Item - 2026.MM41.22

Councillor Lily Cheng, seconded by Councillor Dianne Saxe, recommends that:

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services and the Executive Director, Municipal Licencing and Standards to conduct an international jurisdictional scan on technology being used to enforce regulations surrounding noise emitted from moving vehicles and report back to the Economic and Community Development Committee by the second quarter of 2027.

2. City Council reiterate its request to the Government of Ontario to make necessary regulatory changes to enable the City of Toronto to initiate a noise activated camera/mobile automated noise enforcement pilot project.

3. City Council forward this motion to the Premier of Ontario, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Minister of Transportation, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, as well as to the Big City Mayors’ Caucus and Ontario’s Big City Mayors.

Excessive and unnecessary noise, including from modified vehicle exhaust systems and other sources, continues to negatively impact the quality of life, public health, and well-being of Toronto residents. 

Community-based advocacy, including the work of No More Noise Toronto, has played an important role in elevating awareness of noise as a significant urban health issue, collecting real-world sound data, and engaging residents and policymakers to advance more effective noise prevention and enforcement strategies. Their efforts have highlighted gaps in current enforcement frameworks and the limitations of existing complaint-based systems, particularly with respect to persistent and high-impact sources such as motor vehicle noise. 

Existing enforcement tools for noise bylaws are often resource-intensive, complaint-driven, and limited in their ability to consistently identify and deter offenders. Emerging technologies, including acoustic monitoring devices (“noise cameras”), have been successfully piloted or implemented in other jurisdictions to objectively detect, record, and support enforcement against excessive noise violations. However, municipalities in Ontario currently lack clear legislative authority to deploy automated noise enforcement technologies for bylaw enforcement purposes. Enabling legislation from the Province of Ontario would provide municipalities with the authority and framework necessary to adopt such technologies while ensuring appropriate safeguards for privacy, accuracy, and due process. 

The motion directs City staff to conduct an international review of technologies used to enforce noise from moving vehicles and report back to the appropriate Committee in 2027. It also reiterates the City of Toronto’s request for provincial regulatory changes to enable a noise-activated camera or mobile automated noise enforcement pilot project, and requests that the motion be forwarded to provincial ministers and municipal organizations across Canada for advocacy and collaboration purposes.