More security cameras, vape detectors may come to Ontario schools with $30M funding

More security cameras and vape detectors could soon be installed in Ontario schools, with the announcement of $30 million in funding for school safety in the provincial budget this week.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce says he is “deeply concerned” about students vaping in school and hopes that installing vape detectors — which are similar to smoke detectors but detect vapour — in spaces such as washrooms can help keep them healthy and safe.

Some of the most recent data available suggests that in 2021-22 about one in five students in Grades 10 to 12 had vaped, which was down from a few years earlier, but there was a small increase among younger students.

The Near North District School Board operated a pilot project with vape detectors in bathrooms and locker rooms at one school and says it was successful in addressing e-cigarette use at school.

The $30 million in funding over three years will be available to school boards for other school safety equipment as well, such as security cameras, lighting and other security upgrades.

Lecce says the equipment will help enhance safety both in schools and on school property, in order to address both in-school violence and incidents within the community that affect schools.