Latest news with #RobLewis
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
26-year-old faces stunt driving charge in northern Ont.
A steering wheel and speedometer is seen in this undated stock photo. (Malte Luk/ A 26-year-old driver from Markstay faces a stunt driving charge after Ontario Provincial Police stopped a vehicle last week – allegedly travelling more than 70 km/h than the posted speed limit in Wahnapitae. On June 28, police observed the vehicle going 161 km/h in a 90 km/h zone on Highway 17. Authorities subsequently laid a stunt driving charge, triggering an automatic 14-day vehicle impoundment and a 30-day licence suspension under provincial law. STUNT DRIVING - HWY 17 - JUNE 28 A 52-year-old driver from Markstay faces a stunt driving charge after Ontario Provincial Police stopped a vehicle allegedly travelling 161 km/h in 90 zone in Wahnapitae on June 28, 2025. As a result the vehicle was impounded for 14 days. (Ontario Provincial Police/Facebook) The accused is also scheduled to appear in traffic court at a later date. 'Slow down (and) drive safe,' said OPP Const. Rob Lewis in a social media post detailing the incident.
Wales Online
26-06-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
WRU reveal strong UK and overseas interest in Cardiff Rugby as more than five bidders emerge
WRU reveal strong UK and overseas interest in Cardiff Rugby as more than five bidders emerge The union is looking to sell the Arms Park club have acquired it out of administration in April A general view of Cardiff Arms Park (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd ) The WRU says it has received strong early interest as it seeks to sell Cardiff Rugby having acquired it out of administration back in April. The union said that more than five credible potential bidders for the club emerged ahead of a deadline set last month for submitting expressions of interest. While for reasons of commercial sensitivity their identity cannot be disclosed, they include UK-based and overseas parties. The union has also launched a process to appoint a new independent chair of the Arms Park-based club. The assets of the club were acquired by the union in a pre-pack deal with joint administrators from PwC Rob Lewis and Ross Connock. The club was put into administration by its former board following the failure of its owners in the directors Helford Capital, as regional principal investors, to make up a trading shortfall of around £1.2m. The WRU commissioned a fit and proper person and financial assessment of the directors of Jersey-based Helford Capital, in Neal Griffith and Phil Kempe, before they acquired the club back in January, 2024. While that assessment, which cost around £50,000 and was carried out by London-based advisory firm Thorium, concluded they had the necessary financial liquidity, they failed to adhere to the legal agreement by underwriting funding losses as the assigned benefactors under the funding deal between the union and the regions in Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) 2023. Article continues below The WRU has launched a structural review of the professional game, which could potentially see the number of regions reduced from the current four, to three or potentially two. Cardiff, who are privately owned, and the Dragons, agreed to the new five-year funding deal with the WRU under the so-called PRA 2025. The Ospreys and the Scarlets declined to sign, citing concerns over the WRU would turn Cardiff into a "super region", which will require the union to have to inject an additional projected £1.2m over the next year as its now assigned regional principal investor. While the Dragons and Cardiff will see their funding from the WRU increase incrementally over the next five years having signed PRA 25, the Ospreys and Scarlets will remain on the inferior funding deal of PRA 23, which has two more years to run. It is understood that the Ospreys and the Scarlets are now considering legal action against the union. Their argument would hinge around a claim of an abuse of power with the union providing more favourable financial treatment to Cardiff and the regions not being consulted ahead of them acquiring the assets of the collapsed club out of administration at a cost of £780,000. Under the PRA 23 agreement if one of the regions collapsed the remaining three were liable to take on debts owed to the union, although benefiting from an increase in funding. However, any legal challenge could cost millions of pounds. Richard Collier-Keywood. (Image: Ben Evans/Huw Evans Agency ) On the strong interest in Cardiff, which doesn't mean interested parties will make formal bids, chairman of the WRU Richard Collier-Keywood said: 'There are more than five and quite a broad spectrum of people who have indicated interest. This shows that quite a few people are seeing this as a valuable opportunity, which is very positive for Welsh rugby. As well as being UK-based, there is also some international dimension. We are really interested in people who want a vibrant rugby club and people with a proven ability to put Welsh rugby first.' A formal sales process, which is expected to see the union appointing a corporate advisory firm, will not be launched until the union is able to set out a new structure for the professional game in Wales and a window for any improved counter bid to its takeover of the assets of Cardiff to the joint administrators, expires. Any improved offer deemed in the best interest of creditors, would have to be lodged by July 9. It is understood that Mr Lewis and Mr Connock have not received any counter bids with the focus being on the WRU's own sales process. As a secured creditor the WRU could block any improved offer to the administrators that didn't take on the £6m in debt finance from NatWest that the WRU had arranged and passed through to Cardiff before its administration. Mr Collier-Keywood added: 'I wouldn't buy Cardiff unless I knew what the future structure for Welsh rugby was going to look like. That process will take place after we have made a determination on what the right structure is going forward and the counter bid deadline with the joint administrators expires. The current Cardiff company, which we own, does not have any precedent in that process so has no inside track in relation to it. "We are bound to treat it entirely independently. We have also now officially started the search for an independent chair, as we promised we would.' The union will be looking for any new owner of Cardiff Rugby to take on the £6m debt owed to it by the former club. However, whether bidders would have an appetite to acquire a business that remains loss-making and will require additional investment even with the increased PRA 25 funding, with that debt attached, remains to be seen. While not an administration process, global drinks brand Red Bull have just concluded a deal to acquire the Newcastle Falcons in the English Premiership with its £39m debt liability. Could a major brand be interested in Cardiff? Possibly. Bidders could also potentially look to acquire development rights at the ground in a new long-term lease with the owner of the Arms Park, Cardiff Athletic Club. The WRU has projected into its planned refinancing of its existing debt £30m owed to the Welsh Government and NatWest, an option whereby the £6m liability taken on by a new owner could be repaid over the long term. As part of the marketing of the club, the WRU has also been talking to global diaspora organisation Global Welsh. On the current position with the Ospreys and the Scarlets, Mr Collier-Keywood said: 'We were very clear on the night of April 9 when we did the deal (for Cardiff) that we only intended to hold this temporarily and we have repeated that in all the communications to everybody who has asked us that question. That is why we are going ahead with appointing an independent chair at Cardiff as we are trying to treat it as independently as possible and recognising that we act in two roles under the PRA; one as the WRU, but also under the ownership deed as the regional principal benefactor holder.' Having not signed up to PRA 25, Mr Collier-Keywood reaffirmed that there would be no rowing back with regards the Ospreys and the Scarlets. He said: 'That has gone and not necessarily for the reason that we cannot afford that, but it is a system's issue whereby we got four people around a table with you who are meant to wear a Welsh rugby hat first of all, as a fiduciary duty of a sub committee of the WRU board (PRB which includes representatives from the regions) and ourselves. My observation is that has just not worked. And I have sympathy for them and it is not as if they are bad people, but if they are also fighting for survival or to thrive as a club, it is very hard for them to put that Welsh rugby hat on, but that is what the system requires them to do at the moment. "If you read what Abi (CEO Abi Tierney) said originally about it, we went to four originally because we thought that was the simplest way to get it done quickly, so we could then start to talk about what the future structure of rugby was. Of course if four and the systems had worked then we wouldn't be now looking to do another review of that. However, that has not worked obviously because not everyone is signed up to it.' On the threat of any legal action, the chairman said: 'We want to take people with us as those people have made huge investments over many years into Welsh rugby.' The chairman was asked as part of its structural review whether any consideration would be made to changing the current geographical footprint of the existing regions - all located within a 60-mile radius - like moving one to north Wales? The former UK managing partner of PwC said: 'Everything is on the table as far as I am concerned and key to this is making sure that we get our academies and pathways right. It all has to come together. We were hoping to do this with everyone on PRA 25 originally. If that had worked from December 2024 then fine we would be in a different place today, but it didn't work so then we had to do the review we thought we had to do.' While stressing that as part of the structure review a WRU-owned Cardiff would not be treated favourably, it is highly unlikely that a team would not have a presence in the capital. The union's new performance director will have a key role in overseeing the new structure. Article continues below The WRU's Dave Reddin (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd ) Mr Collier-Keywood, who was born in Nottingham but whose later mother hailed from Maesteg, said: 'The other person who will be heavily involved in this will be David Reddin, who officially starts on July 1, although that doesn't mean he isn't doing anything with us at the moment. We want Dave fully involved in this process as ultimately that will be a massive part of his role going forward. "He needs to take a bit of time to get to grips with this. And if everyone agrees with where he and Abi arrive, then it could be done relatively quickly. If we don't agree then of course it will take longer as we will need to make sure we go through a robust data-led process in terms of why we conclude what we conclude. However if we cannot (get agreement) it ultimately would be the responsibility of the WRU board to make a decision.'
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Four serious crashes on northern highways this week involved CMVs
Highway 17 bypass closed between Kingsway and Hwy 69 junction after fatal head-on crash between two transports in Greater Sudbury on June 13. A surge in serious collisions on northern highways this week all involved commercial motor vehicles, and three involved large transport trucks. On Monday, a driver was airlifted to hospital in Sudbury following a three-vehicle crash on Highway 17. On Wednesday, a 69-year-old man from Ottawa died in a crash on Highway 69 near Pointe Au Baril. On Thursday, Highway 6 was closed following a serious two-vehicle collision involving a commercial box van. On Friday, Highway 17 was closed for more than 12 hours following a fatal collision involving two transports. OPP Const. Rob Lewis said each driving season brings its own hazards, but the warm weather brings more concerns. More concerns in summer 'Wintertime, we have to worry about weather conditions,' Lewis told CTV News. 'Summertime, we have to worry about the increase in volumes of traffic due to vacations, children out of school, and a lot of people from out of the country travelling. Road construction is at its highest. Therefore, there are going to be many delays. So there's a lot more concerns in (summer) than in the wintertime.' So far this year, he said the northeast region is seeing an increase in fatal collisions. 'For 2025, we have a total of 16 collisions ... In 2024, we had a total of 31 collisions for the whole year. So the number for 2025 is increasing a lot.' — OPP Const. Rob Lewis 'To date in 2024, we've had 11 fatal collisions,' Lewis said. 'For 2025, we have a total of 16 collisions ... In 2024, we had a total of 31 collisions for the whole year. So the number for 2025 is increasing a lot.' He said the most common cause of a road collision is a driver losing control of their vehicle. 'The second is usually unknown and that usually applies to an individual single motor vehicle accident,' Lewis said. Many near misses 'Third would be excessive speed and then attentive driving to the road conditions and what's going on around them.' Patrick Roberts, the Mayor of Smooth Rock Falls, said road safety is a long-term source of frustration, particularly the conduct of many tractor-trailer drivers. 'People are dying on the highways,' Roberts said. 'I'm so sorry for those families and everything that's happened to them. But nobody's even talking about the near misses.' He said there are likely 'a thousand' incidents every day that just narrowly miss becoming a serious crash. At the root of many of those, he said, are heavy trucks.
CTV News
29-05-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Northern Ont. motorist charged with stunt driving after being clocked at more than 150km/h
Ontario Provincial Police clocked a West Nipissing motorist travelling 154km/h in a 90km/h zone on Highway 17 on May 27, 2025. The driver was charged with stunt driving, received a licence suspension and the vehicle was impounded for 14-days. (Ontario Provincial Police/Facebook) Ontario Provincial Police charged a 69-year-old local driver with stunt driving after a traffic stop on Highway 17 in West Nipissing this week. Officers stopped the vehicle on May 27, for travelling 154 km/h in a posted 90 km/h zone. In addition to the charge, the local motorist received a 30-day licence suspension, and the vehicle involved was impounded for 14 days. The accused is scheduled to appear in court at a later date. Under provincial law, if convicted, penalties could include a fine of $2,000 to $10,000, a licence suspension of one to three years, and up to six months in jail. The driver would also face six demerit points, higher insurance costs, and a mandatory driver improvement course – or licence cancellation. 'Slow down, (and) drive safe,' said OPP Const. Rob Lewis in a related social media post.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Unlicensed North Bay motorist charged with stunt driving after traffic stop
An undated image of a vehicle's internal speedometer accelerating beyond 100km/h. (File photo/plusphoto/GettyImages) Ontario Provincial Police in West Nipissing charged a 33-year-old North Bay driver with stunt driving and other offences after a traffic stop on Highway 17 earlier this month. Officers stopped the vehicle on May 17, for travelling 106 km/h in a posted 50 km/h zone. The driver was also charged with operating a motor vehicle not equipped with a required ignition interlock device, driving without a licence and driving without insurance. In addition to the charges, the motorist received a 30-day driver's licence suspension, and the vehicle involved was impounded for 14 days. The accused is scheduled to appear in court at a later date. Under provincial law, if convicted, penalties could include a fine of $2,000 to $10,000, a licence suspension of one to three years, and up to six months in jail. The driver would also face six demerit points, higher insurance costs, and a mandatory driver improvement course – or licence cancellation. 'Slow down, (and) drive safe,' said OPP Const. Rob Lewis in a related social media post.
