Ontario's privacy commissioner said Monday that security cameras should be allowed on Toronto's transit system but that additional steps should be taken to ensure people will have their privacy protected.

Ann Cavoukian was responding to a complaint filed last October by a human rights group who argued video cameras on bus, subway and streetcar routes would be intrusive to commuters.

The commissioner spent four months studying a plan by the Toronto Transit Commission to install 10,000 cameras as a security measure. In her report, Cavoukian agreed safety was a legitimate use of the technology.

"The area of video surveillance is a very difficult one for privacy officials such as myself to grapple with, because on its face, it is inherently privacy invasive, '' Cavoukian said.

"Despite that fact, there are legitimate uses for video surveillance cameras, especially in the broader context of the public safety and security needs of mass transit systems that render their use in compliance with our privacy laws.''

She made 13 recommendations to limit the impact of security cameras on people's privacy. They include:

  • Putting up signs informing commuters they are being taped
  • Not keeping surveillance video for longer than 72 hours unless the footage is needed for an investigation
  • Conduct an independent annual audit to ensure privacy compliance
  • The TTC should keep detailed notes of footage given to police for their investigation
  • Explore technology that encrypts the footage for unauthorized users

The London-based human rights group, Privacy International, said in their complaint that the TTC would be able to see and hear commuters -- a violation of Canada's privacy laws.

However, Cavoukian said because TTC video will be recorded, there wouldn't be any abuses typically found with live monitoring. Camera operators would view the TTC footage after it was taken and would not be able to zoom into a person's features the way they would if they were watching a live stream.

Adam Giambrone, TTC Chairman, said the 7,500 cameras that have already been installed on the transity system have proven invaluable.

"They've been used in a number of high-profile cases, both in terms of crimes committed on the system . . . but also for crimes committed around the system,'' he said.

A recent survey by Toronto police found that 85 per cent of people feel safer with security cameras around.

The public began pushing for cameras after 11-year-old Tamara Carter was shot in the face while riding on the Jane Street bus and driver James Pereira lost his eye during a gunfight on his Morningside route.

The TTC plans on having all cameras installed by mid-2009.

With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV Toronto's Janice Golding