Vaughan has made the decision to discontinue its automated speed enforcement (ASE) program following a special council meeting on Monday.
The city council backed a motion from Mayor Steven Del Duca to stop the program and instead concentrate on “traffic-calming measures” and other methods to slow down traffic in places like school zones, according to a City of Vaughan news release.
The city will ask York Region to halt its ASE program on regional roads, as outlined in the approved motion.
Vaughan started its own ASE initiative in April 2025 but paused it in June after drivers received over 30,000 tickets within three weeks.
This pause allowed city staff to evaluate whether the program achieved “the right balance” between safeguarding people and not placing a financial burden on drivers “at a time of financial uncertainty,” said Del Duca in the release.
“Upon review, it is clear the balance tips too heavily toward monetary penalties on residents,” he said.
Any penalties issued by the program before June 4 at 5 p. m. are still valid and must be paid, according to the city.
Changes made by the city will not affect York Region’s speed cameras that operate on these roads:
Bathurst Street, north of New Westminster Drive and Atkinson Avenue. Islington Avenue, south of Rutherford Road. Keele Street, north of Dina Road. Major Mackenzie Drive W., west of Lawford Road. Rutherford Road, east of Islington Avenue. Weston Road, north of Ashberry Boulevard. Yonge Street, south of Arnold Avenue.
Speed cameras labeled ‘cash grab,’ says premier
On social media, Doug Ford stated that Del Duca and city council members “get it” and that municipal speed cameras are simply a “cash grab.”
“We can keep our streets safe without making life more expensive for hardworking taxpayers,” he said.
Ford’s comment comes as he continues advocating for removing speed cameras, especially in Toronto.
Sixteen cameras were found damaged in Toronto last week, and the Parkside Drive speed camera was vandalized for the seventh time in less than a year.
WATCH | Are taxpayers on the hook when speedcams get cut down? 
Toronto’s speedcams keep getting vandalized. Are taxpayers on the hook?
Toronto’s pole-mounted speed cameras have been targeted at least 25 times since last November. And as CBC’s Tyler Cheese explains, these incidents may end up costing taxpayers money.
A speed camera was put up and a safety study was conducted for Parkside Drive after a couple lost their lives due to a speeding vehicle.
While it was Ford’s government that passed regulations in 2019 allowing municipalities to run speed enforcement programs, he now states he’s against taxes resulting from people’s deaths.
The province has indicated it will take steps later this year to eliminate speed cameras if cities don’t act beforehand.
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