\u201cWhile the Town does not agree with every assessment or conclusion contained in the review, the Town accepts the need for improvement identified through the process and is developing an action plan to respond to the review\u2019s recommendations,\u201d said the Town. \u201cThe full review (subject to necessary legal redactions), including the complete list of recommendations, will be released September 15 on the Town\u2019s website.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The results of the investigation were initially expected to be released by the end of July, leading to Heiniu\u2019s family \u2013 and community advocates who rallied around them \u2013 to call for greater transparency in the process and swifter action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heiniu\u2019s death in East Gwillimbury on May 4, while being restrained on catch poles by Aurora Animal Control officers, has been subject to significant community mobilization both within and beyond Aurora with \u201cJustice for Heiniu\u201d signs being placed on lawns and in windows throughout Aurora and East Gwillimbury and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several peaceful protests and rallies have been held outside Town Hall and at the Wellington Street East and John West Way intersections, with another set for September 12, calling for justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advocates have appeared at the podium in Council Chambers calling for answers while, earlier this summer, protestors demonstrated inside the building during a virtual Council meeting attended in person by Councillors Ron Weese, Wendy Gaertner, and John Gallo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Canine Foundations team investigating the matter, the Town notes, included former animal cruelty investigators and control officers, animal behaviour specialists, and a veterinarian specializing in animal behaviour and welfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the Friday announcement, Mayor Tom Mrakas welcomed the findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis has been one of the most heartbreaking challenges our community has faced,\u201d said Mrakas in a statement. \u201cRegrettably, a review of this scope takes time. If we truly want a clear understanding of what transpired, we must allow a review team the time and resources to gather the evidence, speak to those involved, review the facts and reach conclusions without political interference or outside pressure. I believe doing it right is more important than doing it fast. The timing also placed considerable pressure on members of Council to respond. On the direct advice from our Solicitor, and consistent with the professional advice of Town staff, all members of Council were directed not to comment until the review was complete, so I am only now able to share my thoughts. Unfortunately, a small, vocal group demanded immediate answers and pressured Council, and me as Mayor, to set aside due process. That is not something any responsible leader should do. Leaders should follow the law, respect due process, and make decisions based on facts and evidence\u2014not emotion, political or social media pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the Town\u2019s statement did not address whether the animal control officers in question were still employed by the Town of Aurora, Council was set to convene in Closed Session at press time this week to discuss \u201cidentifiable individuals\u2026 and advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAny potential criminal matter is for the police to investigate,\u201d Mrakas continued. \u201cThe Mayor and Council do not direct or interfere with police investigations, nor should we. Now the focus is on implementing necessary changes and reinforcing public confidence in the safety of our Animal Services team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis incident has affected much of our community. I want to express my appreciation to everyone who understood that respecting the process is not the same as ignoring what happened, and who allowed the process to proceed as it should while still expecting accountability. You can demand accountability while still respecting the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Brock Weir A full report on the death of Heiniu, an East Gwillimbury rottweiler that died during an animal control call involving Aurora officers in May, is expected to be released Tuesday, September 15. The timeline was announced Friday by the Town of Aurora, following the completion of an investigation into the incident carried out by Canine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-headline_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-a6U","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-17 13:56:22","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38868"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38869,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38868\/revisions\/38869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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