海角社区官网

His comments came after 16聽more 海角社区官网speed cameras had been cut down overnight. This is on top of Parkside鈥檚 camera being chopped for a seventh time in 10 months last weekend.

It鈥檚 a聽moment for Ontarians to pause and think about. Is this a province guided by law and order, or can vigilantes commit criminal acts, in this case in order to get away with other offences, and not be condemned? With 16 in one night, it鈥檚 probably safe to assume it鈥檚 co-ordinated vigilantism, too.

That 海角社区官网police haven鈥檛 caught any of those behind this, a repeated criminal act happening in exactly the same place seven times, is eyebrow raising in itself.

Mayor Olivia Chow, who聽has been relatively quiet on this issue, must demand answers from the chief of police. Hold a joint press conference with him this week; there鈥檚 a city full of people wondering what鈥檚 going on and losing faith in our leaders.

As for Ford鈥檚 Ontario-redefining comments, a few thoughts.

The first is his bombastic rhetoric about other law-and-order issues. He has a lot to say about bail reform and home invasions that, when politically convenient, make him look like a strong law-and-order politician. But that all falls apart when it comes to speeding and dangerous drivers. Is it genuine concern for public safety, or just politics?

Another is Ford鈥檚 hint that he鈥檒l meddle in municipal affairs yet again if speed cameras aren鈥檛 removed. On its own this pattern, starting when he cut Toronto鈥檚 council in half during the election of 2018, is an assault against municipal autonomy.

That Ford paints himself as Captain Canada in his fight against Donald Trump is ironic as he exhibits Trump-like behaviour at home. Ford , before tariffs and takeover threats created his new political persona. He may not be sending in troops into Ontario cities or deporting citizens, but the usurping of traditional local authority and home rule is a Trump echo.

Consider, too, that when courts struck down his bid to remove bike lanes in Toronto, Ford railed against the courts, saying they . A funny thing to say after all he鈥檚 done to 海角社区官网democracy and democratic decision making, but who else likes to rant against courts when they render decisions he doesn鈥檛 like? Trump does.

There鈥檚 a third angle to all this. In his morning comments, Ford said, 鈥淚鈥檝e driven by speed traps that aren鈥檛 even close to school areas鈥� calling them 鈥渢ax grabs.鈥� This suggests that outside school zones speeding isn鈥檛 a concern. Parkside, not in a school zone but beside a public park full of kids, has been the scene of many horrific collisions, some deadly like the older couple killed in 2021. Do their lives matter less? What would Ford say to their families?

As for it being a 鈥渢ax grab,鈥� it鈥檚 the easiest tax in the world to legally evade: don鈥檛 speed.

When it comes to school zones, Ford said there are other ways to slow traffic down, and indeed there are. Many argue our city streets are designed to highway standards that encourage drivers to speed. This is true and a grievous failure by the engineering profession, but as my colleague, Matt Elliot, pointed out last week, a redesign of Parkside is taking forever with no real political momentum behind it.

That鈥檚 海角社区官网politicians鈥� fault, but other efforts to make streets safer that also slow drivers down without involving speed cameras are thwarted by Ford. Those Bloor, University and Yonge bike lanes, apart from separating cyclists, make those streets less highwaylike too and more humane to drive on, for drivers included.

So in lieu of more substantial changes that seem impossible, we have speed cameras. Many they make roads safer. They work, and that’s why they anger people. Some say they punish low-income drivers at the same rate as the rich. OK, let鈥檚 make the rates income-based, and make wealthy speeders feel it too with stiffer fines.

After all this we鈥檙e left to wonder what, if anything, can be done to slow drivers down? It’s a deeply disturbing thing to sit with the knowledge that life and limb matter little, but so is the fact that Ford is making law-breaking and vigilantism seem acceptable here.

Can the people of Ontario accept that? If so, we aren鈥檛 the province we think we are.