East Toronto families, education advocates raise concerns about school safety, speed camera removals at local rally

By JESSICA SHACKLETON

In an ongoing fight for provincial education protection, East Toronto families, advocates, and elected officials gathered in a parkette near Coxwell and Danforth avenues on Saturday, Oct. 18, to talk about speed cameras. 

The rally was in response to a series of speed camera vandalizations in Toronto and to comments from Ontario Premier Doug Ford saying that he plans to get rid of the cameras across the city.  

East Toronto has been a loud voice on the issue of school safety and speed cameras as Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher co-hosted a School Zone Safety Summit on Thursday, Oct. 16, at Toronto City Hall. Fletcher has also started a petition to keep cameras. 

Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Trustees Sara Ehrhardt and Michelle Aarts of Toronto-Danforth and Beaches-East York respectively were both at Saturday’s gathering in the Robertson Parkette. 

“We have Metrolinx construction taking place throughout the ward and taking away one of the crucial tools that we know will slow down drivers while we still have all this other stuff going on in the area is of great concern to me,” said Ehrhardt of the province’s plan to remove the city’s speed cameras.

East End Parents 4 Public Education was the main host for Saturay’s event, along with other advocacy groups. 

East End Parents 4 Public Education is a group of parents from Leslieville, the Beach, Danforth, and East York who are fighting for their children’s education against budget and service cuts. They had hosted another rally at Robertson Parkette in May calling for more education funding.

“When we work together, there is much to gain,” said Ehrhardt to the group of parents, kids, and community members on Saturday. 

Phil Pothen is a dad of three kids in East York. He said his kids walk to school every day, and he wants them to be safe while doing so.

“The city is a great place to live, to bring up your kids. You don’t have to drive your kids to hockey or swimming; they can do all that on their own,” he said. “We have a good life as long as it’s safe to walk places. The government is intentionally tearing that apart.” 

Pothen went to the gathering to combat the stereotype that growing up in the city’s urban environment is an unsafe place for kids. He said it’s only dangerous if we let it become so.

“These are just parents who care about their kids, like any parent does,” he said of those attending the rally.

Friends and Families for Safe Streets spokesperson Jess Spieker knows all too well the dangers of speeding. She was nearly killed by a car while biking along Bathurst Street in 2015. 

“We’re the group that represents the victims of all this preventable road violence. We’re telling our stories to convey why it’s so important to invest in prevention,” she said at the rally.

According to a 2025 study by SickKids and Toronto Metropolitan University, speed cameras have reduced speeding in school zones by 45 per cent.

“It makes me want to burst into flames,” said Spieker about the plans to get rid of the speed cameras on Toronto’s streets.

“Speed is the primary determinant of whether or not a collision is survivable, and where we put life-saving measures like speed cameras determines who lives and who dies on our streets.” 

The Minister of Transportation has talked a lot about adding speed bumps and roundabouts instead of cameras to reduce vehicle speeds, but Spieker said that won’t work. 

“There are reasons that there aren’t speed bumps where there are most of these cameras, which is because they’re on major roads. Emergency vehicles don’t like speed bumps on main roads, and the TTC doesn’t either because those make it very difficult for those big vehicles to travel,” she said.

“That means you’re left with signs and flashing lights, which we already have tons of and already don’t work.”    

A July poll by the Canadian Automobile Association showed that 73 per cent of Ontario drivers support the use of speed cameras. 

“People want to be safe, and having your loved one killed in a collision that could’ve easily been prevented is horrifically painful,” said Spieker.  

Saturday’s rally was one in a series of battles calling for safer neighbourhoods, schools and increases to provincial funding for public  education. 

On Monday, Oct. 20, there will be a Save School Safety Cameras Provincial Day of Action taking place. Groups will be holding protests before the school day begins to emphasize the need for speed cameras. For more information on the Day of Action, go to  https://speedcamerassavelives.ca/oct-20-provincial-day-of-action/

For more information on East End Parents 4 Public Education, please visit their Facebook page.