City of Waterloo puts special noise bylaw in place for homecoming weekend
In an attempt to squash big university parties, the City of Waterloo has put a special noise bylaw in place for the upcoming homecoming weekend.
Before the pandemic, homecoming weekend at schools like Laurier University would draw thousands of students to party on the streets.
With large gatherings having popped up across campuses in the past weeks, the city is hoping to get a handle on partying.
“The reality is that if your parents at home wouldn’t let you have a party starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, neither will the mayor and neither will the community,” said Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworksy. “We don’t want it to start that early. We want it to be nice and calm and enjoy the football game.”
City council passed the special bylaw Monday night that will make noise complaints enforceable any time of the day during homecoming weekend.
Under normal conditions, a noise complaint is only enforceable after 11 p.m., but from Sept. 24-26 when Laurier and the University of Waterloo are hosting homecoming celebrations, loud parties at any time of the day could result in a fine.
Regional police have handed out more than 200 charges since students returned to class under the label of “Project Safe Semester.”
“Certainly the vast majority of students in our community are responsible and I’m proud of them for that, but there are a number who have caused some gatherings that have been concerning,” said Jaworsky.
Ontario’s COVID-19 rules currently cap outdoor gatherings at 100 people, but despite this, officers have responded to a number of large parties in the university district, including one they say had over 2,500 people at it.
Over the weekend, a large party at the University of Guelph saw a residence building damaged and four open liquor tickets handed out. The school says they are reviewing surveillance video and investigating.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Statistics Canada reports real GDP up 0.6% in January as Quebec strikes end
Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product grew 0.6 per cent in January, helped by the end of public sector strikes in Quebec in November and December.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Ukrainian child asylum seekers in St. John’s get class of their own
Roughly 50 children will gathered in a St. John’s classroom for the first time on Saturday for unique lessons on Ukrainian language, culture and history.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.