CORNWALL, Ontario – Councillor Todd Bennett put forward a motion at the Cornwall City Council meeting on Monday, May 10 with the goal of looking at regulating the use of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras and other similar types of surveillance systems on private property.
“This all came about from an email I received from a resident . . . where a neighbour has a camera on a poll and it is aimed directly into his backyard,” explained Councillor Bennett. “So he called police and By-Law to see if there’s anything that can be done and both told him that there’s nothing they can do about it because there are no laws in place in regards to private citizens with surveillance equipment. So, I thought that was hard to believe.”
Bennett pointed out that businesses and organizations had to follow strict rules when it comes to the use of surveillance equipment, but that no such rules exist for private property owners. Private property owners can be charged if it is proven that they are using their surveillance equipment for voyeurism or harassment, but Bennett said that the standard to prove such intent was quite high.
What is not and cannot be that high are fences. Bennett explained that the resident who contacted him tried to build a fence tall enough to block the camera’s view, but found that by-law regulations prohibited him from building a fence that high.
Bennett said that no other municipality in Ontario had a by-law to regulate the use of security equipment on private property and conceded that the City of Cornwall’s lawyers would have to review any legislation before it is passed.
“I don’t know what this by-law would look like, but I know there must be something we can do to protect someone’s own property from being spied on,” Bennett said. “This is a privacy issue that is going to start coming about more and more.”
“This gentlemen who sent me the email said his daughters are afraid to go into their backyard because they’re afraid of being watched,” Bennett continued. “You should be able to enjoy your own personal property without having that kind of a fear.”
Councillor Dean Hollingsworth seconded the motion.
“I believe I spoke with the same gentleman that Councillor Bennett talked to and I couldn’t agree more with his dilemma and Councillor Bennett said, you should be able to enjoy the privacy of your backyard without having someone watching you for any reason,” said Councillor Hollingsworth. “What’s interesting is that I can’t park a trailer in my driveway, but I’m allowed film my neighbour. I can’t leave my car in my driveway without a license plate, but I can install a whole myriad of cameras filming all of the people who abut my yard and they can literally do nothing about that. I don’t care what rule book you’re playing with that seems grossly philosophically flawed. I think people should, as mentioned, be entitled to some measure of privacy.
Administration will prepare a report for Council for a future meeting outlining recommended actions that could be taken on the issue.
