As the debate over speed cameras ensued, everyone was waiting to see what Premier Doug Ford’s new legislation to ban the practice looked like.
Then the shoe dropped. It was inevitable. As a friend often laments, “if it can be done, it will be done.”
Instead of dinging speeders with a ticket, the premier posited that cameras could be converted into crime fighting tools. Jurisdictions around the globe have been at this for some time, using technology to surveil people in their neighbourhoods and public spaces.
In Australia great debates rage on privacy and the government’s use of AI to assess tickets on drivers without a seatbelt, caught on their phone and, of course, speeding. Similar reports have surfaced in the U.S., where private firms have entrenched themselves in the law-and-order field.
These examples demonstrate the slippery slope conversation that we purposely avoided when deployment of speed cameras took root here because expounding a conspiracy narrative can come across as paranoid.
But here we are.
When mentioned on the sly with local lawmakers, we floated the idea of surveillance and protection of personal privacy. Admittedly, it sounded a little out there. But, the premier has confirmed what we already knew: monitoring citizens is possible and cameras are the start. Think of it as speed cameras 2.0, where a few tweaks in the program can empower greater surveillance. Without well considered regulations, we are heading down a road of lost freedom and privacy.
The UK is often cited as an example of a democracy where cameras are effectively used. China arguably is another jurisdiction, although Communist and authoritarian, where citizens are tracked and, in egregious cases, are rounded up for crimes – perceived or otherwise.
In a gesture of candour, one politician far more experienced in such nuances, flat out said that the privacy we personally seek and wish to maintain disappeared long ago. Technology, chiefly the smartphone, has rendered citizens captive to tech giants. While that observation did hit home and caused the flag to wilt a little, surely we aren’t at the shoulder-shrug phase yet? An exasperated “oh well” needs to be replaced with a defiant “hell no.”
Citizens need to speak up now that the shoe has dropped.
Speed, cameras and you
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that speed cameras have turned into a love-hate deal.
It’s just another issue in an increasingly polarized world.
A news release from the office of the premier dated Sept. 25 proclaims, “Ontario protecting taxpayers by banning municipal speeds cameras.” That release was issued before the topic above was disclosed. A former Toronto traffic cop, Sean Shapiro, wrote an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail with the headline “As a former traffic cop, I see the evidence first-hand – speed cameras aren’t a tax grab, they make our cities safer.”
As of 2019, 40 of Ontario’s 444 municipalities have installed over 700 speed cameras. The legislation is fairly prescriptive in that camera locations are limited to designated safety zones. In the premier’s release, transportation minister Prabmeet Sarkaria defined speed cameras “as nothing more than a tool for raising revenue.” Shapiro, on the other hand, quotes numerous agencies endorsing speed cameras as saving lives. He also noted the only people complaining are the ones who got tickets, which in itself is rich hyperbole with no basis in fact. Approximately 25% of Ontario drivers have been ticketed by automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras.
It’s time to figure out a consensus to a problem that is out of control. People drive far too fast.
Historically that problem was dealt with by specialty traffic units designed to target hot spots and slow people down. Along with a fine, demerit points were applied to the most serious offenders. In order to nail bad drivers harder, community safety zones were established where fines doubled.
Other spots, speeds were artificially lowered in the hopes drivers would slow down to an acceptable overage and, if caught, face fines and points against their license. Somewhere along the way (we suspect it was during the COVID-19 years) police enforcement of driving offences was curtailed.
Facing significant complaints and a deaf ear from the OPP, county councillors here decided to deploy ASE. As provided to us, speeding charges from Oct. 31, 2023 to Oct. 31, 2024 in the community safety zone on Trafalgar Road in Hillsburgh netted four charges by the OPP. During the months of July and August of 2025, ASE issued 15,972 tickets. There can be no question that a significant problem exists.
Instead of leaning on associations and prestigious institutions like Sick Kids or The Metropolitan University studies to drive fears over safety in school zones, let’s just get real with the facts. Drivers are out of control, the cops aren’t in control and something needs to be done.
Speed limits are not suggestions, they are the limit. In recent weeks we have heard many people talking about it being okay doing 90 or 95km/h in an 80 zone. Time and place being considerations, but according to the law, driving in excess of the posted limit is breaking the law. This lackadaisical view on speed limits is made all the worse in town when drivers fail to yield or slow down defensively when they should.
The ASE program in Wellington does provide a little leeway before tickets are issued, which again isn’t honouring the actual speed limit. Imagine the number of tickets if the fine kicked in at the correct speed. Again, speeding is the problem and while cameras define a moment in time, on a limited stretch of road, more resources are needed to combat this epidemic that exists everywhere.
A recent road trip to eastern Ontario provided exposure to highways 407 and 401. Speeds topped 150km/h, with an average around 130. With all that happening it was scary to see drivers passing on the right to steer around a driver fully distracted with a smart phone in the middle lane.
We believe more police officers need to be deployed in traffic management units. The cost will be heavy, but there really is no other way to get aggressive drivers off the road. Distracted driving, unsafe vehicles, failing to run with daytime lights, reckless driving, illegally tinted windows, driving under the influence, running red lights and failing to stop at signed intersections – these are all items that need attention by way of fines and demerit points issued roadside by qualified officers. Bad drivers have been allowed to be bad for too long. It’s time to crack down on offenders.
But, perhaps the greatest need of all is a return to civility and respect on the roads for fellow drivers. Be courteous, anticipate hazards and drive defensively.
Do your part to make roads safer and encourage those around you to do the same.
