As she looks to save her city’s automated speed enforcement program, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has weighed in on the news that vehicles assigned to Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet ministers have been caught by speed cameras more than 20 times.
Documents previously obtained by Global News show vehicles assigned to Ford’s cabinet ministers racked up 23 speed camera tickets in the past three years, totalling more than $3,300 in fines.
In a separate instance, a minister-assigned vehicle was recorded at more than 150 km/h by the car’s internal monitoring system, triggering stunt driving notifications to the Ministry of Transport.
Chow, who is one of more than 20 Ontario mayors lobbying the Ford government not to go ahead with its plan to cancel speed cameras, suggested the speed violations may offer some explanation for the plan.
“I notice one thing, that provincial ministers’ vehicles have been (more than) 20 violations, over $3,000 fines,” she said to reporters on Wednesday morning.
“Twelve times in the past three years, some were caught 50 km/h over the speed limit, as high as 162 km/h. By God, no wonder they don’t like speed cameras because they catch them while they’re breaking the law. One hundred and sixty-two km, my God, 50 km/h over the limit 12 times in the past three years.”
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The premier’s office said the 23 speed camera fines had been repaid by the staff or ministers driving at the time, although it has refused to say who they are.
They also suggested the stunt-driving incidents were the same staffer, who appears to still work for the government but has promised it will “never happen again.”
The stunt-driving speeds were recorded by the vehicle itself and not caught by speed cameras.
“I’m just looking at the facts here,” Chow continued. “If they’re speeding and they got caught, maybe that’s why they don’t like these cameras because they’re breaking the law, whoever these folks are, but they’re minister vehicles.”
The comments came as Chow pushes for tweaks and changes she hopes will save automated speed enforcement in Toronto.
Premier Ford is planning to introduce legislation to ban speed cameras, which he has repeatedly called a “tax grab” by municipalities. He has claimed they don’t work to slow drivers down and are less effective than speed bumps, flashing lights or roundabouts.
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A study from SickKids Hospital in Toronto found cameras reduced speeds by 45 per cent, while mayors, municipalities, school boards and police chiefs have all written to the premier asking him to change course.
On Wednesday, Chow pointed to Parkside Drive as an example of why speed cameras are necessary.
The area has a speed camera, which has been vandalized and chopped down repeatedly. According to Safe Parkside, it is the city’s highest-grossing speed camera, with around $7 million in fines and tens of thousands of tickets issued from it.
It is also on the site of a number of deadly crashes. Three years ago, a suspended driver hit more than 100 km/h on the road, rear-ending another vehicle and killing two people inside.
Chow said the camera was on Parkside Drive to punish people who speed on the dangerous section of road.
“The Ford government talked about Parkside. I noticed in the last 10 years, there’s seven serious accidents with three deaths, five serious injuries and these speed cameras were put in there really help slow down the cars,” she said.
— with a file from Global News’ Catherine McDonald and Gabby Rodrigues
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
