Midland mayor pushing back against Ford’s ‘tax grab’ claim on speed cameras

Midland’s mayor is pushing back against Premier Doug Ford’s criticism of speed cameras, calling the devices effective and accusing the province of benefitting most from the fines.

In a post on his website titled ‘Speed Camera Follies,’ Mayor Bill Gordon defended Midland’s two automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras, which are currently located in school zones on William Street near Sacred Heart Catholic School and on Yonge Street in front of Mundy’s Bay Public School.

Gordon highlighted that in 2022, the province made changes to the Highway Traffic Act, giving municipalities the option to install cameras.

“The province knew then that speed kills and protecting children in our school zones and community safety zones was the right thing to do,” he wrote. “The addition of 24/7 automated enforcement to change driving behaviour worked.”

Ford called the program a “tax grab” earlier this month, suggesting the province could step in to help municipalities remove the cameras.

Gordon said municipalities don’t set the fine amounts and that much of the revenue from each ticket goes directly to the province.

“Did you know that the $8.50 charge on each ticket represents what the province charges for each license plate search in the MTO database? Millions of those searches happen yearly and that revenue will cease,” the mayor wrote. Gordon also pointed out the ‘victim fine surcharge’ collected on every speeding ticket is another provincial add-on.

The mayor argued municipalities like Midland rely on the revenue from offenders to fund safety improvements, and that cancelling ASE would force the use of taxpayer dollars instead.

“So, cancelling the program that the Ford government created in 2022 will result in millions of lost revenue for the province, large losses to each municipality to dismantle the systems, get out of contracts, see increased speeding again without equivalent enforcement (impossible for police) and then on top of all that, the province will use your tax dollars to pay municipalities to put in speed bumps,” he emphasized.

Gordon added that Midland’s cameras are set at a reasonable threshold above the 40 km/h limit in consultation with police and do not ticket drivers for going just a few kilometres over.

“We will add more traffic calming to our roads in the spring and continue to use ASE for as long as it remains a legal option in Midland,” Gordon said. “Any funds will be channeled back into these traffic calming and community safety initiatives and will keep the costs off the law abiding, safe driving taxpayers.”

The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) supports speed cameras, with a recent survey revealing speed cameras are helping to make roads safer. CAA says 73 per cent of drivers in Ontario reduce their speed when approaching an ASE camera, and over half said they don’t speed up again after passing one.