One Hamilton, Ontario, man decided to surveil his property amid elevated crime, but the city shut him down.
Dan Myles installed 10 security cameras outside his home, a measure he says has not only helped prevent break-ins but also aided in police investigations. “Because we had a lot of break and enters into our home and homes around us,” Myles said in giving his reason for the cameras.
Now, Hamilton city officials are telling him they must come down. CHCH reached out to former Privacy Commissioner of Ontario Ann Cavoukian, who gave an explanation for the decision.
“Privacy is extremely important, it forms the foundation of our freedom, so to go about filming everyone without their knowledge or consent I find very unacceptable,” she said.
“You’re on your own personal area, your property, and that’s why you can do it at the door of your house, but always have a sign that you’re being recorded.”
Myles’ neighbors commented that they’re okay with his added security measures. “I just feel like here we have someone in our community who is going above and beyond to try and protect us,” Jane Yates, who lives nearby, said of Myles for taking initiative.
Although police did not confirm to CHCH that they used Myles’ footage previously, they said the department works with homeowners in various ways to catch criminals by using footage. Myles posts his break-ins he records online.
“I got a notice from by-law and I thought ‘How could this be,’” he said after getting the news.
“Everybody has Ring doorbells pointed at the street, and my neighbors have cameras pointed at my house, and we all point cameras at each other.”
Would you vote for your state to be able to limit people moving from blue stronghold cities and states?
Clearly, Myles felt the city was not doing enough, so he took matters into his own hands.
Now he is being punished for it.
If Hamilton police had promised to increase their presence in compensation to Myles and his neighbors after leaving him without his cameras, that would be one thing, but they’re simply telling him to leave himself vulnerable because he’s in violation of a by-law.
Government — not just in Canada but also the United States — has forgotten its function as “by the people, for the people.” The good-natured, peaceful residents of Hamilton wish to hold criminals accountable, but the city would rather side with those criminals. They are not for the people, opting to support lunatics and real lawbreakers.
This is another example of liberal government run amok.
Hoover Institute Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson has consistently noted that the left is fond of humanity in the abstract sense but despises people in reality.
Hamilton is exemplary of that mentality in crippling Myles.
It is a small wonder Americans are fleeing blue states when they see similarly backwards policies play out among their own officials. According to Newsweek, more Americans left California than any other state from 2023 to 2024, with 239,575 residents fleeing to other parts of the country.
Doing so, they ironically bring support for those very policies to their new homes. That scenario creates a hyper-divided union, possibly one where states look to restrict immigration.
A country boiling with resentment toward itself is not one we want to live in.
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