Canadian finance minister, who does not own a car, fined for speeding

Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland attends a news conference before delivering the federal budget in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

OTTAWA, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, an avid cyclist who says she does not own a car, was fined C$273 ($200) for speeding in her home province of Alberta, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Freeland was caught driving 132 km/hr (82 mph) between the towns of Grande Prairie and Peace River and has paid the ticket in full, her spokesperson Katherine Cuplinskas said.

The news was first broken by the Counter Signal website.

Cuplinskas did not say when the incident occurred and what the speed limit had been on that stretch of road. The maximum speed limit on Alberta highways is 110 km/hr.

Freeland is a legislator who represents a parliamentary constituency in central Toronto, Canada's largest city, and is often photographed on her bike.

"A fact that still shocks my dad is that I don't actually own a car," she told reporters last month.

"I walk, I take the subway. My kids walk and ride their bikes and take the subway – it's actually healthier for our family," she said.

Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Sonali Paul

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