‘Horrible piece of legislation’: Ontario parents to rally against speed camera ban

TORONTO – Several parent groups against a looming speed camera ban in Ontario are holding a provincial day of action on Monday as MPPs return to Queen’s Park for the beginning of a new legislative session. 

Premier Doug Ford announced earlier this month his Progressive Conservative government will table a bill to ban speed cameras.

The announcement comes after a war for against the technology by the premier, who has called speed cameras a “cash grab” for municipalities and said they weren’t necessary with things like speed bumps, roundabouts and flashing lights on roadways to slow drivers down. 

Parent groups in Toronto, Vaughan, Midland, Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa are holding demonstration events Monday morning, while another group held a protest in Toronto’s east end on Saturday. 

Tom DeVito, who lives in the Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood with his wife, Danielle, and three-year-old daughter, Goldie, is one of the organizers of a rally in his neighbourhood. He called the prospective bill to ban the cameras a “horrible piece of legislation” and said he was outraged when he learned the province was looking to ban them. 

“When an announcement comes out of the blue that a very effective tool that’s used to control very dangerous driving behaviour near schools is going to be dismantled it kind of shocked me to my core,” he said. 

That feeling travelled through his community, which he describes as a “child superhighway,” with children frequently walking and biking to and from home, school and other activities in all directions. 

As the father of a toddler, DeVito’s biggest fear is unsafe roads. He knows firsthand how rambunctious young children can be and can see their lack of situational awareness at times. It also doesn’t help that car crashes are one of the leading cause of death in children in Canada. 

He says it doesn’t make sense to take away something that is proven to keep children safe.

“Roundabouts, speed bumps, all of those things are great. It does not justify taking another tool, effective tool out of your tool kit. You still need a screwdriver, and that’s what speed safety cameras are,” he said. 

“This would be like a carpenter saying, I don’t need a screwdriver because I’m updating and improving the hammer that I own.”

Parents aren’t the only groups asking Ford to reconsider the ban. Mayors from more than 20 municipalities as well as school boards have asked the premier to refine the program instead of scrapping it altogether, saying the technology protects children. 

Data from several municipalities that have analyzed the effect of the cameras on traffic speeds have shown speeds are reduced. A study from the Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto Metropolitan University also found the cameras reduced speeding by 45 per cent in Toronto. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2025.