WINNIPEG, (Feb. 16, 2004) — The government of Manitoba is planning to extend the controversial photo radar and red light camera systems to highways and other municipalities throughout the province.

The Winnipeg Free Press reported Transportation Minister Ron Lemieux as saying the current legislation that allows for the cameras to be installed in Winnipeg also permits the devices to be used in other parts of the province.

Lemieux said the province is developing an application process through which municipalities will have to explain why they need cameras and outline how they’ll be used. He said no requests for the traffic cameras will be approved until the formal application process is in place.

In the past, photo radar has been introduced and subsequently scrapped in both B.C. and Ontario, as critics argued the system is nothing more than a tax grab that does not improve safety. However, the newly elected Liberal government announced last month it is toying with the possibility of reintroducing photo radar.

Photo radar is still in use in urban centres and on highways throughout Alberta.

— from the Winnipeg Free Press