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3. EXTENSION OF INFORMATION-SHARING
AGREEMENT TO APPLY TO RED-LIGHT CAMERAS PROLONGATION DE L’ENTENTE DE PARTAGE DE L’INFORMATION EN VUE DE
L’APPLIQUER AUX APPAREILS PHOTO RELIÉS À DES FEUX ROUGES |
That Council direct staff to:
1.
request the Province of Ontario extend the
information-sharing agreement to apply to red-light cameras; and
2.
report back to the Transportation Committee.
Recommandation du ComitÉ
Que le Conseil
municipal enjoint au personnel :
1.
de demander à la province d’Ontario de prolonger
l’entente de partage de l’information en vue de l’appliquer aux appareils photo
reliés à des feux rouges; et
2.
de faire rapport au Comité des transports.
DOCUMENTATION
1.
Transportation Committee
report dated 05 October 2011 (ACS2011-CMR-TRC-0019)
2.
Extract
of draft Minutes 11,
Transportation Committee meeting of 5 October, 2011
Report to/Rapport au :
Comité des transports
05
October 2011 / le 05 octobre 2011
Submitted by/Soumis par : Rainer, Bloess, Councillor/Conseiller, Innes (Ward/Quartier 2)
Contact
Person/Personne resource: Rainer, Bloess,
Councillor/Conseiller
613-580-2472,
Rainer.Bloess@ottawa.ca
|
City-wide/ à l’échelle
de la ville |
Ref
N°:ACS2011-CMR-TRC-0019 |
SUBJECT: EXTENSION OF INFORMATION-SHARING AGREEMENT TO APPLY TO RED-LIGHT CAMERAS
OBJET : PROLONGATION DE L’ENTENTE DE PARTAGE DE L’INFORMATION EN VUE DE
L’APPLIQUER AUX APPAREILS PHOTO RELIÉS À DES FEUX ROUGES
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That
Transportation Committee recommend that Council direct staff to:
1.
request the Province of Ontario extend the
information-sharing agreement to apply to red-light cameras; and
2.
report back to the Transportation Committee.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des transports recommande au Conseil
municipal d’enjoindre au personnel :
1.
de demander à la province d’Ontario de prolonger
l’entente de partage de l’information en vue de l’appliquer aux appareils photo
reliés à des feux rouges; et
2.
de faire rapport au Comité des transports.
BACKGROUND
At the Transportation Committee
meeting on 7 September 2011 Councillor Bloess raised the following Notice of
Motion:
Whereas red-light cameras are intended to provide safety and security to
our residents;
Whereas drivers from Quebec seem to be exempted from red-light cameras;
Therefore be it resolved that staff request the Province of Ontario to
extend the information-sharing agreement to apply to red-light cameras; and
Be it further resolved that staff report back to the Transportation
Committee.
DISCUSSION
Set
out below is a brief explanation of the application of the red light camera
legislation to out-of-province drivers, as well as some preliminary comments on
the potential impact of adopting the changes proposed by the above motion.
Discussion
An
article that appeared in a recent edition of Le Droit has prompted a number of
questions surrounding the red light camera systems in place in Ottawa and other
Ontario municipalities. More particularly, it has been suggested that vehicles
registered in the Province of Quebec and other out-of-province jurisdictions
are immune from prosecution. This is incorrect, as noted below.
Red
Light Camera Legislation
By
way of background, the legislative changes necessary to implement red light
camera (RLC) enforcement systems were introduced by the Ontario Government in
1998. Those changes recognize that enforcement by way of technology, rather
than police officers, is exceptional in Ontario. In addition, given that the
cameras capture license plate information and not the identity of the driver,
charges issued through the use of RLC systems are against the owner of the
vehicle, and not the driver at the time of the offence. Therefore, those
charges are therefore based on ownership information provided by the Ontario
Registrar of Motor Vehicles.
Under the Provincial Offences Act (POA), charges for offences against the Highway Traffic Act, including RLC charges, can be laid in one of two ways: Either by way of a Part I offence notice, generally known as a ticket, or; By a Part III “information”. These two processes are described below in greater detail below.
1.
Part
I Proceedings
The first proceeding involves the issuance of a ticket under Part I of the POA. This is an efficient process that does not require a court appearance unless the defendant requests a trial. Where there is a trial on a RLC charge, the prosecution can proceed without calling witnesses and can use certified statements: one from the Provincial Offences Officer who issued the ticket and one from the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, along with the RLC photos, to prove the elements of the offence.
2.
Part
III Proceedings
The second process involves the laying of an “information” before a justice of the peace and formal court appearances. This is known as the Part III process under the POA. The trial of a RLC charge based on an information would require evidence from live witnesses, including the issuing officer from the Toronto Processing Centre and a representative of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. Due to the much greater complexity, cost, and use of court and judicial resources, RLC violations are prosecuted through the issuance of tickets.
Procedural
Considerations
The simplified process for laying charges under Part I against the owner of the vehicle, as opposed to the driver, is available only in respect of Ontario-plated vehicles. This is due to the fact that the only certified evidence of ownership that can be tendered in these cases is from the Ontario Registrar of Motor Vehicles. That being said, out-of-province violators can still be charged under the Part III process. However, due to the practical difficulties associated with that process, which include arranging for the attendance of witnesses from outside the jurisdiction, and the associated costs of Part III proceedings when weighed against the available penalties, the RLC project has not made use of Part III of the POA to prosecute charges against out-of-province violators.
The adoption of amendments to the Highway Traffic Act that would permit the use of ownership information maintained by other jurisdictions would both facilitate the use of red light cameras and other photo-based traffic enforcement technologies in Ontario and help to ensure the uniform application of such road safety programs to all drivers on the Province’s roads.
RURAL
IMPLICATIONS
There
are no rural implications associated with the recommendations in this report.
CONSULTATION
Notice
of this meeting was advertised on the City’s website as per Section 77(1)(b) of
the Procedure By-law.
LEGAL
IMPLICATIONS
The
Legal implications have been outlined in the Discussion section of this report.
RISK
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
There
are no risk management implications associated with the recommendations in this
report.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
There
are no financial implications associated with the recommendation in this
report.
TECHNOLOGICAL
IMPLICATIONS
There
are no technological implications associated with the recommendation in this
report.
CITY
STRATEGIC PLAN
This
motion has no direct ties to the City’s approved Strategic Plan.
DISPOSITION
Staff
to take any direction approved by Council and report back to Transportation
Committee.
Transportation
Committee extract
of draft
minutes 11 05 octoBER 2011 |
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Comité deS transports extrait de l’Ébauche du PROCÈS-VERBAL 11 LE 05 octobre 2011 |
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EXTENSION
OF INFORMATION-SHARING AGREEMENT TO APPLY TO RED-LIGHT CAMERAS
PROLONGATION
DE L’ENTENTE DE PARTAGE DE L’INFORMATION EN VUE DE L’APPLIQUER AUX APPAREILS
PHOTO RELIÉS À DES FEUX ROUGES
ACS2011-CMR-TRC-0019 City Wide / À l’échelle de la
ville
REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
That
Transportation Committee recommend that Council direct staff to:
1.
request the Province of Ontario extend the
information-sharing agreement to apply to red-light cameras; and
2.
report back to the Transportation Committee.
CARRIED
DIRECTION
TO STAFF:
That staff be
directed to petition the Province of Ontario for the adoption of amendments to
the Highway Traffic Act that would permit
the use of ownership information maintained by other jurisdictions would both
facilitate the use of red light cameras and other photo-based traffic
enforcement technologies in Ontario and help to ensure the uniform application
of such road safety programs to all drivers on the Province’s roads.