In an email to city council members on Friday, city Linear Infrastructure Services director Joe Rocca highlighted what is known about the local implications of removing speed cameras
The city’s automated speed enforcement program will end on Nov. 14.
On Thursday, the province passed Bill 56, Building a More Competitive Economy Act, an omnibus bill which includes a ban on the use of automated speed enforcement cameras.
The City of Greater Sudbury has six mobile cameras which change locations every four months. They were activated at their latest locations on Oct. 10.
On Friday, Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc forwarded Sudbury.com an email from city Linear Infrastructure Services director Joe Rocca which outlines what this means for the city.
Sudbury.com requested this information through city communications staff, through whom city policy dictates all media inquiries must filter, but were told they wouldn’t respond until Monday.
The bill states that the changes to speed cameras would take effect on the latter date of Nov. 14, or the day the bill receives royal assent.
With Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria indicating the bill would receive royal assent on Monday, Rocca wrote that it’s anticipated the program will end Nov. 14.
Meanwhile, the legislation also indicates that new, larger signs will need to be installed in school zones by Nov. 14.
“We have received very limited information on exactly where these signs will be required and what they will need to look like but staff will work with the MTO on meeting any requirements,” Rocca wrote. “Also, the province has not provided any additional information on the funding that will be available for traffic calming measures.”
The legislation also includes language that doesn’t allow suppliers or vendors to seek costs from municipalities due to early termination of a contract, and Rocca noted that the city is “working through this detail with our legal team.”
By Nov. 14, the city anticipates receiving $2.4 million in speed camera revenue year-to-date, of which the city anticipates approximately 20 per cent will not be recovered. This leaves $1.9 million remaining to pay for the operating costs of the program up to Nov. 14 and any potential costs associated with the cancellation of the program.
By contrast, last year saw the cameras result in the issuance of 12,796 tickets between the cameras’ implementation on March 22 and the end of the year. This yielded a total set fine sum of $1,344,237 and a net revenue to the city of $753,003, which was earmarked for various traffic calming initiatives.
Rocca anticipates bringing a report to the operations committee of city council in early 2026 outlining details on the speed camera program wind-down and proposed next steps for improving road safety.
Earlier this month, Mayor Paul Lefebvre expressed support for automated speed-enforcement cameras.
“I am in support, certainly, of the automated speed enforcement program,” he said. I think we’ve seen success. It’s slowed down traffic, and we’re asking wrongdoers to pay for the traffic calming and not all taxpayers to pay.”
Leduc tabled an unsuccessful motion requesting that staff ask the province to fully reimburse municipalities the costs associated with terminating the speed-camera program, but it failed to get a seconder.
Instead, the City of Greater Sudbury is doing their advocacy through the united front of organizations such as the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. The association wants municipalities to be allowed to use speed cameras and, if a ban proceeds as it appears to be doing, for the province to fund associated costs.
In conversation with Sudbury.com on Friday, Leduc said he still doesn’t understand why his colleagues shot down his motion, and that he was “only trying to save taxpayer dollars.”
Greater Sudbury’s speed cameras have repeatedly proven effective at slowing down traffic, not only when they’re in place but also after they have been removed. Data also shows that vehicle speeds have also decreased both upstream and downstream of cameras.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.