Canadian Legislative Updates

On October 4, Member of Provincial Parliament Yasir Naqvi tabled a bill in the Ontario Legislature enabling Ottawa to issue out-of-province red light camera tickets. The proposed bill, entitled the Enhancing Red Light Camera System Enforcement Act, 2012, will enable municipalities to issue tickets to out-of-province vehicles caught running red lights, and will keep Ontario roads safe.

If passed, the bill will allow participating municipalities in the Red Light Camera System, including the City of Ottawa, to issue offense notices to drivers with non-Ontario license plates, using information supplied by a government of another province or state. Currently, even though municipalities have existing agreements to access plate information from another jurisdiction for other offenses, Ontario’s legislation governing the Red Light Camera System does not consider mailing offense notices to addresses outside Ontario.

Naqvi took action quickly to address this issue, after hearing concerns from members of his community and the City of Ottawa. Naqvi has highlighted that this is a public safety issue, and is proposing changes so that more drivers of vehicles caught running red lights can be dealt with appropriately, as opposed to offering "free passes" without penalty.



Ottawa Police have announced that they will be implementing Collision Reporting Centers (CRCs) across the city. Representatives have highlighted that the new process will clear collision from roadways at a quicker pace, which will ultimately reduce traffic congestion arising from collisions. Additionally, it will permit members of the public to carry on with their day, enabling them to make the report at a more convenient time.

Currently, motorists involved in collisions wait an average of 32 minutes before an available officer arrives on-scene. They then have to proceed with a 72-minute paper-based process.

Once the initiative is fully implemented, if a motorist is involved in a collision without injuries and where the vehicle remains drivable or towable, he/she will be expected to attend one of the three CRCs. Motorists involved will have 24 hours to file a report.  

The CRCs will be open seven days a week and will be located at police stations across the city to ensure easy access and convenience for drivers. It is projected that the program will save $1.5M to $1.8M by the end of 2013.