Toronto city councillors are pushing back hard against Premier Doug Ford’s proposal to scrap automated speed enforcement cameras, warning the move would put children and vulnerable road users at greater risk. At a Friday meeting, members of the city’s infrastructure committee voted to support a motion from Mayor Olivia Chow affirming the city’s commitment to speed cameras while also adopting reforms to strengthen the program.
“If you’re going to take away the cameras, you’re endangering the life of children,” said Councillor Mike Colle, noting that most of Toronto’s cameras are installed near schools. He added that speeding and traffic safety remain the top concerns raised by residents, and ignoring those concerns would be “a dereliction of duty.”
Chow’s motion not only reinforced support for the cameras but also called for the city to notify every household within 500 metres of a device that it could be removed, while demanding a formal explanation from the province. The reforms would limit repeat tickets by ensuring drivers cannot receive multiple citations from the same camera within seven days, and would expand signage to increase visibility.
Citing a SickKids study, the motion emphasized that speed cameras have reduced speeding in school zones by 45 per cent and cut down on the most dangerous cases of excessive speeding. “Doing away with the ASE would be a mistake that will hurt communities in Toronto and across Ontario,” Chow said.
Ford, who initially authorized the rollout of the cameras in 2019, argued this week that the technology doesn’t deter drivers, pointing to the number of tickets issued as evidence. His comments drew swift backlash from councillors. Rachel Chernos Lin called his stance “disappointing” and an abandonment of data-driven policy, while Diane Saxe labeled it “anti-science, anti-safety and anti-city.”
Colle suggested Ford’s shift was motivated by pressure from “whack jobs in the conspiracy theory world,” while Councillor James Pasternak countered Ford’s claim that cities use the cameras for a “quick buck,” pointing out that provincial penalties for extreme speeding are far steeper than anything imposed by municipalities.
“This is a reckless, thoughtless political response,” Colle said, underscoring the consensus among councillors that the cameras are one of the city’s most effective safety tools.
A separate motion to review the city’s ticket appeals process also passed. Both measures will go to a full council vote in early October, setting up a direct clash between Toronto and the Ford government over the future of automated speed enforcement.