It takes a bit to pull a fast one on a farmer.
Pre-amalgamation (in the waning years of the 1990s) county council had its share of councillors who either farmed or came off the farm. That observation is neither a slight nor an absolute endorsement, but it recognizes a simpler time when talk was far more practical.
The speaker escapes us, but a fancy report landed on the council table one night and its concluding recommendation was uninspiring, prompting the observation that council should have saved the consulting fees and just figured it out themselves.
It was the next part that always stuck with us – something to the effect of having great local people in our midst, but councils tend to seek someone over 100km away to provide advice. Experts from afar. That mindset continues today.
Back in April, Toronto’s deputy mayor Paul Ainslie submitted a letter about red light cameras and automated speed enforcement (ASE). Out of an 800-word letter, one sentence directly related to Wellington County’s ASE pilot project with speed cameras. It was clearly a puff piece and its arrival was suspicious, so it was filed.
A couple weeks ago, the letter resurfaced, but this time it was cc’d by email to Gregg Davidson, county councillor and Mayor of Mapleton Township. Davidson also chairs the county roads committee and was the primary driver behind bringing speed cameras to Wellington. He also revealed not long ago that the pilot would become permanent (residents will have to wait and see if county council has the same conviction).
Sensing something was off, our editor inquired why Toronto’s second in command might have an interest in Wellington County road safety and its adoptions of ASE. There has been no reply from Ainslie’s office. A quick search yielded no results for other occasions where Ainslie commented on decisions outside Toronto.
Times have indeed changed, but it used to be a custom in municipal circles to stay in your lane and let other elected people run the show in their jurisdiction. It wasn’t that long ago Toronto councillors decried Premier Doug Ford getting involved in their bike lanes and other municipal matters.
Our local readers have had plenty to say about excessive speed and enforcement by digital cameras. Some welcome the reduction in speed and others have railed against surveillance and the costly nature of tickets. We can talk through our own issues in Wellington County, without the help of Ainslie.
In reviewing countless stories province wide, one thing has become crystal clear: the advocates of ASE share the same talking points, rationale and methodology. It’s like a big marketing roll-out.
Were the program simply about speeding and safety, a far gentler approach would have been taken with drivers. Were the program all about student and pedestrian safety, functional times would have been set.
To date, millions have been yanked from the pockets of drivers here. If that isn’t bad enough, the sticking point, particularly for business owners we have talked with, is millions of those dollars have flowed to a private corporation from Alberta for performing the task. The experience here has been mirrored across the province. The public is being gamed.
Digital entrepreneurs will no doubt cheer for a company leveraging public assets, paid for by Wellington taxpayers, with few nickels of their own invested. It seems to be a thing nowadays.
Residents are still none the wiser in terms of what commitments and promises were made. The contract signed for ASE service remains a mystery. A freedom of information request netted more blacked-out pages than legible ones. Non-disclosure components of the agreement make it virtually impossible to know the exact split after the victim surcharge and provincial data fee was paid.
As reported previously, there is every appearance it is around half to the county and half to the service provider. That’s good money if indeed they are getting it. Who signs up and gives away the farm – knowingly?
Even the premier, whose minister created the legislation to permit speed surveillance in community zones in the first place, has suggested the concept has turned into a money grab. He isn’t wrong and despite the spin of some politicians close to home and miles away, speed traps like these are just another form of tax.
It’s time for this tool to be reeled in by the province.
