The Ford government’s automated speed enforcement legislation will become law just two weeks after it was first introduced, compelling municipalities to remove speed cameras before roundabouts, speed bumps and flashing lights have been installed.
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said an omnibus red tape bill, which includes the speed camera ban, will receive royal assent next Monday, with municipalities then required to remove the cameras by Nov. 14.
He said the provincial government would pay for — and provide — temporary signs for cities to put up when the cameras are removed and would eventually help to install infrastructure changes.
“Ultimately, we’ll have temporary signage, larger signage that will be installed before the 14th in all of the municipal speed camera-impacted zones,” he said.
“And we’ll continue to work with municipalities on future funding throughout the next couple of weeks on additional measures they can take to improve traffic calming measures.”
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Critics said the government had rammed through the legislation, which bypassed the committee process entirely, and risks making roads around schools less safe.
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“I’m very worried about what’s going to happen when they remove any of those controls,” Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said. “There’s lots of different things we can do certainly to slow people down.”
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said if the government insisted on removing the cameras, it should “have all the other traffic calming measures installed first.”
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Forcing cities to remove speed cameras by Nov. 14 would complete a whirlwind legislative push from the Ford government against automated speed enforcement, which began in early September.
That was when Ontario Premier Doug 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.
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The push to ban speed cameras has been welcomed by some mayors — including Steven Del Duca of Vaughan — but has faced pushback from others.
A study from SickKids and Toronto Metropolitan University over the summer found speed cameras reduced speeding by 45 per cent in Toronto.
Sarkaria repeated the premier’s position the cameras are ineffective at stopping people from speeding.
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“It’s about ensuring that we work towards something that’s not a cash grab, which is what we’ve seen with these municipal speed cameras,” he said on Thursday.
“Time and time again, they don’t do anything to stop individuals from speeding when they go through the zone, three weeks later, they get a ticket.”
The legislation will effectively reverse a law introduced in 2017 by now-Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca when he was Ontario Liberal transportation minister.
The law was activated 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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