Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is taking action to eliminate speed cameras in his province. Opinions are divided on the devices.
Some say they’re a good safety tool while others consider them wasted tax dollars, especially in light of 17 cameras being vandalized in just one week.
“Because enough is enough,” declared Ford.
“In a few weeks our government will introduce legislation to ban speed cameras in Ontario to protect taxpayers and drivers and stop them from being gouged,” announced Ford.
Ford for months has voiced his opposition to speed cameras, calling them a cash grab by municipalities who use them. He says he will offer alternative ways of slowing down traffic such as speed bumps and larger signs with flashing lights.
Some mayors like Steven Del Ducca of Vaughan support Ford’s move. Del Ducca has already said he would get rid of the cameras in his jurisdiction. But Toronto mayor Olivia Chow is fighting back, saying Ford is making the wrong decision, arguing that studies have shown they slow traffic and save lives.
Carolyn Parrish, the mayor of Mississauga, agrees.
“We also have it only during school hours. And we also put it in areas where we’ve had lots of speeding tickets given, and some accidents,” Parrish said. “I think the parents are going to be very upset. For every single person who gets a ticket and calls and yells and screams we get ten or twenty parents at a meeting that will say ‘thank you very much for putting them up.’”
Chow says roads will be less safe and instead of using money from speeders breaking the law, the province wants law abiding taxpayers to pay for road safety.
Given Ford’s majority in the Ontario Legislature, passage of the ban is expected. Under a new law, 700 speed cameras would be removed in 40 municipalities across Ontario.
