Google Street View Cars Spotted in Toronto

Sightings of the Google Street View car have been made here in my home city of Toronto. The car isn't hard to miss - it has large camera equipment on the roof that extends a good five feet in the air and looks like a certain robot from the movie Short Circuit. In addition to Toronto, other Canadian cities Google announced it would be photographing are:

• Calgary
• Edmonton
• Halifax
• Montreal
• Ottawa
• Quebec City
• Saint John
• Saskatoon
• Vancouver
• Winnipeg
  

Here in Ontario the license plates of the Google cars starts with BFEM and, if the plates and camera aren't enough for you to spot them, the side of the vehicle shows the ubiquitous Google logo.

So why has Google Street View taken so long to come to Canada? It has to do with privacy laws, specifically the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Document Act. Recognizable faces, license plates and other personal information must be blurred, and this government stipulation caused a bit of a delay as Google was required to change its approach. Also of concern has been the storage of images. Google says it plans to store images of Canada in the United States which would make the data subject to the Patriot Act, allowing authorities to access the images without anyone knowing.

Nevertheless, Google is moving forward with the Streets View service in Canada and Tamara Micner of Google Canada recently stated that Google hopes "to launch it in the coming weeks." Already live in over 100 cities around the world, it's about time Google came to Canada. It isn't out of the question to expect the launch of Google Street View Canada in May or June. People have even created signs saying "Welcome Google!" and hung them outside their homes in the hopes of the Google car snapping a shot of them. Yes, in general we Canadians are a happy bunch to finally have our neighbourhoods opened up to foreign tourists and local creeps.

From scouring blogs I've been able to gather that the Google car has been spotted in such Toronto areas as Young & Eglington, Queen Street West, Yonge & St. Clair, Avenue Road, Gardiner Expressway, the 401, and even in the neighbouring cities of Markham and Brampton. (Fear not, suburbanites. Even though you aren't officially listed, Google hasn't forgotten about you)

The Google Street View service here in Canada has been met with with opinions ranging from "Cool! Welcome to my neighbourhood" to "Scram, Big Brother." And while I can't guarantee some low-life won't notice the big satellite dish on the top of your house and decide to rob you, I say settle down. You can always ask Google to remove the image if your privacy has been compromised.

Canadian privacy laws offer stricter protection than those of the United States. It's conceivable to think that once Google launches Street View in Canada that it will set off a landslide of privacy complaints from individuals and businesses alike. A balance needs to be struck between technological advances and sustaining personal privacy. While there are bound to be more hilarious, and perhaps embarrassing, image captures (like the sword fighting duo dressed up in Medieval attire on Sampsonia Way in Pittsburgh, PA) I'm hoping that we don't get our knickers in a twist in Canada over the harmless stuff that keeps the bloggers busy.