MOOSE JAW — Big Brother will not be watching over residents and tourists in downtown Moose Jaw after city council declined to install security cameras in the area.
City administration presented a report during a recent 2025 budget meeting about installing such technology in the downtown core, based on a motion council passed in October.
However, after reviewing this possibility, administration recommended that the City of Moose Jaw not proceed with installing cameras on traffic and road infrastructure in the area. Council agreed, voting unanimously to receive and file the report.
The municipality operates video cameras in various city-owned buildings and on some buses, with these systems functioning independently and video footage accessible on request, a budget report said.
The department of community services is responsible for accessing and maintaining the video recording equipment in buildings, while the transit department oversees the video system on buses.
The city uses WatchNET to record videos in buildings and consulted with the tech company about this initiative, but because the project’s scope was poorly defined, that made it difficult for administration to estimate costs, the report said.
Hardware costs would vary based on the number of cameras purchased, their quality and the required coverage, while basic systems start at roughly $2,000 per camera, the document continued. Furthermore, electricians would be required to install the technology, while wireless internet availability could pose a challenge.
“Managing individual camera systems installed around the downtown core and on traffic light infrastructure would be complex,” the report stated. “Ensuring their continued functionality would require regular maintenance visits by staff.”
Since the cameras would generate plenty of data, city hall would need to develop a data retention strategy policy to handle it, while extra storage could be necessary to archive videos in compliance with that policy, the document added.
Wade McKay, director of information technology, told council during the meeting that the department doesn’t know of other municipalities with this type of technology that it can copy. Furthermore, the Moose Jaw Police Service plans to equip officers with body cameras, so that may reduce the need for security cameras.
McKay noted that he contacted WatchNET and struggled to answer its questions about the project since it wanted to know whether the cameras were for crime prevention, traffic shaping, how big the downtown core is, and other issues.
Although administration recommended against installing the cameras, “it is possible” to create such a system even though there are challenges, he said. For example, a few standalone cameras are easy to manage — especially if they’re on a bus — since staff could easily pull videos them. Yet, it would require plenty of work to manage independent cameras.
McKay added that administration needed more guidance before it pursued this project.
Coun. Carla Delaurier pointed out that safety issues have been identified in Crescent Park near the washrooms, while some residents have seen other people using drugs in the area.
“Myself, walking through the park, I’ve come across a lot of questionable behaviours in that area,” she said. “So … in the future, if we decide to move ahead with cameras, then that area could perhaps be looked at closely for benefits for the safety of our citizenry.”
Coun. Dawn Luhning said she was interested in protecting the safety of downtown businesses, some of which have already begun installing video cameras outside their doors that can assist police when issues arise.
Luhning added that some municipalities have traffic cameras installed on roads to monitor the weather, but she thought that “might be too rich for (council’s) blood.”
