The City of Toronto has not been issuing speed camera tickets since the beginning of the Canada Post strike, staff said Wednesday at City Council.
When asked about the processing time for the tickets during a review of automated speed enforcement, a Toronto city staff member said, “We are not able to mail out the tickets, so we are not issuing tickets right now.”
In a statement to CityNews, the City said the province allows for 23 days to process a ticket after the offence so Automated Speed Enforcement and red light cameras will “continue to capture violations. Tickets will be issued accordingly once the postal strike is over.”
Postal workers took to the picket lines nearly two weeks ago after sweeping changes to Canada Post’s mandate were announced that would allow the struggling postal service to overhaul its operations in the midst of negotiations with the union.
It comes as Premier Doug Ford says he plans to ban the automatic speed enforcement cameras across the province despite repeated calls from police, school boards, and municipalities to reconsider the legislation.
The common message from Ford has been that the cameras are merely a “cash grab” while supporters say they are saving lives.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has been one of the most vocal critics of the ban, warning that removing cameras will make roads less safe. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has also defended the city’s program, stating that the cameras save lives and calling on the province to allow municipalities to decide for themselves.
Multiple speed cameras in Toronto have been the victim of vandals with over a dozen being cut down or damaged, including the camera on Parkside Drive which has been targeted at least seven times.
