SaskatoonLesley McLean and her husband Robb say they feel their privacy was breached when a neighbour set up a security camera pointed partly at their backyard pool.New bylaw appears unlikely following committee meetingPhil Tank · CBC News · Posted: Oct 10, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours agoRobb McLean attached this image to a request to speak to Saskatoon city council’s planning, development and community services meeting. At the meeting, Lesley McLean discussed her family’s concerns about privacy and residential security cameras. (Submitted to Saskatoon city council)Lesley McLean and her husband Robb say they feel their privacy was breached when a neighbour set up a security camera pointed partly at their backyard pool.McLean explained to a city council committee meeting Wednesday that the issue was only resolved after the couple hired a lawyer at “significant personal expense.”McLean urged council to develop a bylaw to help protect people’s privacy as the use of residential security cameras spreads.She rejected the claim in a report by city solicitor Cindy Yelland that a low number of complaints mean that similar privacy breaches are not a major issue.“Many residents do not know where to turn, assume nothing can be done, assume bylaws to protect their privacy are already in place or are reluctant to pursue costly legal options,” McLean said.McLean addressed council’s planning, development and community services meeting via video on Wednesday.She explained that her next-door neighbour in the Rosewood neighbourhood set up six security cameras this summer on the neighbour’s property, one of which recorded video and audio of the McLeans’ backyard.The couple’s submission to city hall included an image purporting to show the camera’s point of view that included their backyard. It’s unclear how the image was obtained and the McLeans were not immediately available for comment.The couple said that police told them no charges could be laid without a city bylaw and that the provincial privacy commissioner’s office informed them it does not deal with these types of complaints.The neighbour redirected the camera in response to the couple’s legal action, but the couple believes the neighbour can still record audio.“Just in this specific example, I would have a serious issue with my daughter and her friends swimming in a pool and then a camera pointed at them, whether it’s being shared or not,” Coun. Troy Davies told the meeting.McLean said a potential bylaw could prevent cameras from being mounted above fences.But it seems unlikely city hall will introduce enforceable rules for surveillance cameras despite their growth in popularity.Yelland told the committee that bylaws to regulate security cameras are rare in Canada, although the Saskatchewan towns of Leader and Eastend have introduced them.Yelland said enforcing a bylaw would be difficult because access to material recorded by cameras would be needed for prosecution. The city gets about 20 complaints a year about residential security cameras, according to Yelland’s report.Saskatchewan’s Privacy Act does cover the jurisdiction of security cameras, but an aggrieved neighbour would have to sue.Yelland suggested adding language on cameras to the city’s “good neighbour guide” and advised that people can take their neighbours to small claims court, which limits damages to less than $50,000 in Saskatchewan.The city will also pay for a third-party mediator to resolve disputes between neighbours, Yelland said, although all parties involved need to agree to participate.ABOUT THE AUTHORPhil Tank is a journalist in Saskatoon.
Saskatoon family wants city hall action to protect privacy from security cameras
