The Calgary City Council Executive Committee on Tuesday approved an urgent motion directing city administration to offer support to the Calgary Police Commission to assess funding options, following provincial restrictions on photo radar.
The motion comes after Police Chief Mark Neufeld said the Calgary Police Service (CPS) is facing a $28 million shortfall in its operating budget, due to the Alberta Government cutting back on photo radar, saying it was mostly a cash grab.
Neufeld said the decision has resulted in tougher decisions that need to be made internally, adding 85% of the CPS budget is dedicated to staffing.
The cash cutback will result in staff cutbacks in a force that is already operating with a staff shortage, said Neufeld
Neufeld disagrees with the Alberta government’s assessment of photo radar, saying it is a tool to reduce collisions and improve safety.
CPS statistics show there were 29 fatal crashes and 13 pedestrian deaths in 2024, up from an average of four per year.
“Some of the things we see the public concerned about, it’s the big ones, it’s distracted driving, it’s speed, but I would still say if you get out on Stoney Tr. and Deerfoot, the major arteries, those are the two roads with the most collisions in the city,” Neufeld told CTV Calgary.
“I still see some pretty shocking things there.”
In response, four city councillors, Sonya Sharp, Jennifer Wyness, Terry Wong and Andre Cabot put forth the urgent motion, directing city administration to “offer support to the Calgary Police Commission to assess funding options.”
“The safety of Calgarians is non-negotiable,” said Sharp in a statement. “We cannot allow frontline policing to be compromised due to policy changes outside of our control. The numbers show that photo radar reduces serious collisions, injuries, and fatalities. If these restrictions jeopardize public safety, we need to push back.”
Addressing Neufeld’s staffing concerns, Wyness said in the statement, “Calgary already has one of the lowest police-to-citizen ratios in Canada. Without Council considering funding shortfall options, CPS could be forced to reduce overtime, hiring, and critical operations, putting public safety at risk.”
Specifically, the motion calls for: administration to offer support to the commission on a report on funding options brought to council on March 18, if the commission determines it is necessary; administration to offer support to the commission for advocacy to the provincial government to reassess its restrictions on photo radar, if the commission determines it is necessary.
The motion also calls for exemptions for additional photo radar locations in high-collision areas; a report on Calgary’s speed and traffic calming measures, and; a direction to administration to inquire with the commission about severing the ties between fine revenue and the CPS budget. The latter would mean a commitment to long-term police funding reform; ensuring CPS funding is based on need, not fine revenue.
“Traffic enforcement should never be about generating revenue, it should be about keeping people safe,” said Wong. “This is about making sure our officers can do their jobs effectively and that Calgarians feel safe in their neighbourhoods.”
“The goal of this motion is to ensure that public safety isn’t left in limbo due to funding uncertainty.” added Chabot.
In a statement, the Calgary Police Commission responded to council's decision.
“Our Commission is grateful for Council’s willingness to work closely with us to ensure that Calgary’s police are properly resourced. Public safety is a top priority for Calgarians and we are all committed to delivering the policing services that Calgarians expect."
The commission's statement says "traffic enforcement should only be used to promote public safety, and a year ago we adopted the position that fine revenue should be removed from future police budgets to ensure that safety remains the only focus of enforcement activities. We look forward to working with Council to try achieve this goal as well."
"The province shares 40% of the revenue from traffic fines with municipalities and Calgary’s Council has traditionally used this funding to reduce the tax dollars needed to pay for policing. The police budget therefore includes an estimate of how much fine revenue is likely to be shared each year, based on previous years."
"In 2024, the Service received about $15 million less than expected in shared fine revenue and we knew the province’s photo radar changes would significantly increase that shortfall in 2025."
The commission added in the statement "The revenue impact of the photo radar changes is not nearly as important as the community safety implications of losing such an important tool that has proved effective at reducing the number and severity of collisions where it has been properly deployed."
"However, we will still need to work with the Service, Council and the province to also manage the financial implications of reduced traffic enforcement, because fine revenue was being used to offset the cost of policing."
The motion will be debated for its technical merits at the Feb. 11 executive committee meeting.