Smile Ontario: You may be back on camera

TORONTO, (Jan. 15, 2004) — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty admitted yesterday he’s long been a fan of photo radar, adding he’s contemplating bring back the controversial speed enforcement system to generate revenue for his cash-strapped government.

McGuinty said his Liberal government would discuss the idea in a two-day cabinet meeting that kicked-off yesterday. He also admitted that much of his attraction to photo radar was not necessarily based on safety issues, but on the wish to get more cash for the province. “It’s a revenue generator, absolutely,” Canadian Press quoted him as saying.

Photo radar in Ontario was first introduced by the NDP government in 1994. It featured cameras mounted on unmarked police vans which sat parked by the side of the highway, snapping licence-plate photos of those vehicles that exceeded the speed limit. The car’s owner would then get a copy of the photo in the mail, along with a fine, regardless who was driving at the time.

The incoming Conservative government was elected partly on a campaign promise to scrap photo radar, which it did a year later. B.C. also cancelled its own experiment with photo radar in 2001. However, it remains in place in Alberta and Manitoba.

Critics accused McGuinty of misleading voters, pointing out that the Premier never mentioned photo radar as part of his election campaign just last fall.

Surprisingly, the Ontario Trucking Association said it’s supportive of photo radar, provided it was reintroduced as a safety measure and that the threshold for issuing a ticket was reasonable. “If the government intends to start issuing tickets to vehicles traveling only a few km/hr over the existing 100 km/hr speed limit, and not concentrate on the gross speeders, then we would have to reconsider our position,” the association said in a statement.

The OTA is also concerned that the government will try to find additional revenue by hiking fees like permits, trucking licences, or fuel taxes.

— With files from Canadian Press