Toronto to replace van attack memorials

Yorkregion.com
June 3, 2018
The Canadian Press

Thousands of cards, photos and flowers dedicated to the victims of a deadly van attack were dismantled by city staff at an event in Toronto on Sunday, to be replaced with a permanent memorial.

Mayor John Tory was in attendance as the impromptu dedications left in the days after the April 23 attack were taken down.

He says the items will be placed in storage until the city comes up with an appropriate way to display them.

For now, the makeshift monuments along Yonge Street in north Toronto have been replaced with a temporary plaque, but Tory says the city will eventually erect something permanent.

Ten people were killed and another 16 were injured when a van jumped the curb and ran over multiple pedestrians on the sidewalk.

A 25-year-old man from Richmond Hill, Ont., faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder in the incident. His case has been put over until September.

"A sombre and heartfelt tribute this afternoon to all the victims of the Yonge Street van attack, as we decommissioned the makeshift memorials at Olive Square Park and Mel Lastman Square," Tory said in a tweet on Sunday afternoon.

"The city is working with residents and the community to plan an appropriate permanent memorial to honour and remember the victims of this attack."