As speed cameras are turned off in Toronto and across Ontario, the city’s mayor is asking the provincial government to promise more funding to replace the program, suggesting there could be job cuts at city hall.
On Friday morning, automated speed enforcement programs in the province officially came to an end after a lightning-fast bill from the Ford government forbade their use on city streets.
Premier Doug Ford has, for the past three months, railed against the cameras, saying they don’t work and calling them a municipal “cash grab.”
A study from SickKids hospital disagrees with that assertion, finding that speeding was reduced by 45 per cent in Toronto. Some mayors, school boards and police leaders have also pushed back.
Ford, however, has been unwavering in his plan to replace the cameras, which caught cabinet ministers’ vehicles speeding more than 20 times.
The day before the ban officially came into place, the government unveiled $210 million for cities to install speed bumps, roundabouts and flashing signs instead.
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Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, however, said the money fell short of what her city would need to replace the money it will lose now that speed cameras have stopped issuing tickets.
“We have to lay off — and fire, I guess — the 100 workers that do the work (on speed camera tickets),” she said. “Severance pay, for example, it’s a tremendous amount of money.”
She said her city would be at least $40 million to $50 million short on its road safety budget, without speed camera revenue.
“Will we see any of that money? I don’t know,” she said. “We hope to see a portion of it. Is it enough? Nowhere near enough.”
The ban now in place on automated speed cameras completes a whirlwind push from the Ford government against automated speed enforcement, which began in early September.
That was when Ford began railing against the devices and musing about how to remove them, calling them a “tax grab” and telling reporters he didn’t believe they would work.
The push to ban speed cameras has been welcomed by some mayors — including Steven Del Duca of Vaughan — but has faced pushback from others.
The legislation effectively reverses a law introduced in 2017 by now-Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca when he was Ontario Liberal transportation minister.
The law was enacted by Ford’s government in December 2019. At that time, it introduced the regulations required to let cities start issuing fines.
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