Letter to Premier Ford from Mayors Across Ontario in Support of ASE
The Honourable Doug Ford
Premier of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Via email: premier@ontario.ca
Cc: Honourable Prabmeet Sarkaria
Minister of Transportation
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Via email: minister.mto@ontario.ca
October 2, 2025
Dear Premier Ford,
We appreciate your willingness to work with municipalities in particular on matters related to public safety. When the province brought in O. Regulation 398/19, which permits municipalities to use speed cameras in school and community safety zones, the province worked with municipalities to keep our residents safe. The municipal sector has heard you on the issues residents are raising and are writing today hoping to suggest a compromise related to your announcement of a total ban on ASEs. This compromise would allow municipalities to keep Automated Speed Enforcement in school zones, subject to measures that will address the concerns you have heard.
For most of us, the intention has always been to install cameras in school zones to protect our most vulnerable residents — our children. For example:
Burlington is installing six, all in front of elementary or high schools.
Hamilton has installed eight, all in front of elementary or high schools.
Innisfil has four speed cameras that alternate between six elementary schools and 1 high school in both rural and urban settings.
Lanark County is installing seven in front of elementary and high schools.
To further put safeguards and measures on ASE in school zones, the government could consider, and we would support:
Setting cameras at a reasonable threshold of speed before a ticket is issued;
Time of day operations tied to school and community use times;
A warning ticket issued on first offense;
Set fine that is not double, due to community safety zone;
Large signs alerting drivers of the presence of ASEs; and
A blackout on additional fines for seven days after receiving the first ticket, to alert the driver and allow them to change their behaviour.
We would further support that fees collected from speeding fines be directed to additional traffic calming measures, for example flashing speed signs, pedestrian crossovers, roundabouts, sidewalk bump outs, pedestrian refuge islands, and even additional police enforcement. Funding traffic calming from ASE fines lifts these costs from taxpayers, and assigns them to speeders who are causing the issues in the first place. This is something that many municipalities do already.
We know that speed cameras reduce driver behaviour and save lives. A July 2025 study by SickKids and Toronto Metropolitan University confirmed what municipalities experienced on the ground: ASE cameras reduce speeding and improve road safety. In Toronto, ASE cameras led to a 45% reduction in speeding vehicles across 250 school zones, including an 88% reduction in vehicles exceeding the speed limit by more than 20 km/h. These are not just statistics—they represent fewer injuries, fewer fatalities, and greater peace of mind for parents and communities.
Additionally, speed is a major factor in whether a pedestrian lives or dies. A collision at 30km/hr has a 90% chance of survival for the pedestrian; that drops to 50% survival for speeds of 45km/hr, and to almost zero for speeds at 80km/hr.
Further, there is overwhelming support for ASEs among Ontario residents. A survey by CAA South Central Ontario found that nearly three-quarters of Ontario drivers support ASE, especially in sensitive areas like school zones and community centres. Ontarians understand that safety must come first. There is also support for ASEs among a wide range of enforcement and traffic experts, including the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP), the Ontario Traffic Council, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and more.
A total ban on ASE would reverse years of progress on safety in school zones. It would place more pressure on police, increase enforcement costs, and most critically, endanger lives.
We urge you to provide a carve out to allow municipalities to continue to deploy ASE in school zones, and work with municipalities to improve understanding, effectiveness, and community engagement around ASE in these areas.
However, should a total ban on ASEs be implemented, we request that the provincial government fully reimburse all municipalities for the costs they have incurred related to the cancellation of the ASE program, which could include increases in municipal policing costs, staff severance costs, and decreases to municipal public safety programs currently funded through ASE revenues.
We know your government has been open in the past to revisiting decisions when presented with sound evidence and public support. We hope that will be the case again. Ontario’s municipalities are open to making changes and stand ready to work with you to provide additional modifications to the program to address concerns, while also ensuring our communities have the tools they need to keep people safe.
Sincerely,
Mayor Meed Ward, City of Burlington
Mayor Patrick Brown, City of Brampton
Mayor Cam Guthrie, City of Guelph
Mayor Carolyn Parrish, City of Mississauga
Mayor Andrea Horwath, City of Hamilton
Mayor Dorothy McCabe, City of Waterloo
Mayor Elizabeth Roy, City of Whitby
Mayor David West, City of Richmond Hill
Mayor Mat Siscoe, City of St. Catharines
Mayor Kevin Davis, City of Brantford
Mayor Jan Liggett, Town of Cambridge
Mayor Shaun Collier, Town of Ajax
Mayor Lynn Dollin, Town of Innisfil
Mayor Jamie McGarvie, Town of Parry Sound
Mayor John Taylor, Town of Newmarket
County Warden Bonnie Clark, Peterborough County, Chair of EOWC
Mayor Darrin Canniff, Municipality of Chatham-Kent
Mayor Geneviève Lajoie, Municipality of Casselman
Mayor Christa Lowry, Municipality of Mississippi Mills
Mayor Ann Lawlor, Town of Halton Hills
Mayor Lisa Post, Town of Orangeville
Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen, Municipality of Grey Highlands
Mayor’s Office | 426 Brant Street, PO Box 5013, City of Burlington, ON L7R 3Z6 | Tel: 905-335-7777 | Email: mayor@burlington.ca
Mayor’s Office | 2 Wellington Street West, City of Brampton, ON L8Y 4R2 | Tel: 905-874-2000 | Email: Patrick.Brown@brampton.ca