City council has approved the installation of between 12 and 24 surveillance cameras downtown, a move that was challenged by only two of 15 members on council.

Ald. Brian Pincott was one of the two who voted against the cameras March 17. “When we put surveillance cameras in the public domain, it’s a very serious thing,” says Pincott. “You need to look and weigh that very, very carefully because there always is a tradeoff. We’re trading off privacy. We’re trading off parts of the public realm in the interests of safety…. We need to enter into that debate. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that.” Ald. Joe Ceci was the other alderman who voted against the surveillance program.

Pincott says he wasn’t convinced that the cameras, which will be installed later this year, would deter crime. The cameras, he says, will be primarily aimed at places where homeless people congregate. “They seem to be more focused on public behaviour than public safety,” he says.

On the same day, council voted not to move “Cash Corner” — an informal meeting place for employers wanting quick labour and people wanting temp work — to a new location on the 1800 block of Macleod Trail S.W. “They figured it was an individual’s personal responsibility to find employment… and not hang out on Cash Corner,” says Ceci of his council colleagues who voted against the move. A condo construction project will soon take over the sidewalk and bump Cash Corner from its current location on Centre Street, several blocks south of the Calgary Tower. (JK)