Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government is moving ahead with its plan to get rid of speed cameras across the province, tabling it as part of a red tape reduction bill.
The legislation introduced today by Red Tape Reduction Minister Andrea Khanjin is largely about cutting permit timelines and processes, but it also includes measures to remove speed cameras and encourage more speed bumps and roundabouts.
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria says speed cameras are not the best way of preventing speeding, and the premier has decried them as a “cash grab” for municipalities.
More than 20 mayors from across the province have asked Ford to tweak the program instead of scrapping it entirely, but he quickly shut them down.
Data from several municipalities that have analyzed the effect of the cameras on traffic speeds, as well as a study from the Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto Metropolitan University, show speeds are reduced.
Sarkaria says when the bill passes and receives royal assent, the speed cameras and associated penalties will no longer be enforceable or valid in Ontario.
