Toronto may have to lay off about 1,000 people because of Ontario's speed camera ban: mayor

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says the city may have to lay off about a thousand workers now that the Ontario government has effectively banned speed cameras in municipalities across the province.

Chow told reporters on Friday that revenue earned by the city through its automated speed enforcement program covered the costs of 911 crossing guards, at a price of $31.2 million, and 18 traffic safety police officers, at a price of $3.9 million.

"That funding is now gone as of today," Chow said at an unrelated news conference.

Chow said the city will have to lay off about 100 workers who ran the automated speed enforcement program.

"It felt like a make-work project. Install the cameras. Okay, a few years later, get rid of the cameras. Hire the staff, fire the staff. A thousand people may lose their jobs."

On Thursday, Toronto city council voted unanimously in favour of a motion proposed by Chow that urges the province to reimburse the city for the operating costs of the crossing guards and traffic safety police officers previously covered by speed camera revenue. The motion said reimbursement would "ensure these vital safety programs are not discontinued."

The city said in an email on Friday that it collected $30,375,060 in fines associated with speeding tickets issued through the program from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, 2025.

Toronto had 150 speed cameras across the city. Of these, 126 were mobile and 24 were permanent or mounted on poles, according to the city.

On Thursday, before city council voted on the motion, the Ford government announced a $210-million Road Safety Initiatives Fund to support increased road safety in school zones and community safety zones without the use of speed cameras.

The money is expected to help pay for traffic-calming measures, such as speed bumps, raised crosswalks, roundabouts, "high visibility" signage and increased police enforcement in school zones and community safety zones where speed cameras were previously set up.

As part of the fund, the province said it will provide $42 million in immediate funding to municipalities to support traffic-calming measures. Early next year, municipalities will be able to apply for the rest of the funding and submit construction plans.

Chow said the fund is insufficient. The speed camera ban leaves the city between $40-million and $50-million short a year, she said.

"We hope we can get a portion of it. Is it enough? Nowhere near enough," she said.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in an interview with CBC News on Friday that the province didn't want speed cameras used as revenue generation tools and instead wants to focus on immediate measures that will stop drivers from speeding.