Guelph changes rules around fireworks but votes down permit-based system

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A long list of people lined up on Tuesday night to have their say about the City of Guelph’s fireworks bylaw.

The big question councillors were facing: should backyard fireworks be permitted within the city?

In a report, staff recommended the bylaw be updated to a permit-based system after collecting feedback from the public during multiple engagement sessions.

According to staff, 65 per cent of people who offered feedback were either unsupportive or very unsupportive of unregulated public and private fireworks.

The staff report goes on to say 56 per cent of respondents were either supportive or very supportive of a complete fireworks ban.

Several themes emerged from the surveys, including noise and environmental concerns and a call for stronger enforcement of existing bylaws and regulations.

Having their say

Many people came to council to have their say about the future of fireworks within the city. Delegates included community members, industry experts and a representative from the Guelph Humane Society.

One of the speakers, Erica Hogan, a franchise operator at Phatboy Fireworks, said she has been selling fireworks since she was a teenager.

She said bans in other cities have had a significant impact on her life.

“I had a store in Woodstock that was closed down because of a fireworks bylaw. I lost all that income,” Hogan explained. “I had to sell my house, my husband and I had to revisit our finances, we had to stop putting money into the community.”

During her delegation, she noted that she understands the concerns of the community, but she thought those concerns could be handled by taking a closer look at enforcement.

“I truly believe by reevaluating the bylaw and the officers that are supposed to be taking care of this and being there, that should be the first thing that we look at.”

Impact on animals

Later on in the meeting, Guelph Humane Society Executive Director Lisa Veit stepped up to the podium. She said the humane society fully supported the notion to move to a permit-based system or even to implement a full ban.

“For many dogs, the response to fireworks is extreme and the impact, not only on the animal, but on their family, is severe,” she said. “In fact, a scientific study demonstrated that more than half of dog owners reported a significant stress in their pets during fireworks with symptoms ranging from shaking to hiding to injurious self harm.”

“Related to this intense fear response, there is also considerable evidence that fireworks cause many animals to become so frightened that they run from otherwise familiar environments and people and sadly become lost or [are involved in] life-threatening situations such as the risk of being hit by a car,” she said. We have seen this scenario firsthand at GHS with an increase in reports of lost pets the evening of and the day after fireworks related holidays.”

She added that the humane society also sees wild animals harmed during fireworks displays.

“At GHS we have seen the impact on wildlife directly. We’ve observed multiple events of Canada geese deaths and injuries that have occurred on roadways during or immediately following a fireworks display as a result of the disorientation of the birds that has caused them to fly directly into traffic.”

Bringing people together

But for some, fireworks displays have become a tradition that brings communities together.

“When we moved to Guelph, for my young children it was an opportunity to bring the neighbours together to celebrate and meet. For 20 years we’ve been doing that. On our street, for many of the new neighbours, the Victoria Day celebration of fireworks is the first time they actually meet the neighbours. So, it is an opportunity to build a community,” resident David Calder said. “Every year, they’ll be people that, when we’re done the show I’ll walk up on the deck, and there will be people I’ve never met before. I think that’s just wonderful. I think that’s something that the city should be trying to promote.”

Near the end of his delegation, Calder implored council to keep allowing private firework shows.

“If you’re putting in permits and you’re putting in regulations, well [the neighbourhood show] comes to a stop,” he said.

“For 20 years we’ve had our friends, our family, our neighbours over and what has been proposed puts an end to that. A community building event would be ended.”

For one fireworks retailer, it all comes down to striking a balance.

“Our view is that we are actually advocating for stronger penalties against misuse which includes using on days that are not permitted within the bylaw.” President of Rocket Fireworks Inc. Tom Jacobs said in an interview with CTV News on Wednesday.

“It’s really about people having different interests and it’s just about being considerate when you’re pursuing your interests and then balancing and understanding that not everyone will enjoy your pastime,” he added. “But if we’re all considerate of one another, we can say, ‘Oh, sure, we can allow that for a few days or two or three days per year to celebrate something.’”

He said enforcement and education are key to ensuring fireworks can be enjoyable without disturbing the community at large.

“I would say the fines are very important. We really want to send a strong message to people,” he said. “It’s really just a few bad apples that are ruining it for all the good families that want to enjoy themselves. The fine will help us to send a strong message to people that the community doesn’t tolerate that kind of behaviour.”

Decision

The idea to create a permit-based system was ultimately defeated in favour of changes to the existing bylaw.

City staff have been tasked with considering higher fines for people violating the bylaw, but no specific dollar amount was discussed at council.

Council approved a motion to define minimum safe distances from vulnerable places, such as schools, nursing homes and other care facilities.

Council also changed the bylaw to remove the day before Canada Day and the day before Victoria Day as permissible days to discharge fireworks.

An amendment also passed allowing the sale of fireworks in the seven days leading up to Diwali. Previously, the bylaw allowed only the discharge of fireworks on the holiday.