Winnipeg mayoral candidate pledges photo-radar review, waiver of fines for 1st offenders

A Winnipeg mayoral candidate is promising to review the use of photo radar in the city, a move he says would see motorists get a pass on a first offence if they are caught speeding or running a red light.

Robert-Falcon Ouellette also pledged Saturday he'd have city council review the use of speed enforcement in construction zones to better account for its use when workers are or are not present and the type of work being done.

The end goal of the review, he said, is to ultimately do away with photo enforcement entirely.

Ouellette said photo-radar infractions have been climbing back to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, a claim backed by public City of Winnipeg data. That reality, he said, flies in the face of the stated goal of the photo enforcement regime: increasing road safety.

"If the goal of the program is to encourage Winnipeggers to drive safe, they should be given a chance to learn from their mistakes," he said at a news conference near a stationary red-light camera at the corner of Grant Avenue and Wilton Street.

A CBC analysis in 2020 found mobile photo-radar efforts just east of where Ouellette stood accounted for about 20 per cent of city mobile enforcement infractions between 2013 and 2019.

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"This road is notorious because it traps a lot of people," Ouellette said.

Ouellette said he wants to see fines waived for a first photo-radar offence, a courtesy that renews if drivers aren't caught again by photo radar for two years. Tickets would still be issued but not a fine, he said.

He used an analogy of a stressed single mom rushing to get her kids to school who makes a mistake by speeding. 

"It would be appropriate for her not to receive a ticket in the mail at that time in the month when she needs to pay for other things — her apartment, or food. Sometimes a $300 ticket is not what people need in their lives."

Ouellette conceded that changes to photo enforcement would require buy-in from the provincial government. The Winnipeg Police Service manages the program but it exists in law under the Highway Traffic Act and related legislation.

Registered owners of vehicles are the ones who receive the fine notices under provincial legislation.

This is at least the fourth pledge Ouellette has made during his latest mayoral bid that would need a change to provincial law.

"Again we find ourselves bumping up against the rules and jurisdiction of the province," he said. "But to build the city we want … we need to change the rules."

Ouellette said his review would also look at the timing of amber lights in the city, signage and traffic-calming measures.

Candidate pledges dozens of town halls 

Another mayoral hopeful, Kevin Klein, pledged on Saturday to hold more than 30 town-hall-style meetings leading up the Oct. 26 election.

His website currently bills 13 such events in various areas of the city throughout September. 

Ouellette and Klein are among 14 people vying for the mayor's chair. Current Mayor Brian Bowman announced in 2020 he would not run again. 

The other candidates are Idris Adelakun, Rana Bokhari, Chris Clacio, Scott Gillingham, Shaun Loney, Jenny Motkaluk, Jessica Peebles, Rick Shone, Govind Thawani, Desmond Thomas and Don Woodstock.