
It’s sadly ironic that after a cold
winter, when we long for warm days in
the summer sun, we’re warned not to
exert ourselves outdoors for much of
the month due to the poor air quality.
The OMA, in the person of Dr. Ted
Boadway, says municipal leaders are
to be commended for initiatives such
as anti-idling bylaws and others that
have a direct impact on the air around
us. He admits that half of our smog
comes from the United States, but
quickly adds that the dirty air closest
to us can be made cleaner if towns and
cities do more.
The United States is not too keen on
helping us out with the problem, as
making factories cleaner would cost
a lot of money and hurt the economy.
So I guess it’s up to us to deal with
the 50 per cent of the smog we can do
something about.
Using less electricity is a good place
to start. At this time of year, it’s light
until around 9 p.m., so leave the lights
off until you need them. I think I’ve
inherited from my grandfather a bit of
an obsession as far as lights are con-
cerned.
He used to walk around the house
turning off all the lights that my grand-
mother had turned on. I can’t stand
to see a light on in an empty room,
or two or three blazing when one will
do.
Air conditioning is a tougher one,
especially when it’s been so humid. I’ll
admit it: I hate the humidity and love
air conditioning. But I’ve been doing
my part this summer, turning it up to
about 80 during the day, 75 when I
get home, and then off all together at
night.
These things help, but our cars are
huge smog creators. The provincial or
federal government should use some
of our tax dollars to introduce a system
where those who take the GO train or
bus to work, or car pool, get some sort
of rebate, an incentive for helping to
reduce smog. The same could apply to
industries that address the problem in
tangible ways.
Smog is killing us and we need to
take it seriously.
Mike Ruta’s column appears every third
Friday. E-mail mruta@durhamregion.
com.
Tackling smog begins at home
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
infodurhamregion.com
Mike
Ruta
staff writer
Scotiabank report
says U.S. and Mexico
gaining ground
By Jillian Follert
Staff Writer
DURHAM — Oshawa still
boasts the most productive car
assembly plant in North America,
but according to a recent report,
the Canadian advantage is nar-
rowing as our neighbours to the
south pick up the pace.
The Canadian Auto Report,
released Tuesday by Scotia Eco-
nomics, indicates that Canadian
productivity — measured by the
number of worker days needed to
assemble a vehicle — improved
one per cent last year to 2.78. This
is a 4.4 per cent advantage over
plants in the United States and
a 24 per cent lead over Mexican
operations.
The annual Harbour Report
released last month placed Os-
hawa’s Plant 1 in first place for
productivity, with 15.85 hours re-
quired to produce a vehicle, while
Plant 2 took fourth place with
17.47 hours.
Despite these impressive stand-
ings, experts warn that the gap be-
tween Canada and its neighbours
is narrowing quickly, compared
to statistics from only a few years
ago.
“Though Canada remains the
North American leader in assem-
bly productivity, the advantage
was much higher in 2001, with
productivity 7.7 per cent above
the average U.S. plant,” said Car-
los Gomes, Scotiabank’s auto in-
dustry specialist. “At that time,
Canada’s assembly facilities were
also roughly 34 per cent more ef-
ficient than plants in Mexico.”
He said this is partly due to
newer, more efficient assembly
plants in the American south and
a $5 billion (U.S.) investment in
the Mexican auto industry, since
2003.
According to the report, the
narrowing of this gap, combined
with the 27 per cent appreciation
of the Canadian dollar against
U.S. currency since 2002, have re-
duced the competitive advantage
of Canada’s auto industry to less
that $250 (U.S.) per vehicle com-
pared with $400 (U.S.) three years
ago.
durhamregion.com THE NEWS ADVERTISER, JULY 8, 2005 PAGE 7 A/P
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FROM $21,900
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A HYUNDAI LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE
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The All New 2006 SonataThe All New 2006 Sonata
ATTENTION
OWNER/
OPERATORS!
PREMIERING
Saturday, July 9
9 am - 4 pm
Durham Truck
& Equipment
Sales & Service
610 Finley Ave., Ajax
(off Bayly or Westney)
“Refreshments“
Monday & Tuesday,
July 11 & 12
At the FIFTH WHEEL
Bowmanville
(exit Waverly)DURHAM TRUCK & EQUIPMENT SALES & SERVICE
Durham’s GM plants best in North America, but gap is narrowing
By Jillian Follert
Staff Writer
DURHAM — Compact cars and
small sport utility vehicles were
the driving force behind a sig-
nificant sales increase at General
Motors (GM) Canada last month,
giving the beleaguered company
a boost after months of declining
numbers and layoff anxiety.
According to figures released
this week, the company sold
43,307 vehicles in June, up 19.1
per cent from the same time last
year. Passenger car sales were up
24.2 per cent and truck sales in-
creased 14.4 per cent.
“Nineteen per cent is quite dra-
matic,” said GM spokesman Rich-
ard James.
“For a company like ours that
sells hundreds of thousands of
vehicles, that represents a signifi-
cant number.”
Mr. James said the change can
mostly be attributed to the com-
pany’s recent focus on smaller ve-
hicles like the Chevrolet Aveo and
Cobalt, and the Pontiac Pursuit.
These tend to sell especially well
in Canada where higher taxes cut
into discretionary income and
fuel is more expensive.
A summer promotion that took
advantage of soaring gas prices,
also helped the company attract
customers. In June, GM Canada
gave customers a card that en-
titled them to 20 cents off each
litre of gas up to 2,500 litres for a
potential value of $500.
“In an environment with high
gas prices, these types of incen-
tives really drive traffic to the
dealerships,” Mr. James said. “It’s
something that lets customers
see the reward of their purchase
every time they go to the pump.”
June was also a strong month
south of the border, where GM
sold a staggering 550,829 vehi-
cles, for an increase of 46.9 per
cent. This spike came on the heels
of the company’s new “Employee
Discount for Everyone” program,
which offers consumers the same
discount that GM employees re-
ceive, plus any other rebates.
The June figures bring GM Can-
ada sales up 4.5 per cent for the
first half of 2005 and give officials
hope that the second half of the
year will be a good one.
In addition to last month’s an-
nouncement of 25,000 planned
layoffs at GM Corp., the year got
off to a rocky start with tempo-
rary layoffs at the Oshawa plants,
bankruptcy rumours and slow
sales in May, which is tradition-
ally the biggest selling month of
the year for dealers.
In contrast, the company also
took home prestigious awards for
quality and efficiency and is re-
porting good consumer response
to this year’s new models.
“Our portfolio of new vehicles
is already gaining momentum
with Canadian consumers...” said
Mark Comeau, vice president of
sales, service and marketing.
Key factors help GM sales jump Get your Durham Region community news at durhamregion.com
A/P PAGE 8 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, JULY 8, 2005 durhamregion.com
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Enter the Durham Region Transit Logo Contest for your chance to win
$250.00 and a transit pass for a year!
The Region of Durham is in need of a logo for the new Durham Region Transit
system, effective January 1, 2006. The Durham Region Transit Logo Contest is
open to all individuals 18 years of age or older who live or work in Durham
Region.
Deadline for submissions is 4:30 p.m. on Friday, July 29, 2005. For complete
contest details, please visit www.region.durham.on.ca/transitlogocontest.
Send Contest Entries To:
Durham Region Transit Logo Contest
c/o Transit Communications Working Group, Selection Committee
Regional Municipality of Durham Headquarters
605 Rossland Road East
Whitby, ON L1N 6A3
The Regional Municipality of Durham
605 Rossland Road East, WHITBY ON L1N 6A3
Telephone (905) 668-7711 or 1-800-372-1102
www.region.durham.on.ca
DURHAM REGION TRANSIT
LOGO CONTEST
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