Parents in Ontario are questioning Premier Doug Ford’s ethics after the introduction of Bill 56, which includes a section repealing the authorization of speed cameras.
Bill 56, presented yesterday in Queen’s Park by Ontario’s Minister of Red Tape Reduction, Andrea Khanjin, includes a change to the province’s Highway Traffic Act. The bill, if approved, will repeal a part which authorizes the use of automated speed enforcement systems, AKA speed cameras.
This comes after a ton of controversy regarding speed cameras in the province, including last month when the premier called the cameras cash grabs, sharing his government’s plans to ban the cameras.
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So far in 2025, the city has reportedly already issued over $45 million in fines from automated speed cameras, while it issued around $40 million in tickets from the cameras in 2024.
Additionally, the bill would allow the minister to direct a municipality to install signs in school zones on highways under its jurisdiction, and if the municipality does not comply, the minister can take action to get it installed themselves.
PARENTS ARE CONCERNED
Meanwhile, the bill was presented in Parliament the same day that hundreds of parents took to the streets across Ontario, calling for Ford to reverse his intended decision to dismantle the cameras.
A spokesperson for the group, Thomas DeVito, says speed cameras work extremely well in furthering a universal societal goal: protecting children and the most vulnerable. He says that, as the father of a three-year-old, dangerous driving is his number one concern about her safety on a day-to-day basis.
“I do not think any argument put forward by the premier thus far passes muster. In fact, I think the flimsy attempts at an explanation have been disrespectful to the tens-of-thousands of families that will be exposed to a newly more dangerous Ontario if this bill passes in its current form,” DeVito said in a statement to Now Toronto on Tuesday.
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DeVito says there is no shortage of actions that could be done to improve road safety, but the families he is working with are laser-focused on protecting the school safety camera program.
“Parents are good at sussing out excuses and distraction tactics, and there is no reason to think that a leader that disregards the overwhelming consensus laid out by Ontario’s law enforcement, public health, educator, and parent groups when it comes to Speed Safety Cameras is going to be serious about these other tools,” DeVito said.
“Credibility matters, and the premier and his leadership team seem intent on demonstrating that he has none on this issue,” he added, saying that Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria should meet with the group.
The group says it is baffling that Ford continues to pursue policies that are both “harmful and deeply unpopular.”
They cite a new poll from Liaison Strategies, which surveyed 800 Ontario residents, finding that 49 per cent of Ontarians disapprove of the speed camera ban, with only 34 per cent in support of the change. The poll found that 76 per cent of Liberal and 77 per cent of NDP voters are against the ban, while support comes largely from PC supporters, with 58 per cent in favour of axing the cameras.
Liaison also found that 54 per cent of respondents side with mayors and police who say cameras improve safety, compared to 36 per cent who agree with Ford that the devices are a cash grab.
The parents say every MPP in the premier’s caucus should be asked how they will respond to the “next preventable tragedy in their riding” if this bill is passed.
Now Toronto reached out to the premier’s office and is awaiting a response.
Ford announced the province would be scrapping the cameras last week, after over a dozen cameras in the city were recently cut down over a 48 period.
Toronto’s mayor, meanwhile, is not impressed.
“Do we allow them to rip away our best tool for protecting our kids? No,” Olivia Chow said Thursday.
Earlier this month, the mayor launched a petition in support of keeping automated speed cameras in the city.
“We should be doing more to keep our loved ones safe – not less,” the petition reads.
It also cites research from TMU and SickKids Hospital published earlier this year that says cameras reduce speeding in school zones by 45 per cent.
MP Josh Matlow also spoke out against Ford’s plans.
“To parents of students who cross this street daily, including kids from Greenwood, Davisville & Maurice Cody, and seniors living in retirement homes on Mount Pleasant: We were about to install a speed camera to protect your safety. Doug Ford is banning it,” Matlow posted on X. “Let’s fight back.”
