Access to database closes big loophole for province’s vehicles caught on cameras
No more breaks for red-light runners with Quebec plates
Owners of Quebec-plated vehicles will start receiving tickets this summer if those vehicles are caught on camera running red lights in Ottawa.
There has been a huge loophole in red-light camera enforcement ever since Ottawa installed its first cameras in 2000. The city has been unable to send owners of Quebec-registered vehicles tickets because it had no way to access motorists’ information. The Ontario government gave the city the authority to fine out-of-province motorists in 2013, but the city hasn’t had the technical ability to actually do it.
On Tuesday, transportation general manager John Manconi told council the city signed an agreement with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) on April 25, giving the city the ability to access vehicle licensing information in Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon. For Ottawa, the ability to access driver information in Quebec is the big win, considering thousands of Quebec-plated vehicles are caught on camera running red lights each year.
As it stands today, the owner of an Ontario-plated vehicle burning a red light at a camera-protected intersection in Ottawa will receive a ticket.
If that vehicle had a Quebec plate, the owner would not receive a ticket.
Manconi informed council of the development before Mayor Jim Watson showed off the latest red-light camera at Slater and Lyon streets Tuesday afternoon. The city has installed 20 new redlight cameras during this term of council.
Traffic services director Phil Landry said there were 4,465 redlight camera violations by Quebec-plated vehicles between Jan. 1, 2017 and Nov. 30, 2017, the most recent data available. That would have equalled roughly $1.5 million in fines.
Another 357 tickets could have been issued to motorists from other jurisdictions during the same time period.
There were 24,286 red-light camera violations sent to Ontario vehicle owners in 2017, Landry said.
There are 54 red-light cameras in Ottawa. The fine is $260, plus a $5 service fee and $60 victim surcharge. The cameras generated $5.2 million in revenue in 2017.
Quebec’s Société de l’assurance automobile contacted the CCMTA to ask for help with information exchange since the national organization has the technology to make it happen. There are multiple organizations involved in issuing a red-light camera ticket, including the ticket processing centre in Toronto.
According to Manconi’s memo, the city still won’t have access to driver information in provinces and territories outside of Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon.
All other provinces and territories have indicated they can’t share their vehicle licensing data; Newfoundland and Labrador hasn’t provided a response to the CCMTA’s request, Manconi says.
But for Ottawa, it’s the Quebec database that’s most important because of the high number of Quebec-plated vehicles on Ottawa roads each day.
The city will take the next month to sort out the finer details of the information exchange, such as file formats, technical requirements and testing. Council will be told when tickets are finally being issued to out-of-province offenders, Manconi says.