York Region Radar Cameras

Outrage Over Capricious Use of Photo Radar System for Revenue Generation

York Region is in financial trouble. In the midst of challenging financial times for tax payers, York Region’s board of directors and councillors are making life really tough for constituents.

Spending as we see below is out of control, not living within their means but rather spending more without having adequate sources of revenue.  Their solution is photo radar, where each camera may bring in $1 million per camera per year. Rather than being ethical and dealing with the reasons why costs are out of control, they are adopting a technology of Video Police, or automated radar-based cameras to catch divers exceeding the posted speed limits.

In the past two decades, speeding was not an issue on Ontario roads or in York Region. Speeding was tolerated until recently.  Now issuing speeding tickets is Haute couture in York Region’s administration — a priority to allow them to be fiscally irresponsible endlessly.

We may have approved of this originally believing the purpose of these cameras was to fine drivers who exceed the speed limit significantly — the so-called bad drivers. But that’s not how this is playing out.

Photo Radar is a Cash Grab for York Region

The photo radar cameras and their unethical use is a call for us to respond, act and review York Region’s administration and its budgetary decisions.  Shining light on dishonesty is always wise.  Using the photo radar cameras this way is unethical and must be abolished. Police officers can easily quash speeding habits with a continuous series of boots-on-the-ground, aggressive campaigns. Word gets around quick and the speeding stops.

Another issue created is officers aren’t attending to a matter they say is critical and endangering lives. Real officers on the roads is much more effective, but in recent years, police visibility has been reduced to near zero.

But York Region doesn’t want speeding to stop — the want to make money off of it instead. That spells corruption.

York Region’s Greed Will Only Worsen

Add this to other outrageous levies which York Region applies to citizens, and you can quickly see this regional government is becoming our top enemy and a detriment to the local economy.  Just like the Ontario government, the region is obsessed with anti-housing development, densification, over-regulation, taxation as a solution, and raising York region employee salaries to ridiculous, unwarranted and unauthorized heights. Each regional levy, law and all salaries should be voted on at York Region board meetings by the public. We’ve lost confidence in these bureaucrats.

We should keep in mind that any York Region audits done are for detecting accounting anomalies and crime, not for misappropriation and abuse of citizens by councillors. Currently, there are no safety railings to protect taxpayers who are being gouged. It’s up to citizens to shine light on their practices and pressure the region’s councillors to behave ethically.  Ultimately this comes down to the regional board of directors (CEO is Eric Jolliffe, former York Region Police Chief) composed of various town mayors who are implicated in this mess. Why is the police chief the region CEO? Is York Region now a police force? Is there something even worse we should be aware of?

Here’s a list of York Region Councillors you can contact directly.

Are York Region Salaries to Blame?

Let’s take a look first at government salaries and the Sunshine list and you’ll say yes. This graphic from Yorkregion.com reveals what is going on across Ontario.  As you know, Ontario income tax and fees have grown out of control and are a big threat to local small businesses in York Region.

Sunshine list of high salaried government workers in Ontario. Screenshot courtesy of Yorkregion.com

The number of government employees has exploded of recent, and the salary levels are truly shocking.  Here below are just a few of the York region administrator salaries, showing us why the automated photo radar cameras are being used. York Region will not divulge how much the automated radar system costs to administer, however each camera cost $100,000 adding further to tax payers burden.

The region’s sunshine list has gotten out of control.

Regional Municipality of York. Employee Salaries.
Regional Municipality of York. Employee Salaries. Screenshot courtesy of ontariosunshinelist.com.

York Region’s Sunshine Employee List

Here is a list of the highest-paid bureaucrats in the York Region government causing us so much cost.

York Region Sunshine List Employees. High Salaries.
York Region Sunshine List Employees. High Salaries.

York Region Real Estate

York Region’s tortured, high priced housing market isn’t because of a lack of land or builders to build here. It’s due to government bureaucracies who charge very high fees and restrict land use through unfair zoning. Further, provincial densification plans create excessive competition for available land and property which drives prices up.  The average home price in Aurora hit $1.6 million ($38,000 average development fees). The Newmarket housing market is similarly burdened.

In 2025, York Region’s property tax levy is expected to increase by 3.55% to feed a ballooned budget of $4.6 Billion dollars. It seems municipalities don’t need to respect issues of inflation which has been cited as a provincial and national emergency. Greed has no limits

Newmarket homeowners will pay an additional $83 while Aurora property owners will see an added $102 on their annual tax bills as reported by Newmarket Today $4.6B York Region budget involves a 3.55% tax increase – Newmarket Today.

“I believe this is a good budget for our residents going forward,” said Wayne Emerson, York Region chairman and CEO, at a council meeting on Oct. 24. “I think because of what’s happening out in our communities, it’s time for police to have it.” – from Newmarket Today news report. Wayne Emerson is retiring and the former York Region police chief Eric Jolliffe is the new chair.

Shining a Bright Light on York Region Tax Increases

York Region police were asking for a 7.1% increase. The 2025 budget ($4.6 billion in 2025). The region announced will also add 38 new high paid, permanent staff positions to paramedic services in 2025, a $9.2-million increase. York Region is also raising transit fares by 3%.

I invite you attend York Region board meetings and make your voice heard about local radar cameras and other out of control spending issues. We can’t let this continue further. I will communicate to Premier Doug Ford and incoming Prime Minister Pierre Poliviere about the need to punish municipalities and regions that implement cash-grab technology.

Opposing the York Region Automated Radar Cameras

York Region states they intend to set up 80 radar cameras throughout the region. You can view the locations on the York Region website.  Currently, each photo radar camera brings in about $1 million in fines per year, but could be increased. This additional grab out of York region taxpayer’s earnings will expand by $60 million as the rest of the cameras are placed.

What’s especially perverse about photo radar is that out of towners who don’t know the location of the cameras will get trapped by them.  Locals are familiar with their locations and slow down in those specific areas. Then they speed on all other streets including in quiet neighborhoods, and never get a speeding ticket. When I was shopping for auto insurance, the insurer asked for any speeding tickets (including photo radar tickets). So in contrast to claims, these tickets will impact your auto insurance rates.

Those who have been unfairly penalized by the automated speed radar cameras should oppose them vocally and fiercely, with emphasis on the real reason for their use, and fight their tickets in regional courts. They’re hoping you won’t embarrass them.

Photo Radar Causing Pain for Non-Wealthy Victims

Most region residents aren’t wealthy.  Newmarket resident Michelle Meadus was ticketed numerous times. Her deadly speeds were only 12 to 14 kph above the posted speed.  “This is just a cash grab,” she said. “Speeding can be really bad on here, but I’m feeling pretty frustrated because like most people … (I’m just)  driving with the flow of the traffic.”

And if you’ve driven on York Region roads you know how drivers pester you to speed. And speed signs are placed infrequently on York Region roads and in some areas the posted speed limit vacillates up and down with no apparent reason for it.

“It says 60 here (just before the school zone and camera start), so if I pass that box and I was doing 63 km/h per hour, I shouldn’t get an $85 dollar ticket,” she said. “I just feel like it’s very unfair. It’s going put hardships on people who don’t have much money.” The fines are $5 to $20 per kph over the speed limit depending on the speed detected.

As we can see, photo radar ticket revenue greed serves the desperation of regional councillors to pad their bank accounts and keep excessive, high-spending government bureaucracies in place.  The system, in cahoots with the Ontario government must be taken down.

See more on the Aurora housing market and Newmarket housing market and why York Region forces home prices higher. Toronto suffers from the same scheme, and the Toronto housing market is similarly hampered.

 

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