Hamilton, Ontario is telling people to take down home security cameras that see beyond their own yard. These cameras have helped catch murderers, stopped home invasions, and helped police solve serious crimes. Now residents who keep them face fines. The city is turning vigilance into a violation. To keep a camera pointed beyond your property, you must get neighbors’ permission, prove your angles, and even pay for approval. Protection has become a privilege, not a right.
One man shared footage that led to a killer’s conviction. Now he could be punished unless he removes the cameras that made that possible. The law does not protect residents from crime. It protects criminals from being recorded. People who help police are treated like offenders.
Canada has outlawed carrying anything for self defense beyond a whistle or other noisemaker. Now, a city has banned home security cameras that "view or listen beyond the perimeters of their own property."
Why do so many laws side with/benefit criminals?pic.twitter.com/9g3deTh7NS
— Colin Wright (@SwipeWright) September 7, 2025
Canada already limits what people can carry for self-defense. Now even watching and recording is being restricted. Police have relied on this footage to solve violent crimes, yet the city wants it gone. This is not about safety. This is about control.
The law targets citizens who refuse to be powerless. If cameras can be banned, what will come next?
“I’ve actually participated in evidence sharing of three homicides on these cameras, over 40 break and enters, multiple home invasions, car break and enters, assaults, you name it. Without your video, we would have had nothing.” https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/ontario-man-appeals-bylaw-order-after-10-security-cameras-mounted-on-home/ar-AA1Mcka8
“The City of Hamilton remains committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of all residents and the City’s Fortification Bylaw 10-122 supports this responsibility.” https://globalnews.ca/news/11404205/hamilton-security-camera-bylaw/
“We are not allowed to have firearms or any kind of defense, and I feel that I should be able to use my cameras to at least record the events.” https://www.chch.com/chch-news/an-exemption-may-allow-hamilton-resident-to-keep-10-security-cameras-at-his-home/